Pupil attendance in schools
Pupil attendance and absence data including termly national statistics and fortnightly statistics in development derived from DfE’s regular attendance data
- Release type
- Produced by
- Department for Education
- Published
- Last updated
Background information
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 new tab) for each pupil on their registers during the morning and afternoon sessions.
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.
The figures are published as official statistics in development to give an indicative figure for the absence rate during the 2024/25 academic year, from the 09 September 2024. National level figures for the week commencing 02 September 2024 are included in underlying data of the first publication of the academic year. For the full 2023/24 academic year and termly pupil absence data, including by characteristics please see this historical publication.
The pupil attendance dashboard (opens in 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. Due to the timeliness of the data and that they are based on a subset of schools, 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 frequent Accredited Official Statistics on pupil absence (which include school level breakdowns). The Accredited Official Statistics are updated termly, with the latest data published published on 20 March 2025 relating to the 2023/24 academic year, including data on characteristics.
From the start of the 2024/25 academic year, it became mandatory for schools to share attendance data (opens in new tab) with the DfE. If you are a school that is not already sharing your daily attendance data, you need to approve this in your Wonde portal. This will also give you, your local authority and your multi-academy trust (if applicable) access to daily attendance reports (opens in new tab) to help identify pupils needing attendance support earlier.
Schools can use the ‘Compare your attendance (opens in new tab)’ dashboard to compare with other schools in the local authority. This has been updated to show data for this current academic year. Use it to compare absence and unauthorised absence for your school, as well as special educational needs and free school meals pupils.
Headline facts and figures
This release covers the 2024/25 academic year up to 23 May 2025. The week commencing 26 May 2025 has not been included as the majority of schools are expected to be off for summer half term.
The attendance rate (proportion of possible sessions attended) was 91.6% across all schools in the week commencing 19 May 2025. The absence rate was, therefore, 8.4% across all schools.
By school type, the absence rates across the week commencing 19 May 2025 were:
- 6.2% in state-funded primary schools (3.8% authorised and 2.4% unauthorised)
- 10.9% in state-funded secondary schools (6.8% authorised and 4.1% unauthorised)
- 14.0% in state-funded special schools (9.9% authorised and 4.1% unauthorised)
Absence was 0.9 percentage points lower across all schools in the week commencing 19 May 2025 than in the equivalent week in the last academic year (week commencing 20 May 2024), also the week before the summer half term. This has been driven by a 0.5 percentage point decrease in authorised absence and a 0.4 percentage point decrease in unauthorised absence.
The attendance rate across the 2024/25 academic year to date was 93.3%. The absence rate was, therefore, 6.7% across all schools. The rate of persistent absence (pupils who miss 10% or more of their possible sessions) was 18.2%, which is a 1.9 percentage point decrease compared to the equivalent point last academic year.
By school type, the absence rates across the 2024/25 academic year to date were:
- 5.2% in state-funded primary schools (3.8% authorised and 1.4% unauthorised)
- 8.4% in state-funded secondary schools (5.3% authorised and 3.1% unauthorised)
- 12.9% in state-funded special schools (9.6% authorised and 3.3% unauthorised)
Latest data - week commencing 19 May 2025
Access the Pupil attendance and absence in schools in England: data dashboard (opens in new tab) here.
The latest data relates to the week commencing 19 May 2025 and is available in the pupil attendance dashboard (opens in new tab). Data is collected on a daily basis and data for the interim weeks between publications is included in year-to-date figures and is available on a daily and weekly basis in the underlying data available on this page (see “Explore data and files”). The dashboard displays attendance and absence headline figures, and reasons for absence at national, regional and local authority geographic levels. Data is available across primary, secondary and special schools and can be broken down by individual school type.
The data shows that the attendance rate across the week for all schools was 91.6%, giving an overall absence rate of 8.4%. The absence rate varied across the week with a low of 7.0% on Tuesday, and a peak 10.9% on Friday. The peak in absence on a Friday is in line with weekly patterns seen during 2023/24 and in historical attendance data.
Users should be aware of the following:
- Response rate - Of schools participating in the School Census, 98% provided information on the latest full day of data (23 May 2025). Therefore national figures are estimates. Across school types this was: 98% of state-funded primary schools, 98% of state-funded secondary schools and 98% of state-funded special schools. The response rate may vary at certain points of the year due to different term dates. It also became mandatory for schools to share attendance data with the DfE from the start of the 2024/25 academic year, meaning the number of schools reporting may change over time.
- 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 have been weighted based on the Spring 2024 school census.
- Reporting lag - Schools update their registers continually and attendance codes change, resulting in absence rates for particular days to decrease over time. Analysis of data from the Summer 2022 term suggests that the absence rate could decrease around 1 percentage point before settling down. Historical figures from week 37 onwards will be recalculated in each publication.
From the start of the 2024/25 academic year, it became mandatory for schools to share attendance data (opens in new tab) with the DfE. If you are a school that is not already sharing your daily attendance data, you need to approve this in your Wonde portal. This will also give you, your local authority and your multi-academy trust (if applicable) access to daily attendance reports (opens in new tab) to help identify pupils needing attendance support earlier.
Spring term
Access the Pupil attendance and absence in schools in England: data dashboard (opens in new tab) here
Data for spring term 2024/25 relates to the period from 06 January and 11 April 2025.
The overall absence rate for the spring term 2024/25 was 6.9% and the persistent absence rate (pupils who miss 10% or more of their possible sessions) was 20.2%.
Absence was 6.8% in the first week of the spring term, it fell to 6.4% in the following week before increasing across the half term to 7.6% in the week commencing 10 February 2025, prior to the spring half term. After the half term, absence decreased to 6.3% and remained stable (around 6.0% - 6.6%) for the rest of the term before peaking in the final week of the spring term at 9.7%. The Monday of that week marked Eid al-Fitr celebrations where there were higher levels of absence due to authorised religious observances. The increase in absence between half term and the end of the spring term is also in line with patterns seen during 2023/24.
Authorised absence increased from 4.2% at the beginning of the spring term to 5.2% in the week before half term. It then fell to 4.1% in the week following half term before increasing across the term to 6.5% in the final week. These increases were mainly due to increases in illness absence, which was 4.0% in the week before half term and 3.5% in the final week of term - both up from the start of term when it was 3.0%. The peak in authorised absence in final week of term was also due to an increase in authorised religious observance around Eid al-Fitr, which was 1.7% in the week commencing 31 March 2025.
Unauthorised absence was 2.6% in the first week of the spring term, it then decreased to 2.0% where it remained fairly stable across the term. There were increases to 2.4% in the week prior to the half term and to 3.1% in the final week of term.
Free school meals (FSM)
The overall absence rate for pupils who are eligible for free school meals was 10.8% in the spring term. This compares to 5.5% for those pupils who were not eligible for free school meals.
33.2% of pupils who were eligible for free school meals were persistently absent in the spring term, compared to 15.3% of pupils who were not eligible.
Special educational needs (SEN)
The overall absence rate for pupils with an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan was 13.9% in the spring term. This compares to 10.8% for pupils with SEN support and 6.1% with no identified SEN.
35.7% of pupils with an EHC plan were persistently absent in the spring term, compared to 30.2% for pupils with SEN support and 18.1% for pupils with no identified SEN.
Sex
The overall absence rate during the spring term was 7.0% for female pupils and 6.9% for male pupils.
The persistent absence rate during the spring term was 20.4% for female pupils and 20.1% for male pupils.
Users should be aware of the following:
- Response rate - Of schools participating in the School Census, 98% provided information on the latest full day of data (23 May 2025). Therefore national figures are estimates. Across school types this was: 98% of state-funded primary schools, 98% of state-funded secondary schools and 98% of state-funded special schools. The response rate may vary at certain points of the year due to different term dates. It also became mandatory for schools to share attendance data with the DfE from the start of the 2024/25 academic year, meaning the number of schools reporting may change over time.
- 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 have been weighted based on the Spring 2024 school census.
- Reporting lag - Schools update their registers continually and attendance codes change, resulting in absence rates for particular days to decrease over time. Analysis of data from the Summer 2022 term suggests that the absence rate could decrease around 1 percentage point before settling down. Historical figures from week 37 onwards will be recalculated in each publication.
From the start of the 2024/25 academic year, it became mandatory for schools to share attendance data (opens in new tab) with the DfE. If you are a school that is not already sharing your daily attendance data, you need to approve this in your Wonde portal. This will also give you, your local authority and your multi-academy trust (if applicable) access to daily attendance reports (opens in new tab) to help identify pupils needing attendance support earlier.
Academic year to date
Access the Pupil attendance and absence in schools in England: data dashboard (opens in new tab) here.
Data for the academic year 2024/25 relates to the period from 09 September 2024 to 23 May 2025. Data from across the year to date is available in the pupil attendance dashboard (opens in new tab) and the data catalogue on this page (see “Explore data and files”).
Overall absence across the 2024/25 academic year to date was 6.7% and the rate of persistent absence (pupils who miss 10% or more of their possible sessions) was 18.2%.
Absence increased in the latter weeks of the autumn term and peaked at 9.4% in the final week (week commencing 16 December 2024), up from the start of the academic year when it was 4.7%. Absence fell to 6.4% in the second week of the spring term (week commencing 13 January 2025) and then peaked at 7.6% in the week commencing 10 February 2025, before the spring half term. It fell to 5.9% in the week commending 03 March 2025, but increased to 9.7% in the last week of the spring term, where the Monday of that week marked Eid al-Fitr celebrations. Absence decreased to 6.4% at the beginning of the summer term and has since increased to 8.4% in the latest week (week commencing 19 May 2025) , the week before the summer half term break.
The majority of the change in absence has been driven by illness absence, which reached a peak of 4.9% during the final week of the autumn term, up from 1.9% at the start of the term. At the beginning of the spring term, illness absence had fallen to 3.0% before rising to 4.1% in the week commencing 27 January 2025. It fell to 2.9% in the week commending 03 March 2025, but has since increased to 3.3% in the most recent week.
Unauthorised absence has remained fairly stable at around 2.0% across the autumn term, with peaks in the week immediately prior to half term when it was 2.4% and in the final week of the autumn term when it was 3.2%. It then fell and has remained around 2.0% for the majority of the spring term, increasing to 2.4% in the week prior to spring half term and 3.2% in the last week of the spring term for the majority of schools. Unauthorised absence was around 2.6% across the summer term to date, and in the most recent week, the week before the summer half term, unauthorised absence had increased to 3.2%.
Users should be aware of the following:
- Response rate - Of schools participating in the School Census, 98% provided information on the latest full day of data (23 May 2025). Therefore national figures are estimates. Across school types this was: 98% of state-funded primary schools, 98% of state-funded secondary schools and 98% of state-funded special schools. The response rate may vary at certain points of the year due to different term dates. It also became mandatory for schools to share attendance data with the DfE from the start of the 2024/25 academic year, meaning the number of schools reporting may change over time.
- 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 have been weighted based on the Spring 2024 school census.
- Reporting lag - Schools update their registers continually and attendance codes change, resulting in absence rates for particular days to decrease over time. Analysis of data from the Summer 2022 term suggests that the absence rate could decrease around 1 percentage point before settling down. Historical figures from week 37 onwards will be recalculated in each publication.
From the start of the 2024/25 academic year, it became mandatory for schools to share attendance data (opens in new tab) with the DfE. If you are a school that is not already sharing your daily attendance data, you need to approve this in your Wonde portal. This will also give you, your local authority and your multi-academy trust (if applicable) access to daily attendance reports (opens in new tab) to help identify pupils needing attendance support earlier.
Contact us
If you have a specific enquiry about Pupil attendance in schools statistics and data:
School Census Statistics Team
Email: schools.statistics@education.gov.ukContact name: School Census Statistics Team
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Telephone: 020 7783 8300
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