Week 29 2025

Pupil attendance in schools

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Introduction

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.

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.

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. 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 on 07 August 2025 relating to the 2024/25 Autumn term, including data on characteristics.

From the start of the 2024/25 academic year, it became mandatory for schools to share attendance data (opens in a 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 a new tab) to help identify pupils needing attendance support earlier.

Schools can use the ‘Compare your attendance (opens in a 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 - 2025

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Latest data - week commencing 14 July 2025

Access the Pupil attendance and absence in schools in England: data dashboard (opens in a new tab) here.

The latest data relates to the week commencing 14 July 2025 and is available in the pupil attendance dashboard (opens in a 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 attendance rate (proportion of possible sessions attended) was 90.9% across all schools in the week commencing 14 July 2025. The absence rate was, therefore, 9.1% across all schools. The absence rate varied across the week with a low of 7.9% on Tuesday, and a peak of 11.6% on Friday. The peak in absence on a Friday is in line with weekly patterns seen during 2023/24 and in historical attendance data.

Absence was 1.2 percentage points lower across all schools in the week commencing 14 July 2025 than in the equivalent week in the last academic year (week commencing 15 July 2024). This has been driven by a 0.6 percentage point decrease in both authorised and unauthorised absence.

Users should be aware of the following:

  • Response rate - Of schools participating in the School Census, 96% provided information on the latest full day of data (18 July 2025). Therefore national figures are estimates. Across school types this was: 97% of state-funded primary schools, 95% of state-funded secondary schools and 96% 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 a 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 a new tab) to help identify pupils needing attendance support earlier.

Summer term 2024/25

Access the Pupil attendance and absence in schools in England: data dashboard (opens in a new tab) here

Data for summer term 2024/25 relates to the period from 22 April to 18 July 2025.

The overall absence rate for the summer term 2024/25 was 7.3%, a decrease of 0.4 percentage points compared to the previous summer term. This decrease in absence is equivalent to approximately 2.09 million more days in school compared to the 2023/24 summer term, assuming pupil numbers are equal across years. For further information on how these new estimates are calculated, see the 'Calculating days in school' section of the  Pupil attendance in schools methodology.

The persistent absence rate (pupils who miss 10% or more of their possible sessions) also decreased compared to the previous summer term, from 23.9% to 21.9%. 

Absence was 6.4% in the first week of the summer term and remained between 6.2% - 6.7% across the half term before increasing to 8.4% in the final week of the half term. In the week following half term, which marked Eid al-Adha celebrations, absence increased to 9.1%. Absence then fell to 6.5% in the following week and steadily increased across the final weeks of the summer term before peaking in the final week of the academic year at 9.1%. The increase in absence at the end of the summer term is in line with patterns seen during 2023/24.

Authorised absence was 3.7% at the beginning of the summer term and increased throughout the first half of term to 5.3% in the week before half term. Authorised absence increased to 6.0% in the week following half term and remained between 3.9% - 4.4% in the following weeks before increasing to 4.6% in the final week of the academic year.

Unauthorised absence was 2.7% in the first week of the summer term, it then decreased to 2.4% and remained fairly stable across the first half of the term before rising to 3.1% in the week before half term. Unauthorised absence further increased to 3.2% in the week following half term before falling to 2.6% in the week commencing 09 June 2025. Unauthorised absence then increased week-on-week before peaking in the final week of the academic year at 4.4%.

Free school meals (FSM)

The overall absence rate for pupils who are eligible for free school meals was 11.2% in the summer term. This compares to 5.7% for those pupils who were not eligible. This is an increase from 10.8% and 5.5% respectively in spring term.

34.4% of pupils who were eligible for free school meals were persistently absent in the summer term, compared to 17.0% of pupils who were not eligible. This is an increase from 33.2% and 15.3% respectively in spring term.

Special educational needs (SEN)

The overall absence rate for pupils with an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan was 14.4% in the summer term. This compares to 11.2% for pupils with SEN support and 6.4% with no identified SEN. The absence rate increased across all categories compared to spring term, when it was 13.9% for pupils with an EHC plan, 10.8% for pupils with SEN support and 6.1% for pupils with no identified SEN.

36.3% of pupils with an EHC plan were persistently absent in the summer term, compared to 31.6% for pupils with SEN support and 19.9% for pupils with no identified SEN. These figures represent an increase from the spring term, where the persistent absence rate was 35.7% for pupils with an EHC plan, 30.3% for pupils with SEN support and 18.1% for pupils with no identified SEN.

Sex

The overall absence rate during the summer term was 7.4% for female pupils and 7.1% for male pupils, up from the spring term where it was 7.0% for female pupils and 6.9% for male pupils. 

The persistent absence rate during the summer term was 22.4% for female pupils and 21.4% for male pupils, up from the spring term where it 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, 96% provided information on the latest full day of data (18 July 2025). Therefore national figures are estimates. Across school types this was: 97% of state-funded primary schools, 95% of state-funded secondary schools and 96% 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 a 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 a new tab) to help identify pupils needing attendance support earlier.

Academic year 2024/25

Access the Pupil attendance and absence in schools in England: data dashboard (opens in a new tab) here.

Data for the academic year 2024/25 relates to the period from 09 September 2024 to 18 July 2025. Data from across the year to date is available in the pupil attendance dashboard (opens in a new tab) and the data catalogue on this page (see “Explore data and files”).

Across the 2024/25 academic year, overall absence was 6.9% which is a 0.3 percentage point decrease compared to last academic year. This decrease in absence is equivalent to approximately 5.31 million more days in school compared to the 2023/24 academic year, assuming pupil numbers are equal across years. For further information on how these new estimates are calculated, see the 'Calculating days in school' section of the Pupil attendance in schools methodology.

The rate of persistent absence (pupils who miss 10% or more of their possible sessions) for the 2024/25 academic year was 18.7%. In the autumn term the rate of persistent absence was 19.1% which increased to 20.2% in the spring term and to 21.9% in the summer term.

Overall absence

Following the start of the academic year, absence gradually grew from 4.7% to 7.0% in the weeks before half term. Absence then fell to 5.9% in the week commencing 11 November 2024 before steadily increasing across the second half term to 7.8% in the week before half term and finally peaking at 9.4% in the final week of the autumn term. 

Absence fell in the first week of the spring term to 6.8%, and further in the second week to 6.4%. Following this, absence increased across the first half of the spring term to a peak of 7.6% in the week before half-term. Absence decreased to 6.2% following the spring half-term and remained around 6.5% in the weeks following, before rising to a yearly high of 9.6% in the final week of the spring term. This peak coincided with Eid al-Fitr celebrations where there were higher levels of authorised absence due to religious observances.

Following the Easter holiday, absence fell to 6.4% and remained around 6.5% for the majority of the half-term before increasing to 8.4% in the week before half-term. Absence further increased to 9.1% in the week following half-term, which marked Eid al-Adha celebrations. Absence decreased to 6.5% in the following week before steadily increasing across the second half term, peaking at 9.1% in the final week of the academic year. 

Illness absence

Illness absence accounted for the largest proportion of authorised absence across the academic year. Illness absence increased across the autumn term, from the lowest rate of the academic year of 1.9% in the first week of autumn term, to the highest of the academic year of 4.9% in the final week of the autumn term. Illness absence dropped to 3.0% in the first week of the spring term but then increased to around 4.0% for the rest of the half-term. Illness absence fell at the start of the second spring half-term to 3.0% and remained lower across this half term at around 3.3% before peaking at 3.5% in the final week of spring term. Across the summer term, illness absence was between 2.4% - 2.9%, apart from peaks in the week before half term of 3.3% and in the final week of the academic year of 3.2%.

Unauthorised absence 

Unauthorised absence was fairly stable around 2.0% across the autumn term, with peaks in the week immediately prior to half term of 2.4% and in the final week of term of 3.2%. Unauthorised absence remained high in the first week of the spring term at 2.6% before falling to 2.0% in the following week. Unauthorised absence remained around 2.0% for the majority of the spring term, apart from peaks of 2.4% in the week before half term and 3.1% in the final week of spring term. Compared to the other terms, unauthorised absence was generally higher across the summer term with rates varying between 2.2% - 3.1% across the term with peaks of 3.1% in the week before half term and 4.4% in the final week of the academic year. 

Free school meals (FSM) 

The overall absence rate for pupils who are eligible for free school meals was 10.6% in the 2024/25 academic year. This compares to 5.4% for those pupils who were not eligible for free school meals. 

33.0% of pupils who were eligible for free school meals were persistently absent in the 2024/25 academic year, compared to 13.4% of pupils who were not eligible.

These rates have decreased compared to 2023/24 equivalent statistics.

Special educational needs (SEN)  

The overall absence rate for pupils with an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan was 13.7% in the 2024/25 academic year. This compares to 10.6% for pupils with SEN support and 6.0% with no identified SEN.

36.9% of pupils with an EHC plan were persistently absent in the 2024/25 academic year, compared to 29.9% for pupils with SEN support and 16.5% for pupils with no identified SEN. 

Overall absence rates for pupils with an EHC plan have increased, whereas the rate has decreased for pupils with SEN support and no identified SEN and rates of persistent absence in all groups have decreased compared to 2023/24 equivalent statistics.

Sex

The overall absence rate during the 2024/25 academic year was 6.9% for female pupils and 6.8% for male pupils. The persistent absence rate was 19.0% for female pupils and 18.4% for male pupils.

These rates have decreased compared to 2023/24 equivalent statistics.

Users should be aware of the following:

  • Response rate - Of schools participating in the School Census, 96% provided information on the latest full day of data (18 July 2025). Therefore national figures are estimates. Across school types this was: 97% of state-funded primary schools, 95% of state-funded secondary schools and 96% 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 a 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 a new tab) to help identify pupils needing attendance support earlier.

Help and support

Methodology

Find out how and why we collect, process and publish these statistics.

Official statistics in development

These statistics are undergoing a development. They have been developed under the guidance of the Head of Profession for Statistics and published to involve users and stakeholders at an early stage in assessing their suitability and quality.

They have been produced as far as possible in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics.

This can be broadly interpreted to mean that these statistics are:

  • managed impartially and objectively in the public interest
  • meet identified user needs
  • produced according to sound methods
  • well explained and readily accessible

Find out more about the standards we follow to produce these statistics through our Standards for official statistics published by DfE guidance.

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.uk
Contact name: School Census Statistics Team

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If you have a media enquiry:

Telephone: 020 7783 8300

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

Telephone: 037 0000 2288

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