Autumn term 2021/22

Pupil absence in schools in England: autumn term

Pupil absence, including overall, authorised and unauthorised absence and persistent absence by reason and pupil characteristics for the autumn term.

WarningThis publication has been superseded by Pupil absence in schools in England

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1 updatefor Autumn term 2021/22
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Data sets present comprehensive open data from which users can create their own tables using the EES table tool or download a zipped CSV file.

6 data sets available for download

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  • 06 - Absence rates by pupil characteristic

    Local authority, National, Regional

    Absence information by characteristics for all enrolments in state-funded primary, secondary and special schools including information on overall absence, persistent absence and reason for absence for pupils aged 5-15. Characteristics included are gender, year group, Free School Meal eligibility, SEN provision, SEN type of need, ethnicity and language. National, Regional and Local Authority data from Autumn 2019 to autumn 2021

    Number of rows
    120,910
    Indicators
    • Authorised absence rate
    • Authorised absence rate exact
    • Number of authorised absence sessions
    Filters
    • Characteristic
    • School type
    Time period
    2019/20 Autumn term to 2021/22 Autumn term
    Data set information page for 06 - Absence rates by pupil characteristic
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  • 01 - Absence rates by school and geographic level

    Local authority, National, Regional

    Absence information for all enrolments in state-funded primary, secondary and special schools including information on overall absence, persistent absence and reason for absence for pupils aged 5-15. National, Regional and Local Authority data from 2006/07. School data is included from 2016/17. Primary and secondary only before 2016/17.

    Number of rows
    136,652
    Indicators
    • Authorised absence rate
    • Authorised holiday rate
    • Authorised other rate
    Filters
    • School type
    Time period
    2006/07 Autumn term to 2021/22 Autumn term
    Data set information page for 01 - Absence rates by school and geographic level
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  • 02 - Absence in Pupil Referral Units

    Local authority, National, Regional

    Absence information for pupil referral units (including alternative provision academies and free schools). Data has been collected from 2013/14.

    Number of rows
    1,372
    Indicators
    • Authorised absence rate
    • Number of authorised absence sessions
    • Number of authorised holiday sessions
    Time period
    2013/14 Autumn term to 2021/22 Autumn term
    Data set information page for 02 - Absence in Pupil Referral Units
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  • 04 - Absence for 4 year olds

    Local authority, National, Regional

    Overall absence for all enrolments in state-funded primary, secondary and special schools for pupils aged 4. National, Regional and Local Authority data from 2012/13. School data from 2016/17. Primary and secondary only before 2016/17. Collected from 2012/13

    Number of rows
    104,347
    Indicators
    • Number of overall absence sessions
    • Number of pupil enrolments
    • Number of schools
    Filters
    • School type
    Time period
    2012/13 Autumn term to 2021/22 Autumn term
    Data set information page for 04 - Absence for 4 year olds
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  • 03 - Enrolments with one or more sessions of absence

    Local authority, National, Regional

    The number of enrolments with one or more session of absence, including by reason for absence. National, Regional and Local Authority data from 2006/07. School data from 2016/17. Primary and secondary only before 2016/17.

    Number of rows
    136,652
    Indicators
    • Number of enrolments with at least one absence session due to agreed extended family holiday
    • Number of enrolments with at least one absence session due to agreed family holiday
    • Number of enrolments with at least one absence session due to arriving late
    Filters
    • School type
    Time period
    2006/07 Autumn term to 2021/22 Autumn term
    Data set information page for 03 - Enrolments with one or more sessions of absence
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  • 05 - Absence as a percentage of possible sessions by percent bands

    National

    The number of pupil enrolments by their absence in the term as a percentage of possible sessions. Covers overall absence, authorised absence and unauthorised absence. Data by one percent bands. Primary and secondary only before 2016/17.

    Number of rows
    6,121
    Indicators
    • Number of all pupil enrolments that fall into that per cent band for authorised absence
    • Number of all pupil enrolments that fall into that per cent band for illness absence
    • Number of all pupil enrolments that fall into that per cent band for non-attendance due to coronavirus (COVID-19)
    Filters
    • Absence percentage band
    • School type
    Time period
    2006/07 Autumn term to 2021/22 Autumn term
    Data set information page for 05 - Absence as a percentage of possible sessions by percent bands
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Data guidance

Description of the data sets included in this release, including information on data sources, coverage, quality and any data conventions used.

Description

This document describes the data included in the ‘Pupil absence in schools in England: Autumn term 2021/22’ National Statistics release’s underlying data files. This data is released under the terms of the Open Government License (opens in new tab) and is intended to meet at least 3 stars for Open Data (opens in new tab).

The  absence methodology document should be referenced alongside this data. It provides information on the data sources, their coverage and quality as well as explaining methodology used in producing the data

Coverage

This release provides information on the levels of overall, authorised and unauthorised absence in:

  • state-funded primary schools
  • state-funded secondary schools
  • special schools

It includes information on:

  • reasons for absence
  • persistent absentees
  • separate absence information for pupil referral units (including alternative provision academies and free schools)

The information is based on pupil level absence data collected via the school census.

The underlying data files include national, regional and local authority absence information from autumn 2006 to autumn 2020 for England. School level absence data is included from autumn 2016 to autumn 2020. Termly absence data has been collected from special schools from autumn 2016 and appears in the underlying data from that point. Data from autumn 2006 to autumn 2015 cover primary and secondary schools only.

File formats and conventions

Rounding and Suppression

This dataset has not had suppression applied. Rates are presented to one decimal place in the report but are unrounded in the underlying data files

Conventions

The following convention is used throughout the underlying data. 

‘x’  Not available.

‘z’  Not applicable

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Contact us

If you have a specific enquiry about Pupil absence in schools in England: autumn term statistics and data:

Absence and exclusions statistics

Email: schools.statistics@education.gov.uk
Contact name: School census statistics team

Press office

If you have a media enquiry:

Telephone: 020 7783 8300

Public enquiries

If you have a general enquiry about the Department for Education (DfE) or education:

Phone: 0370 000 2288

Opening times

Monday to Friday from 9.30am to 5.30pm (closed on bank holidays)

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