Week 37 2022

Pupil attendance in schools

Data guidance

Published 29 September 2022

Description

This data file provides figures related to the attendance of 5 to 15 year old (i.e. compulsory school age) pupils in state-funded primary, secondary and special schools in England.

These figures are derived from regular data automatically submitted to the Department for Education (DfE) by participating schools. The data is submitted on a daily basis and includes the attendance codes (opens in a new tab) for each pupil on their registers during the morning and afternoon sessions.

The figures are published as experimental official statistics to give an indicative figure for the absence rate during the 2022/23 academic year. A national level figure was published on 8 September 2022 and from 29 September 2022 the pupil attendance dashboard (opens in a new tab) will be updated fortnightly, providing aggregate metrics on overall absence and reasons for absence estimated at national, regional and local authority level only. These are intended to continue the series that was previously sourced from the daily Educational Settings Survey (EdSet). Due to the timeliness of the data and that they are based on a subset of schools, the figures are estimates that we expect to change as registers are adjusted. They should be viewed as an early indicator for the more detailed but less regular National Statistics on pupil absence (which will include school level breakdowns). The termly National Statistics will also be published on this page in May 2023 (Autumn term 2022/23), October 2023 (Autumn and Summer term 2022/23) and March 2024 (full year 2022/23). 

For further information see the ‘Methodology’ section.

Coverage

The figures relate to the attendance of 5 to 15 year old (i.e. compulsory school age) pupils in state-funded primary, secondary and special schools in England.

These figures are derived from regular data automatically submitted to the Department for Education (DfE) by participating schools. The data is submitted on a daily basis and includes the attendance codes (opens in a new tab) for each pupil on their registers during the morning and afternoon sessions.

As at 12 September 2022, 67% of schools have opted-in to submitting data, therefore national figures are estimates. Across school types this was:

• 68.6% of state-funded primary schools
• 63.1% of state-funded secondary schools
• 54.7% of state-funded special schools

Users should be aware of the following:

• Estimates for non-response - In recognition that response rates are not equal across school types and, therefore, not representative of the total school population, the total rates for all schools has been weighted based on the Spring 2022 school census. Weighted total figures are not included at local authority level due to the low number of schools involved.  
• Reporting lag - Schools update their registers continually and attendance codes change, resulting in absence rates for a particular day to decrease over time. Analysis of data from the Summer 2022 term suggests that this could be a decrease in the absence rate of around 1 percentage point before settling down. Historical figures will be recalculated in each publication.

The figures only consider pupils who were expected to attend on the day. For example, if a pupil was not expected to be in school due to an inset day, they are not included in the analysis.

File formats and conventions

Rounding

In recognition of the uncertainty around inset days, reporting lag and reduced response rate, rates for week commencing 5 September 2022 have been rounded to 0 decimal places. 

All other figures are unrounded.

Data files

All data files associated with this releases are listed below with guidance on their content. To download any of these files, please visit our data catalogue.

Pupil attendance during week commencing 5 September only - daily

• Filename: ees_week_commencing_05_sept_data.csv
• Geographic levels: National
• Time period: 2022 Week 36
• Content:

  Includes national level attendance and absence rates for week commencing 5 September 2022 for state-funded primary, secondary and special schools in England.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
absence_rate	Absence rate
attendance_date	Date
attendance_rate	Attendance rate
response_rate	Response rate
school_type	School Type - State-funded primary, secondary and special

Pupil attendance since week commencing 12 September - daily

• Filename: ees_daily_data.csv
• Geographic levels: Local authority; National; Regional
• Time period: 2022 Week 37
• Content:

  Daily local authority, regional and national attendance since 12 September 2022, including reasons for absence. Figures are provided for state-funded primary, secondary and special schools. Totals for all schools are also included that include estimates for non-response.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
appointments_perc	Authorised appointments absence rate
approved_educational_activity	Sessions marked as approved educational activity
attendance_date	Attendance Date
attendance_perc	Attendance rate
auth_excluded_perc	Authorised exclusions absence rate
auth_grt_perc	Authorised traveller absence rate
auth_holiday_perc	Authorised holiday rate
auth_other_perc	Authorised other absence rate
auth_religious_perc	Authorised religious observance absence rate
auth_study_perc	Authorised study leave absence rate
authorised_absence	Sessions marked as authorised absence
authorised_absence_perc	Authorised absence rate
covid_non_compulsory_perc	Authorised not attending due to covid circumstances rate
enrolments	Number of enrolments in schools reporting
illness_perc	Authorised illness absence rate
late_sessions	Sessions marked as late
num_schools	Number of schools reporting
overall_absence	Sessions marked as absence
overall_absence_perc	Overall absence rate
overall_attendance	Sessions marked at attending (including approved educational activity)
possible_sessions	Total possible sessions
present_sessions	Sessions marked as attending (including late before registers closed)
reason_b_aea_education_off_site	Sessions marked as approved education off site
reason_c_authorised_other	Sessions marked as authorised other
reason_d_aea_dual_registration	Sessions marked as dual registration
reason_e_authorised_excluded	Sessions marked as authorised excluded
reason_g_unauthorised_holiday	Sessions marked as unauthorised holiday
reason_h_authorised_holiday	Sessions marked as authorised holiday
reason_i_authorised_illness	Sessions marked as authorised illness
reason_j_aea_interview	Sessions marked as approved interview
reason_l_present_late_before_registers_closed	Sessions marked as late before registers closed
reason_m_authorised_medical_dental	Sessions marked as authorised medical or dental appointments
reason_n_no_reason_yet	Sessions marked as no reason yet
reason_o_other_unauthorised	Sessions marked as unauthorised other
reason_p_aea_approved_sporting_activity	Sessions marked as approved sporting activity
reason_present	Sessions marked as attending (excluding late before registers closed)
reason_present_am	Morning sessions
reason_present_pm	Afternoon sessions
reason_r_authorised_religious_observance	Sessions marked as authorised religious observance
reason_s_authorised_study_leave	Sessions marked as authorised study leave
reason_t_authorised_grt_absence	Sessions marked as authorised traveller absence
reason_u_unauthorised_late_after_registers_closed	Sessions marked as unauthorised late after registers closed
reason_v_aea_educational_visit_trip	Sessions marked as approved educational visit or trip
reason_w_aea_work_experience	Sessions marked as approved work experience
reason_x_not_attending_covid_non_compulsory	Sessions marked as not attending due to covid circumstances
school_type	School Type
total_enrolments	Total number of enrolments from GIAS
total_num_schools	Total number of schools from GIAS
unauth_hol_perc	Unauthorised holiday absence rate
unauth_late_registers_closed_perc	Unauthorised late absence rate
unauth_not_yet_perc	Unauthorised no reason yet absence rate
unauth_oth_perc	Unauthorised other absence rate
unauthorised_absence	Sessions marked as unauthorised absence
unauthorised_absence_perc	Unauthorised absence rate

Pupil attendance since week commencing 12 September - weekly

• Filename: ees_weekly_data.csv
• Geographic levels: Local authority; National; Regional
• Time period: 2022 Week 37
• Content:

  Weekly local authority, regional and national attendance since 12 September 2022, including reasons for absence. Figures are provided for state-funded primary, secondary and special schools. Totals for all schools are also included that include estimates for non-response.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
appointments_perc	Authorised appointments absence rate
approved_educational_activity	Sessions marked as approved educational activity
attendance_perc	Attendance rate
auth_excluded_perc	Authorised exclusions absence rate
auth_grt_perc	Authorised traveller absence rate
auth_holiday_perc	Authorised holiday rate
auth_other_perc	Authorised other absence rate
auth_religious_perc	Authorised religious observance absence rate
auth_study_perc	Authorised study leave absence rate
authorised_absence	Sessions marked as authorised absence
authorised_absence_perc	Authorised absence rate
covid_non_compulsory_perc	Authorised not attending due to covid circumstances rate
enrolments	Number of enrolments in schools reporting
illness_perc	Authorised illness absence rate
late_sessions	Sessions marked as late
num_schools	Number of schools reporting
overall_absence	Sessions marked as absence
overall_absence_perc	Overall absence rate
overall_attendance	Sessions marked at attending (including approved educational activity)
possible_sessions	Total possible sessions
present_sessions	Sessions marked as attending (including late before registers closed)
reason_b_aea_education_off_site	Sessions marked as approved education off site
reason_c_authorised_other	Sessions marked as authorised other
reason_d_aea_dual_registration	Sessions marked as dual registration
reason_e_authorised_excluded	Sessions marked as authorised excluded
reason_g_unauthorised_holiday	Sessions marked as unauthorised holiday
reason_h_authorised_holiday	Sessions marked as authorised holiday
reason_i_authorised_illness	Sessions marked as authorised illness
reason_j_aea_interview	Sessions marked as approved interview
reason_l_present_late_before_registers_closed	Sessions marked as late before registers closed
reason_m_authorised_medical_dental	Sessions marked as authorised medical or dental appointments
reason_n_no_reason_yet	Sessions marked as no reason yet
reason_o_other_unauthorised	Sessions marked as unauthorised other
reason_p_aea_approved_sporting_activity	Sessions marked as approved sporting activity
reason_present	Sessions marked as attending (excluding late before registers closed)
reason_present_am	Morning sessions
reason_present_pm	Afternoon sessions
reason_r_authorised_religious_observance	Sessions marked as authorised religious observance
reason_s_authorised_study_leave	Sessions marked as authorised study leave
reason_t_authorised_grt_absence	Sessions marked as authorised traveller absence
reason_u_unauthorised_late_after_registers_closed	Sessions marked as unauthorised late after registers closed
reason_v_aea_educational_visit_trip	Sessions marked as approved educational visit or trip
reason_w_aea_work_experience	Sessions marked as approved work experience
reason_x_not_attending_covid_non_compulsory	Sessions marked as not attending due to covid circumstances
school_type	School Type
total_enrolments	Total number of enrolments from GIAS
total_num_schools	Total number of schools from GIAS
unauth_hol_perc	Unauthorised holiday absence rate
unauth_late_registers_closed_perc	Unauthorised late absence rate
unauth_not_yet_perc	Unauthorised no reason yet absence rate
unauth_oth_perc	Unauthorised other absence rate
unauthorised_absence	Sessions marked as unauthorised absence
unauthorised_absence_perc	Unauthorised absence rate