Severe pupil absence rises despite overall improvement in attendance

The proportion of pupils missing at least half of all school sessions rose in the autumn and spring terms of 2024/25, despite an overall improvement in attendance, according to official statistics from the Department for Education (DfE).

Severe absence increased to 2.26% in the combined autumn and spring terms, up from 2.14% the previous year. The rise continues a post-pandemic trend of growth in the number of pupils classed as severely absent.

By contrast, the overall absence rate fell to 6.63%, down from 6.93% in autumn and spring 2023/24. Persistent absence – defined as missing 10% or more sessions – also declined, from 19.23% to 17.63%. Both measures remain above pre-pandemic levels, when overall absence was consistently below 5% and persistent absence stood at 10.53%.

In spring 2024/25, 6.92% of possible sessions were missed compared with 6.38% in the autumn term. Illness accounted for just over half of all absences, making up 3.31% of possible sessions in autumn 2024/25 and 3.47% in spring 2024/25. Although down on the previous year, absence due to illness remained higher than before the pandemic.

More recent estimates based on daily data automatically submitted by schools to the DfE are published in the Pupil attendance in schools series. These figures suggest a continued fall in overall and persistent absence for the 2024/25 academic year, though the department said the data are provisional and subject to revision as school registers are updated.

The DfE said it is reviewing how frequently this statistical release is published and invited users to provide feedback by email.