Details of the data requested and how it is collected is available at the Coronavirus (COVID-19): attendance recording for educational settings webpage. The following education settings were asked to complete the form:
- academies (including free schools and studio schools)
- local authority maintained schools
- local authority nursery schools (no longer required to submit data from 12 October)
- independent schools
- non-maintained special schools
- alternative provision
- university technical colleges
- FE colleges and sixth form colleges
- special post-16 institutions or specialist colleges
Validation of submitted data
There are some automatic validations on the data submitted by settings, some of which prevent submission and others that advise the respondent to check their submission.
Checks are carried out to ensure that no setting is double counted - if they submit data more than once per day the latest submission is used.
Manual checks are applied to the data during data processing and comparisons are made to other reported data. Outcomes from these checks are used to develop the validation rules within the data collection.
Data sources
The education settings survey asks schools to provide the number of pupils on roll for use in attendance calculations. For non-responding settings, the total number of pupils on roll on the spring census in the 2019/20 academic year is used.
Data is linked to Get Information About Schools (GIAS) to match in further information about phase and school type.
The following school types from GIAS are included in figures for state-funded schools:
- Local authority maintained schools (Community schools, Foundation schools, Voluntary controlled schools, Voluntary aided school)
- Academies and free schools and sixth form colleges (Converter academies, Sponsor led academies, Free schools, Academy 16 to 19 sponsor led, Free schools 16 to 19, Academy 16-19 converter, Studio schools, University technical colleges)
- Special schools (Community special schools, Foundation special schools, Non-maintained special schools, Special converter academies, Special sponsor led academies, Special free schools)
- Alternative provision (Pupil referral units, Converter academy alternative provision, Sponsor led academy alternative provision, Free school alternative provision)
- City technology colleges
Figures for special post-16 institutions, further education colleges and independent schools are included separately in the ‘Open status and attendance by school or college type’ section of the publication. Figures for local authority nursery schools are not included, as these settings are included in estimates from the local authority early years survey.
We regularly update our GIAS cuts to reflect the live nature of the data. A breakdown of the cuts in relation to the reporting dates can be seen below:
| GIAS cut | Dates reporting |
| 25 August 2020 | 1 September - 10 September |
| 11 September 2020 | 11 September - 23 September |
| 24 September 2020 | 24 September - 11 October |
| 12 October 2020 | 12 October - 1 November |
| 02 November 2020 | 2 November - 3 January |
| 04 January 2021 | 4 January - 2 March |
| 03 March 2021 | 3 March - Present |
Response rate
The response rate has typically been above 70% among state-funded schools.
Since the response rate is not 100%, we estimate the situation in settings who have not responded in order to get a full national picture (a ‘grossing methodology’) for most national-level measures. This methodology is set out below. Note that local authority level data is not adjusted for non-response.
Figures prior to 12 October 2020 relate to data as at 4pm on each day. From Monday 12 October, figures are given as of midnight for completeness. This does not impact comparability, negligible changes to the estimates were seen between 4pm and midnight.
Non-response adjustment methodology
Given that the response rate from educational providers is not 100%, attendance figures have been adjusted to account for schools and colleges that did not respond to the survey, to create a full national picture. This is known as the grossing methodology. The methodology has been updated and adjusted as and when further information from non-responding settings has become available or when the educational settings survey changed. A summary of these changes is detailed in Table 1.
The methodology used from 11 January assumes that state-funded schools that did not respond were no more likely to be closed to vulnerable children and critical worker children or have lower attendance than non-responding schools. The same methodology has been used for data from schools reopening on 8 March 2021.
This follows analysis of response patterns and data collected from a sample of non-responding schools to identify any closed schools. A sample of 165 state-funded schools that had not responded on 11 and 12 January was taken, and school websites checked for information about their open status. This found that up to 10% of non-responding state-funded primary schools and state-funded special schools were closed, compared to less than 1% and around 1% of responding schools, respectively. Adjusting for this would reduce open rates for these school types by up to 1 percentage points but would have a negligible impact on attendance rates (less than 0.5%), given high response rates (over 80%) and relatively low attendance rates. Therefore, no adjustments have been made at this time, but we will continue to review the non-response methodology. Figures for state-funded schools have been weighted to take account of differences in response rate between different school types.
Response rates for independent schools are lower than other settings (less than 60%) and, following review of a sample of non-responding independent schools, we found non-responding independent schools were more likely to be closed than responders. Figures for independent schools have not been adjusted to account for this response bias and are presented based on responding schools only.
Table 1. A description of changes to the non-response methodology from 23 March 2020 to present
| Time period | Summary and changes to non-response adjustment methodology |
| 23 to 27 March 2020 | Assume all non-responding providers were as likely to be open as those that did respond. |
| 29 March to 29 May | Following analysis of a full week of returns, the following was devised on open rates:
Attendance rates were calculated using the 2019/20 census:
Adjusting the 50% open assumption in non-responding settings by ±10% changed open rate estimates by approximately 1% and has negligible impact on low attendance rates. Adjusting the open assumptions by ±10% for each phase changed the estimated open rates by 0 to 3 percentage points, with independent schools most impacted. Again, the effect on estimated attendance rate was negligible. The main difference this methodology change made was to better understand the proportion of settings that were open. We also improved the denominator used for further education colleges, which was the main driver for the decrease in attendance rate. |
| 1 June to end of 2019/20 academic year | Settings were reopened to children of critical workers, vulnerable children and where appropriate, those from wider years (nursery, reception, year 1 and/or year 6). From 15th June, this also included year 10 and/or year 12. A method to distinguish between those open to wider years or not was required. For responding settings:
For non-responding settings that had responded since 1 June:
For settings that had never responded:
Attendance rates were calculated using the 2019/20 census returns to calculate a proportion of pupils on roll in the same manner as March to May. The assumptions were checked on a random sample of 125 non-responding settings, stratified by school type and region. 51 of these settings were contacted by phone on 4 June and information on a further 50 obtained from the school websites. From 15 June, 60 settings with years 10 and 12 were researched via school websites. From 22 June, adjusted proportions were based on the school websites of 100 settings. Checks were carried out by adjusting all assumptions by ±10%, which changed estimates to open settings by around 3% and had negligible impact on the attendance rates (<0.5%). |
| 2020/21 academic year | Final estimates on open and attendance rates were obtained via triangulation between data collected in the educational settings survey and regular calls between the DfE and all local authorities, cross-referenced with the collected data. A sample of 200 state-funded schools who had never responded to the survey since 1 September (as of midnight on 8 September) was taken. Direct contact was made with 166 of these and the rest were researched from school websites, social media pages and media reports.
As such, non-responding settings were assumed no more likely to be closed, partially open or have lower attendance than responding schools. Grossed estimates are obtained by calculating attendance rates in responding settings using the submitted numbers on roll and applying this to non-responding settings using the 2019/20 spring census. Attendance estimates for children with EHCPs, a social worker, or those eligible for free school meals, are calculated by assuming that the same proportion of pupils on roll in non-responding settings have an EHCP, social worker or are eligible for FSM as in responding settings. The attendance rate in responding settings for these groups of pupils are then applied to this estimated number on roll. We remove these for independent schools due to data quality issues from a low response rate. A non-response methodology has also been applied to further education colleges, described in more detail in the section below. |
Non-response adjustments for further education colleges
A grossing methodology has also been applied to attendance data for further education colleges, back-dated to 11 January 2021. The main premise of the methodology remains unchanged to that applied to state-funded schools, by assuming the same open and attendance rates apply for both responding and non-responding settings. The difference is that the number of students enrolled at a further education provider does not indicate the number of pupils expected to attend each day, given variability in programme delivery, the presence of part time learners and attendance not being mandatory from the age of 19.
Given that there is no definitive figure for the number of students on roll each day, non-response adjustments use an average of the daily expected to attend figures across a two-week period in the autumn term 2020/21. This was a period when attendance figures were highest in the autumn term and there was a high response rate. From this, a daily ‘expected to attend’ figure was obtained for each provider, from which we could calculate an attendance rate. There are two providers who did not respond to the survey during the period and do not have ‘expected to attend’ figures. These colleges are estimated to account for less than 2% of the further education population and are removed from the grossed attendance figures.
Data sharing
Data from the Education Settings Survey are shared across national and local government on a restricted basis for operational purposes. This enables government to monitor the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) and effectively target support. Occasionally unpublished data shared in this way has entered the public domain.
Changes to the education settings survey
Schools are encouraged to complete the education settings survey daily. A summary of the changes that have occurred to this form throughout the coronavirus pandemic are included in Table 2.
Table 2. A summary of changes to the educational setting form
| Survey dates | Description of changes |
| 1 September - 9 October 2020 | Schools and colleges were asked to report as ‘fully open’ or ‘not fully open’ to identify those schools affected by COVID-19. Schools were ‘not fully open’ if:
Only those reporting as ‘not fully open’ due to ‘suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19’ were asked to report how many pupils had a confirmed or suspected case, or had been requested to remain at home due to potential contact with a case |
| 12 October - 17 December | All responding schools are colleges were asked to report pupils in the following categories:
The number and proportion of schools that have requested 1 or more pupils to remain at home due to a potential contact with a case of COVID-19 inside their educational setting is now reported. This is not comparable to the previous data on schools that were reported as ‘not fully open’, which intended to capture schools with a ‘group’ of such pupils. The data is not comparable with that prior to this date as the questions in the survey fundamentally changed. All schools and colleges were asked to report on pupils self-isolating whereas this was previously a subset. This simplified the questions and improved their reliability to report on the number of confirmed and suspected cases amongst pupils. Further additions included questions on workforce absence and attendance, explained in the workforce section of this methodology. |
| 11 January to 5 March | The survey changed to reflect the national lockdown to include:
|
| 8 March 2021 - present | The survey changed to reflect the full re-opening of schools, broadly aligning to that collected between 12 October and 17 December. In the first week back schools were also asked how many pupils were absent due to phased returns. |
Comparability of attendance estimates and typical absence rates
The overall absence rate in state-funded primary, secondary and special schools in England in the 2018/19 academic year was 4.7%. There are some differences in the calculation of this figure and our attendance estimates that affect comparability. These differences all depress our attendance estimates when compared to the 2018/19 absence rate.
2018/19 overall absence rates include pupils aged 5-15 in state-funded primary, secondary and special schools.
The following groups are included in our attendance estimates from 9 September, but excluded from the 2018/19 absence rate:
- Children in school-based nurseries, for whom attendance is not mandatory and many attend part-time (excluded from 12 October)
- Children in state-funded alternative provision, for whom the absence rate is typically much higher than average
- 4 year-olds on roll in state-funded schools, for whom the absence rate is typically slightly higher than average
- 16 to 18 year-olds on roll in state-funded schools, for whom the absence rate is likely to be slightly higher than average
We compared attendance in primary schools with and without nurseries, which suggested excluding children in school-based nurseries could increase our attendance estimate for state-funded schools by up to 1.5 percentage points. From 12 October 2020, schools were asked to exclude nursery children from their submission. A corresponding decrease was observed in submitted number on roll in schools with nurseries. We estimate the other remaining differences depress our estimates by less than 0.5 percentage points.
COVID-19 related pupil absence
From 12 October, the education settings survey changed and some metrics were discontinued. The changes were made to give more comprehensive data about how many pupils are self-isolating for different reasons. There are no comparable figures to these from weeks prior to 12 October 2020.
This data is as reported directly by schools via DfE's daily education settings survey. It is not the primary source of data on infection, incidence and COVID-19 cases overall. Further detail can be found within the coronavirus in the UK dashboard, national COVID-19 surveillance reports and coronavirus infection survey pilot statistics.
Where COVID-19 related pupil absence categories are combined - for example to report the total proportion of pupils absent due to COVID-19 or, the proportion self-isolating that are not a confirmed/suspected case - the proportion is reported as a range to account for possible double counting. Numbers of pupils are presented as ‘up to’ the upper bound of the range. Settings are asked not to count pupils in multiple categories, however analysis of responses found some evidence of double counting.
The range is calculated as such:
- Minimum assumes maximum double counting by taking the largest figure from across each of the categories
- Maximum assumes no double counting by taking the sum of all categories
Some examples are provided below.
| Confirmed case of COVID-19 | Suspected case of COVID-19 | Self-isolating - potential contact inside | Self-isolating - potential contact outside | Minimum total COVID-19 related absence | Maximum total COVID-19 related absence | |
| School 1 | 1 | 3 | 26 | 0 | 26 | 30 |
| School 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 7 |
| School 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Absence rates for state-funded secondary schools and colleges and state-funded special schools for week commencing 8 March 2021
From 8 March 2021, all primary and secondary pupils were expected to attend their educational settings. For secondary pupils, most schools underwent a phased return of pupils where consenting pupils could return to face-to-face education following a negative lateral flow test, and non-consenting pupils returning in line with their year group. Consequently, schools were able to report the number absent due to a phased return in the survey returns for this week. This is reported in this publication.
Pupils at secondary schools and colleges have had access to rapid lateral flow testing from 11 January. From 8 March 2021, schools were asked to arrange for all consenting pupils to be tested three times on-site before moving to a home-testing model. Rates of confirmed cases and self-isolation among pupils may be impacted by levels of testing.
Attendance of vulnerable children during the COVID-19 outbreak
Attendance of vulnerable children and young people was prioritised between March 2020 and the end of the summer term, when attendance was limited for other pupils to reduce transmission of coronavirus (COVID-19).
Before 1 June 2020, settings were asked to report the number of vulnerable children attending. Settings were also asked to provide separate figures for the number of pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and those with a social worker attending.
Some schools provided a count of critical workers with either EHCPs or a social worker but did not include these in their respective counts for vulnerable children. Therefore, the estimate of the number of vulnerable children may be an undercount. The data suggests the effect of this is c5%.
The proportion of vulnerable children in attendance was based on an estimate of the total number of pupils who either have an EHCP or are classed as Children in Need, derived from the Children in Need and School Censuses. Settings would have included children classified as ‘otherwise vulnerable’ in their count of vulnerable children. As these children were not represented in the denominator from our definition of vulnerable children, the proportion of vulnerable children would have been an undercount.
From 1 June 2020 onwards, the total number of vulnerable children attending was no longer collected. Settings were asked to provide a count of the number of children of critical workers, with an EHCP, with a social worker and otherwise vulnerable attending.
From 16 June 2020, the proportion of children in attendance with an EHCP or a social worker was reported alongside the number of children classified as ‘otherwise vulnerable’ in attendance. This calculation was backdated to 23 March 2020 and published in the accompanying data tables.
In the 2020/21 autumn term, all pupils, in all year groups, were expected to return to school full-time. Provision for vulnerable children and their attendance continued to be monitored. Schools were asked to report the number of pupils with an EHCP and the number with a social worker on roll and in attendance each day.
Ahead of the start of the 2020/21 spring term, the Government asked schools to make the following arrangements for week commencing 4 January:
- Primary schools to provide on-site education to all pupils from their first day of term, except those in areas where contingency framework guidance applied. In areas affected by the framework, primary schools were asked to provide on-site education for vulnerable children and children of critical workers only.
- Secondary schools to provide on-site education to vulnerable children and children of critical workers only in week commencing 4 January.
- Special schools to provide on-site education for all pupils, however they were given flexibility to phase return of pupils.
- Alternative provision to provide on-site education for all pupils.
On 4 January, the Government asked schools to provide on-site education for vulnerable children and children of critical workers only from 5 January. Settings were not required to complete the educational settings survey between 5-8 January while it was changed to reflect these new arrangements. The survey reopened on Monday 11 January.
From 8 March 2021, all children were again expected to attend school. Provision for vulnerable children continues to be monitored and schools continue to be asked to report the number of pupils with an EHCP and the number with a social worker on roll and in attendance each day.
Otherwise vulnerable children
Following the Prime Minister’s announcement on 4 January 2021, only children of critical workers and vulnerable children and young people should attend school or college. Vulnerable children who have a social worker, an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP), or who education providers or local authorities identify as otherwise vulnerable could attend.
Examples of why a child may be identified as otherwise vulnerable include:
- those living in temporary accommodation
- those who are young carers
- those who may have difficulty engaging with remote education at home (for example, due to a lack of devices or quiet space to study)
The full list of examples can be found in the following document: Guidance- children of critical workers and vulnerable children who can access schools or educational settings.
Through the Education Settings Form, as well as collecting data on the total number of children in attendance, we also collected attendance data for the following groups:
- Children of critical workers (settings were asked to not include children in this category who were also a vulnerable child)
- Children who have an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP)
- Children who have a social worker
Some children had both an EHCP and a social worker. Based on published statistics about the number of Children in Need, we assumed that 21.6% of children with a social worker also had an EHCP. To calculate the number of children in attendance who have a social worker and/or an EHCP we used the following calculation:
Total children with an EHCP and/or a social worker in attendance = (Number of children with an EHCP in attendance + Number of children with social worker in attendance) - (0.126 * Number of children with a social worker in attendance)
Using this, we could calculate how many otherwise vulnerable children were in attendance:
Number of otherwise vulnerable children attending = total children attending – children of critical workers attending - total children with an EHCP and/or a social worker attending
The number of children who were otherwise vulnerable was an estimate and, as such, was not equivalent in quality to other attendance figures. Virtually all children on roll at a special school have an EHCP, so we did not apply the calculation to this phase. We excluded state-funded special schools from the state-funded total for this measure.
Although schools were told not to count a child in the critical worker category if they were also vulnerable, there were instances when this occurred and some pupils were double-counted. This reduced the accuracy of the ‘otherwise vulnerable’ measure.
This measure was discontinued from 8 March, when schools were asked to open again to all pupils.
Data for children of critical workers
In the 2019/2020 spring and summer term, the attendance of children of critical workers was prioritised. Schools were asked to provide a count of the number of children of critical workers attending.
The proportion of children of critical workers in attendance is based on an estimate of the number of pupils who have a critical worker parent derived from the Labour Force Survey.
The number of children of critical workers in attendance may have been under-reported from 1 June. This is because some settings may not be counting all children of critical workers who were attending in nursery, reception, or years 1, 6, 10 and 12.
From 4 January to 5 March, schools were again asked to open only to vulnerable children and critical worker children. Schools were asked to provide a count of the number of children of critical workers that requested a place and the number attending.
Autumn 2020/21 half term and Spring 2020/21 Easter break
Data between 19 to 23 October 2020, for 2 November 2020 and 29 March to 1 April 2021 are included in a separate underlying data file 1a.
This file can be downloaded from the associated files section of EES. The data for these dates are in a separate file as some local authorities were on holiday on these dates, so data is not comparable with previous dates.
Adjustments to methodology for figures between 19 to 23 October 2020, 2 November and 29 March to 1 April 2021
Between 19 and 23 October 2020, schools in the following local authorities were expected to be on half term for some or all of that week: Leicester, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Rutland, Warrington, West Berkshire, Swindon, Wiltshire and Norfolk.
On 2 November 2020, Bedford and Isles of Scilly were expected to still be on half term.
Between 29 March and 1 April 2021, schools in the following local authorities were expected to be on Easter break for some or all of that week: Barnsley, Bedford, Blackburn with Darwen, Bradford, Cambridgeshire, Central Bedfordshire, Darlington, Doncaster, Durham, East Riding of Yorkshire, Essex, Hartlepool, Isle of Wight, City of Kingston upon Hull, Kirklees, Knowsley, Lancashire, Leicester, Leicestershire, Liverpool, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Norfolk, North Tyneside, North Yorkshire, Northamptonshire, Northumberland, Oxfordshire, Peterborough, Redcar and Cleveland, Rotherham, Sefton, Southend-on-Sea, Stockport, Suffolk, Sunderland, Thurrock, Tower Hamlets, Wakefield, Wirral, York.
Some schools in other local authorities were also on half term/Easter break or had inset days during these periods. Academies are not required to follow local authority term dates and schools can set their own inset days.
For other dates, our estimates are adjusted for non-response to provide estimates for 100% of schools. To provide the clearest picture of attendance in schools that would normally be open, figures for dates affected by October half term or Easter break were adjusted for non-response to provide estimates for all schools that were not on holiday. This means our estimates were not directly comparable to previous weeks, which are nationally representative.
Table 1 sets out the proportion of schools included in our estimates each day. Term dates are not held for individual schools, so this was estimated based on local authority term dates.
Table 1: Proportion of state-funded schools not on holiday on each day included in estimates. Proportions are given to the nearest percentage point, except where the proportion is over 99%,
| Date | Proportion of schools included in estimates |
| 19 October 2020 | 95% |
| 20 October 2020 | 95% |
| 21 October 2020 | 95% |
| 22 October 2020 | 92% |
| 23 October 2020 | 90% |
| 2 November 2020 | 99.7% |
| 29 March 2021 | 68% |
| 30 March 2021 | 68% |
| 31 March 2021 | 68% |
| 1 April 2021 | 55% |
Grossing methodology for estimates during holiday periods
To reduce burden of data collection, schools were not required to respond to the survey during school holidays. Schools that did not respond in local authorities that were expected to be on holiday each day were not included in our grossed estimates for these time periods.
Some schools on half term or Easter break did respond and reported as ‘Closed for non-COVID related reasons’. All schools in this category were excluded from our estimates. This means a small number of schools (typically less than 10) that were closed for non-COVID related reasons, but were not on holiday, will also have been excluded.
All schools that reported INSET days were also excluded from these estimates and considered on half term. This is a change from our usual reporting – schools on INSET days are normally included in our open status estimates (counted as ‘Open’) and included in our attendance estimates (counted as having no pupils attending). Typically, a very small number of schools (less than 10) report INSET days between Mondays and Thursdays.
Ensuring estimates are comparable on Thursday 22 October to previous weeks
While figures between 19 to 23 October and 2 November were not directly comparable to previous weeks, we analysed the returns and reported whether changes in headline measures on Thursday 22 October compared with Thursday 15 October did broadly reflect a national-level change or were due to schools on half term in certain areas being excluded.
We looked at attendance in state-funded schools that responded on both 15 and 22 October and did not report an INSET day or closure for non-COVID-19 related reasons on either day. This analysis captures 64% of all state-funded schools. The table below shows that grossed estimates (excluding INSET days) of attendance, absence and open status rates for 15 October were very similar to the rates for this group of responding schools on the same day. Similar changes between 15 and 22 October were seen both nationally and among this group of schools, suggesting that changes in these rates broadly reflected a national-level increase unrelated to half term. The increase in COVID-related absence (approximately 2 percentage points) accounted for approximately two-thirds of the overall increase in absence between 15 and 22 October (approximately 3 percentage points).
| 15/10 - grossed all schools excluding inset days | 22/10 - grossed all schools without inset days or half term | 15/10 - responded both days excluding inset days and non-COVID closures | 22/10 - responded both days excluding inset days and non-COVID closures | |
| Attendance in state-funded schools (%) | 89.4 | 86.2 | 89.5 | 86.5 |
| Attendance in state-funded primaries (%) | 92.0 | 89.6 | 92.0 | 89.7 |
| Attendance in state-funded secondaries (%) | 86.5 | 82.4 | 86.7 | 82.7 |
| Confirmed COVID cases (%) | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Suspected COVID cases (%) | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Self-isolating (%) | 4.3 | 6 | 4.3 | 5.9 |
| All COVID absence (%) | 4.9 | 6.5 | 4.9 | 6.4 |
| Open state-funded schools (%) | 99.7 | 99.3 | 99.7 | 99.3 |
| Closed state-funded schools (%) | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.7 |
| Schools sent 1 or more pupils to self-isolate (%) | 21 | 26 | 21 | 25 |
Local authority level data
Available data at local authority level
Data is available for each Thursday from 10 September 2020 to 1 April 2021 in underlying data table 1c. Data for some Wednesdays is also provided where this was used for the national commentary, for example when weather affected open rates.
Local authority level data is updated on a half-termly basis.
Note that:
- some schools were on half term on Thursday 20 October 2020
- most schools were on half term on Thursday 29 October 2020
- some schools were on Christmas break on Thursday 17 December 2020
- some schools were on Easter break on Wednesday 31 March and Thursday 1 April 2021
2020/21 Autumn term data
The following measures can be found in the underlying data at local authority level for all state-funded schools and broken down by primary, secondary and special schools:
- Number and proportion of schools that were open
- Number and proportion of schools that asked one or more pupils to self-isolate due to suspected contact with a case of coronavirus (COVID-19) inside the school - from 12 October
- Number and proportion of all pupils on roll in attendance
- Number and proportion of pupils on roll with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) in attendance
- Number and proportion of pupils on roll with a social worker in attendance
- Number and proportion of pupils absent with a confirmed case of coronavirus (COVID-19) - from 12 October
- Number and proportion of pupils absent with a suspected case of coronavirus (COVID-19) - from 12 October
- Number and proportion of pupils absent because of self-isolation due to suspected contact with a case of coronavirus (COVID-19) - from 12 October
- Number and proportion of pupils absent because their school is closed due to coronavirus (COVID-19) - from 12 October
- Number and proportion of teachers and school leaders/ teaching assistants and support staff absent due to a suspected case of coronavirus (COVID-19) - from 12 October
- Number and proportion of teachers and school leaders/ teaching assistants and support staff absent due to a confirmed case of coronavirus (COVID-19) - from 12 October
- Number and proportion of teachers and school leaders/ teaching assistants and support staff absent due to suspected contact with a case of coronavirus (COVID-19) inside the school setting - from 12 October
- Number and proportion of teachers and school leaders/ teaching assistants and support staff absent due to suspected contact with a case of coronavirus (COVID-19) outside the school setting - from 12 October
From 12 October, the education settings survey changed and therefore some measures that used to be presented were discontinued. Measures relating to fully open schools are also available in the underlying data prior to 12 October.
The number and proportion of i) pupils absent because of self-isolation due to suspected contact with a case of coronavirus and ii) pupils reported absent for COVID-19 related reasons are presented as a range with an upper and lower bound.
2020/21 Spring term data
The following measures can be found in the underlying data at local authority level for all state-funded schools and broken down by primary, secondary and special schools:
For all dates
- Number and proportion of schools that were open
- Number and proportion of all pupils on roll in attendance
- Number and proportion of pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) in attendance
- Number and proportion of pupils with a social worker in attendance
Up to 11 February
- Number and proportion of teachers and school leaders/ teaching assistants and support staff working on-site
- Number and proportion of teachers and school leaders/ teaching assistants and support staff unable to teach on-site or remotely due to a suspected case of coronavirus (COVID-19)
- Number and proportion of teachers and school leaders/ teaching assistants and support staff unable to teach on-site or remotely due to a confirmed case of coronavirus (COVID-19)
- Number and proportion of teachers and school leaders/ teaching assistants and support staff unable to teach on-site or remotely due to suspected contact with a case of coronavirus (COVID-19) inside the school setting
- Number and proportion of teachers and school leaders/ teaching assistants and support staff unable to teach on-site or remotely due to suspected contact with a case of coronavirus (COVID-19) outside the school setting
From 8 March, following wider opening of schools
- Number and proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals with a social worker in attendance
- Number and proportion of pupils absent with a confirmed case of coronavirus (COVID-19)
- Number and proportion of pupils absent with a suspected case of coronavirus (COVID-19)
- Number and proportion of pupils absent because of self-isolation due to suspected contact with a case of coronavirus (COVID-19)
- Number and proportion of pupils absent because their school is closed due to coronavirus (COVID-19)
- Total number and proportion of pupils reported absent for COVID-19 related reasons
- Number and proportion of teachers and school leaders/ teaching assistants and support staff absent due to a suspected case of coronavirus (COVID-19)
- Number and proportion of teachers and school leaders/ teaching assistants and support staff absent due to a confirmed case of coronavirus (COVID-19)
- Number and proportion of teachers and school leaders/ teaching assistants and support staff absent due to suspected contact with a case of coronavirus (COVID-19) inside the school setting
- Number and proportion of teachers and school leaders/ teaching assistants and support staff absent due to suspected contact with a case of coronavirus (COVID-19) outside the school setting
- Total number and proportion of teachers and school leaders/ teaching assistants and support staff absent due to COVID-19 related reasons
From 11 January, the education settings survey changed to reflect that schools were asked to open only for children of critical workers and vulnerable children. From 8 March, the survey changed again to reflect the wider opening of schools. Therefore, some measures were discontinued.
Interpretation of local authority level data
Local authority level data is based on responding schools only.
- Unlike national level data, no adjustments are made for non-response.
- Response rates vary by local authority and by school phase or type within local authorities. Different schools within a local authority may respond on different days. Care should therefore be taken when comparing local authorities and when interpreting trends over time because differences could be due to response bias - where responding schools are not representative of all schools - and/or different schools being included in the data.
- Where there are differences in response rates between school phase or type, such as a higher response rate in primary schools than secondary schools, data by school phase or type is likely to be more reliable than overall data for all state-funded schools.
- Percentages will be more robust than overall numbers of schools or children as these have not been scaled up.
- Local authorities with response rates 50% or lower are flagged as such in the underlying data.
Some data is based on fewer schools than others, making it more sensitive to change.
- The number of state-funded schools varies considerably by local authority: from 22 in Rutland to over 600 in Lancashire, excluding City of London and Isles of Scilly which have one each. Data based on a small numbers of schools, particularly when comparing over time, can be more variable.
- Data based on one school has been suppressed and data based on 10 or fewer schools are flagged as such in the underlying data.
Typically, attendance is higher in some local authorities than others.
- Differences in attendance between local areas before the coronavirus outbreak should be taken into account when comparing local authorities.
- Pupil absence in the 2019 autumn term is published by local authority and shows that absence ranged from 2.9 to 6.5% at local authority level. There are some differences in the calculation of pupil absence and our attendance estimates that affect comparability. 2018/19 overall absence rates include pupils aged 5-15 in state-funded primary, secondary and special schools. Our attendance estimates include 4-year olds in reception, 16-year olds in year 11 and all students in sixth forms. Pupils on roll in alternative provision (who have a higher than average absence rate) are included in our attendance estimates, but excluded from the 2018/19 overall absence rates. From 12 October, schools were asked to exclude nursery children from their response to the education settings survey. See methodology for further details.
Workforce on-site attendance and absence
Available data
The purpose of this data collection is primarily to understand attendance and teacher availability. This data is reported directly by schools via DfE's daily education settings survey. It is not the primary source of data on infection, incidence, and COVID-19 cases overall. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) published an analysis of the number of school workers who have had COVID-19 within their Coronavirus (COVID-19) Infection Survey publication on 6 November.
From 12 October 2020, the survey of educational settings asked schools and colleges for the following information on i) teachers and school leaders and ii) teaching assistants and other staff:
- Number on roll at the setting
- Number absent with a confirmed case of COVID-19
- Number absent with a suspected case of COVID-19
- Number absent due to self-isolation because of potential contact with a case of coronavirus inside the school
- Number absent due to self-isolation because of potential contact with a case of coronavirus outside the school
- Number absent for other reasons
From 5 January 2020, schools were asked to provide remote education for the majority of pupils which enabled many staff to work remotely. Therefore, data on reasons for workforce absence were collected where staff were unable to teach on-site or remotely from 11 January 2020. This means that staff who had a confirmed or suspected case of coronavirus or who were self-isolating but could work remotely were not included in these figures. In the 2020/21 autumn term, when schools were asked to open for all pupils, data on reasons for workforce absence were collected for all staff unable to work on-site. Therefore, figures from 11 January are not comparable to data on workforce absence collected in the autumn term.
Despite the change in the data collection, it was possible that some schools continued to report COVID-related absences for affected staff who were working remotely in the same way as the autumn term. We therefore advise caution in interpreting these estimates, particularly when broken down in greater detail than set out below, as they may slightly over-estimate the proportion of workforce unable to work on-site or remotely.
From 11 January, the survey asked schools and colleges for the following information on i) teachers and school leaders and ii) teaching assistants and other staff:
- Number on roll at the setting
- Number working on-site
- Number unable to work on-site or remotely due to a confirmed case of COVID-19
- Number unable to work on-site or remotely due to a suspected case of COVID-19
- Number unable to work on-site or remotely due to self-isolation as a result of potential contact with a case of coronavirus inside the school
- Number unable to work on-site or remotely due to self-isolation as a result of potential contact with a case of coronavirus outside the school
- Number unable to work on-site or remotely for other reasons
Workforce absence data from 12 October to 17 December has been published at national level in underlying data table 1D and at local authority level in underlying data table 1C. Data from 11 January has been published at national level in underlying data table 1E.
From 8 March 2020, the data collected on teachers and school leaders and teaching assistants and other staff aligns with that collected between 12 October and 17 December. This data is therefore included in underlying data table 1D.
Non-response adjustment
National level workforce absence figures have been adjusted for non-response. Figures at local authority level have not been adjusted and are based on responding schools only.
To calculate grossed estimates of staff absences for each setting type, we first estimate the number of staff on roll in non-responding settings. This is estimated by calculating the average on roll pupil to staff ratios by setting type in responding settings. These ratios are applied to the number of pupils on roll as indicated by the 2019/20 spring census to calculate the total number of staff on roll in non-responding settings. Absence estimates for staff are then calculated by assuming the same proportion of staff on roll in non-responding settings are absent for the same reasons when compared to responding settings.
Interpretation of workforce absence data
Workforce absences are not known in closed schools.
- Workforce absences are not known in closed schools. Workforce on roll in closed schools are included in the denominator between 12 October and 17 December. A very small proportion of schools were closed during this time, however most closed schools were closed for COVID-19 reasons. This means these figures are likely to be under-estimates of the numbers of workforce with confirmed or suspected cases and self-isolating, particularly on dates when the proportion of schools closed for COVID-19 related reasons is higher.
- Workforce attendance and absence figures from 11 January are based on open schools only.
Absence rates for teaching assistants and other staff are likely to be less robust as more work part-time.
- There are likely to be inconsistencies in how schools treat part time staff in their reported data, for example some may update their on roll numbers daily to account for part-time staff ‘expected’ to be on-site and others may not.
COVID-related absence rates may be impacted by levels of testing.
- Since January, lateral flow devices have been provided to all schools and schools can offer workforce who are on-site access to two rapid results tests every week. From 8 March, teachers should have had access to asymptomatic at home testing instead. Rates of confirmed cases and self-isolation among workforce may be impacted by levels of testing.
Absence rates from January 11 are likely to be impacted by differences in ability to work on-site or remotely.
- Staff in schools with higher levels of attendance may be less able to work remotely.
- Teaching assistants and other staff include staff who are essential to the running of schools such as administrative, catering, cleaning and maintenance staff, midday supervisors and technicians. These roles may be more difficult to carry out remotely, which may explain why these staff have both higher rates of on-site attendance and higher rates of staff unable to work on-site or remotely in primary and secondary schools.
Correction to workforce absence data for teaching assistants and other staff on 28 January
Workforce absence data from the education settings survey at national and local level were included in this publication for the first time on 19 January.
An error was identified that affected national level absence rates for ‘teaching assistants and other staff’ published in underlying data table 1D and included in the narrative of the 19 January publication. This data, including the 19 January narrative, was corrected on 28 January.
Absence rates at local authority level in table 1C, equivalent national-level absence rates for ‘teachers and school leaders’ and the number of ‘teaching assistants and other staff’ absent for each reason in table 1D were unaffected. This meant absence rates were overreported for ‘teaching assistants and other staff’ at national level. The corrected data shows that teaching assistants and other staff have broadly similar absence rates to teachers and school leaders. For example, on Wednesday 16 December, approximately:
- 4.4% of teachers and school leaders and 4.0% of teaching assistants and other staff were absent for COVID-related reasons.
- 3.9% of teachers and school leaders and 4.0% of teaching assistants and other staff were absent for other reasons.
This error affected grossed data produced for publication. Data used by government as management information (as set out in the ‘data sharing’ section) was unaffected. We are contacting known users of this data directly to alert them to this correction.
This error was caused by a mistake in our systems which apply our grossing methodology after data is submitted by schools to create national level estimates. An incorrect grossed denominator was used for the number of teaching assistants and other staff. This denominator was too small, which resulted in inflated percentages being published. We take the issue of data quality very seriously and we would like to apologise for this error. We are reviewing how this was missed through our checking processes to improve them in future.
The table below summarises the measures that were affected.
| Measure description | Column name |
| Number of TAs and other staff on roll | number_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_on_roll |
| Proportion of TAs and other staff absent with a confirmed case of COVID-19 | proportion_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_ absent_with_a_suspected_case_of_covid_19 |
Proportion of TAs and other staff absent with a suspected case of COVID-19
| proportion_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_ absent_with_a_confirmed_case_of_covid_19 |
Proportion of TAs and other staff absent due to self-isolation because of potential contact with a case of coronavirus inside the school
| proportion_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_ isolating_due_to_contact_in_school |
Proportion of TAs and other staff absent due to self-isolation because of potential contact with a case of coronavirus outside the school
| proportion_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_ isolating_due_to_contact_outside_school |
| Proportion of TAs and other staff absent for other reasons | proportion_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_ absent_for_non_covid_19_reasons |