School attendance statistics show that absence in England improved in 2024/25 but remained above the 2018/19 level. Overall absence was 6.78% across state-funded primary, secondary and special schools, while 18.14% of pupils were persistently absent.
Contents
- National attendance and absence
- Differences by school phase
- Persistent and severe absence
- Reasons for absence and termly patterns
- Regional school attendance statistics
- Pupil characteristics and year groups
National attendance and absence
The Department for Education’s accredited absence release recorded an overall absence rate of 6.78% in the 2024/25 academic year. That was lower than 7.15% in 2023/24, but higher than 4.73% in 2018/19. The same longer-term pattern is reported in the 2023/24 release, which gives rates of 7.1% in 2023/24, 7.4% in 2022/23 and 4.7% in 2018/19. Pupil absence in schools in England: Academic year 2024/25 and Pupil absence in schools in England: Academic year 2023/24
The figures are absence rates: the share of possible pupil sessions missed. One session equals half a day. The implied attendance rate in the Department for Education’s 2023/24 attendance series was 92.8%. That series also reports a 7.2% full-year absence rate, with term rates of 6.7% in autumn, 7.3% in spring and 7.7% in summer. Pupil attendance in schools: Week 29 2024
In 2024/25, absence rose across the academic year: it was 6.38% in autumn, 6.92% in spring and 7.15% in summer. Autumn 2024/25 was nevertheless below autumn 2023/24, when 6.69% of possible sessions were missed. The combined autumn and spring rate was 6.92% in 2024/25, compared with 6.38% for autumn alone. Pupil absence in schools in England: Autumn term 2024/25 and Pupil absence in schools in England: Autumn and spring terms 2024/25
Weekly attendance can be lower near the end of a school year. In the week commencing 15 July 2024, attendance across all schools was 89.8% and absence was 10.2%. The all-school weekly absence rate ranged from 9.1% on Tuesday to 12.7% on Friday. These weekly figures should not be treated as the full-year rate because they describe one specific week. Pupil attendance in schools: Week 29 2024
Differences by school phase
Absence varied substantially between primary, secondary and special schools. The 2024/25 full-year rates were 5.20% in primary schools, 8.44% in secondary schools and 12.76% in special schools. All three were lower than their 2023/24 rates: 5.53% in primary, 8.89% in secondary and 13.01% in special schools. Pupil absence in schools in England: Academic year 2024/25
| School phase | Overall absence, 2023/24 | Overall absence, 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|
| Primary | 5.53% | 5.20% |
| Secondary | 8.89% | 8.44% |
| Special | 13.01% | 12.76% |
Autumn 2024/25 showed the same ordering, with absence at 5.07% in primary schools, 7.66% in secondary schools and 12.55% in special schools. In the Department for Education’s 2023/24 attendance series, the corresponding full-year rates were 5.5%, 9.1% and 13.0%. Slight differences between the 2023/24 figures are retained because the attendance series is official statistics in development based on participating schools and is distinct from the accredited school-census absence release. Pupil attendance in schools: Week 29 2024
The weekly picture in mid-July 2024 was also different by phase. Absence was 7.2% in primary, 13.8% in secondary and 14.5% in special schools. In primary schools, 3.8% was authorised absence and 3.4% unauthorised. In secondary schools, 6.7% was authorised and 7.1% unauthorised. Pupil attendance in schools: Week 29 2024
Persistent and severe absence
Persistent absence means missing at least 10% of possible sessions. In 2024/25, 18.14% of pupils were persistently absent, representing approximately 1.34 million pupil enrolments. In 2023/24, the rate was 20.0%, representing approximately 1.49 million enrolments; the rate had been 21.2% in 2022/23 and 10.9% in 2018/19. Pupil absence in schools in England: Academic year 2024/25 and Pupil absence in schools in England: Academic year 2023/24
Severe absence means missing at least 50% of possible sessions. The severe absence rate was 2.39% in 2024/25, up from 2.30% in 2023/24 and 0.85% in 2018/19. Approximately 176,000 pupil enrolments were severely absent in 2024/25, compared with 171,000 in 2023/24. Pupil absence in schools in England: Academic year 2024/25
During autumn 2024/25, 17.79% of pupils were persistently absent and 2.04% were severely absent. Across the combined autumn and spring terms, persistent absence was 17.63%, compared with 19.23% in 2023/24 and 10.53% in 2018/19. Severe absence in the same combined period was 2.26% in 2024/25, compared with 2.14% in 2023/24 and 0.81% in 2018/19. Pupil absence in schools in England: Autumn term 2024/25 and Pupil absence in schools in England: Autumn and spring terms 2024/25
Persistent absence in autumn 2024/25 was 14.29% in primary schools, 21.09% in secondary schools and 34.90% in special schools. For the combined autumn and spring period, severe absence was 0.92% in primary, 3.62% in secondary and 6.66% in special schools. Pupil absence in schools in England: Autumn term 2024/25 and Pupil absence in schools in England: Autumn and spring terms 2024/25
Reasons for absence and termly patterns
Illness was the largest listed component of absence in 2024/25, accounting for 3.22% of possible sessions. This was down from 3.46% in 2023/24. In 2024/25, unauthorised other absence accounted for 1.56%, unauthorised holiday for 0.48% and authorised other absence for 0.40%. Overall, authorised absence was 4.48% and unauthorised absence was 2.30%. Pupil absence in schools in England: Academic year 2024/25
For comparison, the 2023/24 release reported illness at 3.5%, unauthorised other absence at 1.7%, and both unauthorised holiday and authorised other absence at 0.5%. The categories are reported as published and should not be used to infer causes beyond the recorded absence reason. Pupil absence in schools in England: Academic year 2023/24
The balance between authorised and unauthorised absence changed by term in 2024/25. Authorised absence peaked at 4.75% in spring, while unauthorised absence peaked at 2.80% in summer. In autumn 2024/25, illness accounted for 3.31% of possible sessions, down from 3.47% in autumn 2023/24. Pupil absence in schools in England: Academic year 2024/25 and Pupil absence in schools in England: Autumn term 2024/25
Autumn absence increased toward the Christmas break. In autumn 2024/25, absence reached 9.4% in the final week, compared with 4.7% at the beginning of term. In the week commencing 16 December 2024, illness absence was 4.9%, up from 1.9% at the beginning of autumn. Across 2023/24, persistent absence rose from 19.4% in autumn to 21.5% in spring and 23.0% in summer. Pupil absence in schools in England: Autumn term 2024/25 and Pupil absence in schools in England: Academic year 2023/24
Regional school attendance statistics
Regional differences were visible in both full-year and termly data. In 2023/24, London had the lowest overall absence rate at 6.4%, while the North East had the highest at 7.8%. London also had the lowest persistent absence rate at 17.9%; the North East had the highest at 22.1%. For severe absence, London was lowest at 1.5%, while the South West was highest at 2.8%. Pupil absence in schools in England: Academic year 2023/24
Autumn 2024/25 showed a similar contrast for overall and persistent absence. London had the lowest overall rate at 5.80% and the lowest persistent absence rate at 16.58%. The North East had the highest overall rate at 6.86% and the highest persistent absence rate at 19.58%. Yorkshire and The Humber had the highest severe absence rate at 2.39%, while London’s severe absence rate was 1.49%. Pupil absence in schools in England: Autumn term 2024/25
Pupil characteristics and year groups
The 2023/24 attendance series reported a marked difference by free school meal eligibility. Overall absence was 11.1% for pupils eligible for free school meals and 5.8% for pupils not eligible. Persistent absence was 35.7% for FSM-eligible pupils and 15.3% for pupils not eligible. Pupil attendance in schools: Week 29 2024
Special educational needs status also corresponded with different reported rates. Across 2023/24, overall absence was 13.3% for pupils with an EHC plan, 10.9% for pupils with SEN support and 6.5% for pupils with no identified SEN. Persistent absence was 37.6%, 32.0% and 18.6%, respectively. Female pupils had an overall absence rate of 7.3%, compared with 7.1% for male pupils. Pupil attendance in schools: Week 29 2024
Autumn 2024/25 continued to show these differences: overall absence was 10.0% for FSM-eligible pupils and 5.2% for pupils not eligible. By SEN status, the rates were 13.1% for pupils with an EHC plan, 10.1% for pupils with SEN support and 5.8% for pupils with no identified SEN. Pupil absence in schools in England: Autumn term 2024/25
Year-group statistics highlight higher absence in later secondary years. In autumn 2024/25, Year 11 had the highest overall absence rate at 9.32%, while Year 10 had the highest persistent absence rate at 24.32%. Across combined autumn and spring 2024/25, Year 11 had the highest overall absence rate at 9.82% and the highest severe absence rate at 4.83%; Year 10 had the highest persistent absence rate at 25.06%. Pupil absence in schools in England: Autumn term 2024/25 and Pupil absence in schools in England: Autumn and spring terms 2024/25
The combined autumn and spring 2024/25 data also varied by ethnic group. Irish Traveller pupils had the highest overall absence rate at 20.32%, followed by Gypsy/Roma pupils at 16.58%. Chinese pupils had the lowest rate at 2.87%, and Black African pupils had the lowest rate after Chinese pupils at 3.70%. These are descriptive differences in the reported period; the statistics do not establish their causes. Pupil absence in schools in England: Autumn and spring terms 2024/25
The figures cover England, principally state-funded primary, secondary and special schools. They use pupil enrolments and possible sessions, and the published counts and percentages are retained without new calculations. The 2023/24 attendance series is official statistics in development and is distinct from the accredited school-census absence release, so small differences between those two series are expected. The statistics are descriptive and do not by themselves establish causes.