School attendance, absence and exclusions statistics 2024-25
Headline statistics on attendance, absence and exclusions in schools in Scotland.
Part of
Attendance and absence
Attendance rates
The overall attendance rate for 2024/25 was 91.0% (Figure 1). This means that of all the possible half-days (openings) that all pupils could have attended school, they were recorded as attending for 91.0% of those half-days.
For the period from 2008/09 to 2018/19 the attendance rate was relatively stable at around 93% (see the historical attendance and absence statistics). In 2020/21, during COVID-19, the attendance rate dropped to 92.0% and then dropped again in 2022/23 to 90.2%, before increasing slightly to 90.3% in 2023/24 and then again to 91.0% in 2024/25. Therefore, although the attendance rate for 2024/25 represents an increase on the previous year, it is still lower than the pre-COVID-19 period.
Absence rates
The overall absence rate for 2024/25 was 9.0% (Figure 1). For the period from 2008/09 to 2018/19 the overall absence rate was relatively stable at around 7%. In 2020/21, during COVID-19, the overall absence rate increased to 8.0% and then increased again in 2022/23 to 9.8%, before decreasing slightly to 9.7% in 2023/24 and then again to 9.0% in 2024/25. Therefore, although the overall absence rate for 2024/25 represents a decrease on the previous year, it is still higher than the pre-COVID-19 period.
The authorised absence rate for 2024/25 was 5.3% (Figure 1). For the period from 2008/09 to 2018/19 the authorised absence rate was relatively stable at around 4.4%. In 2020/21, during COVID-19, the overall absence rate increased to 4.7% and then increased again in 2022/23 to 6.1%, before decreasing slightly to 5.9% in 2023/24 and then again to 5.3% in 2024/25. Therefore, although the authorised absence rate for 2024/25 represents a decrease on the previous year, it is still higher than the pre-COVID-19 period.
Within the authorised absence category, sickness without education provision is the biggest reason for absence, accounting for 4.4% of possible half-day openings. Although the rate of sickness without education provision has decreased from 2023/24, it remains higher than the typical rate of around 3.5% recorded pre-COVID-19.
Unauthorised absence decreased from 3.8% in 2023/24 to 3.7% in 2024/25. Within the unauthorised absence category, unexplained absence (including truancy) is the biggest reason for absence, although it decreased from 2.3% in 2023/24 to 2.1% in 2024/25.
Although the overall unauthorised absence rate has decreased since 2023/24, the rate of unauthorised holidays has increased slightly, from 1.0% of all openings in 2023/24 to 1.1% in 2024/25, the highest since the start of the time series in 2009/10.
Attendance rate by pupil characteristics
Figure 2 shows that overall attendance is higher for male (91.1%) than female (90.8%) pupils. This is driven by secondary and special school attendance, but the pattern is reversed in primary schools where attendance for males (93.0%) is lower than for females (93.3%).
Figure 3 shows attendance by ethnicity, with overall attendance highest in the ‘Black/African/Caribbean’ grouping (95.1%) and very little difference between the other known ethnicity categories (ranging from 90.8% for to 92.0%). This pattern is similar across sectors.
Figure 4 shows that pupils with additional support needs (ASN) had a lower overall attendance rate than pupils with no ASN (88.2% compared with 92.9%), a gap of 4.7 percentage points. This trend is similar across primary and secondary schools, but the gap is greater in secondary schools than in primary schools. Attendance rates increased for both pupils with and without an ASN compared to 2023/24. However, it increased more for pupils with no ASN therefore the gap has widened compared to the gap of 4.6 percentage points in 2023/24.
Pupils living in the most deprived areas had lower attendance rates than those living in the least deprived areas (Figure 4). This deprivation related-gap in attendance rates was present across all sectors but greatest in secondary schools, with pupils living in the least deprived areas having an attendance rate 8.2 percentage points higher than those living in the most deprived areas. Across all sectors, pupils living in the 20% most deprived areas had an attendance rate of 87.6% compared to 94.1% for those living in the 20% least deprived areas, a gap of 6.5 percentage points. Attendance rates increased for both pupils living in the 20% most deprived areas and 20% least deprived areas compared to 2023/24. However, attendance rates increased more for pupils living in the 20% most deprived areas therefore the gap has narrowed compared to the gap of 6.7 percentage points in 2023/24.
Figure 5 shows that in 2024/25 the attendance rate in local authorities ranged from 89.1% (East Ayrshire) to 93.6% (East Renfrewshire) and 96.5% in the grant-aided mainstream school (Jordanhill). All local authorities except Shetland Islands increased their attendance rate from 2023/24 to 2024/25.
Additional analysis of school attendance and absence at school-level and by other pupil characteristics, including stage, urban/rural classification, ASN reason for support, level of English and free school meal registration, is available in the attendance and absence 2024/25 tables.
Persistent absence
While absence rates show an aggregate picture for all pupils across the whole school year, the persistent absence rate shows the percentage of individual pupils that are absent for 10% or more of the school year. Most schools operate 380 half-day sessions, equivalent to 190 days, in a school year. Therefore, the persistent absence rate of 10% or more is equivalent to at least 19 full days. This could be one long period of absence or multiple short periods of absence. A persistent absence rate of 10% or more aligns with the terminology and definitions used for equivalent statistics in England and Wales.
The overall persistent absence rate for 2024/25 was 28.5%, meaning that 28.5% of pupils in Scotland were absent for 10% or more of the school year (38 half day openings or 19 full days; Figure 6). This represents a decrease in persistent absence compared to 2023/24 when the rate was 31.4%. However, the rate of persistent absence remains substantially higher than in the period from 2010/11 to 2020/21 when it ranged between 19.1% and 21.8%. Persistent absence in 2024/25 was highest in secondary at 37.4% and lowest in primary at 21.1%.
Among local authorities, the rate of persistent absence varied from 18.3% in East Renfrewshire to 35.8% in Glasgow City. Patterns varied across sectors, in primary schools the persistent absence rate was lowest in East Dunbartonshire (11.7%) and highest in Glasgow City (30.6%) whereas in secondary schools, the persistent absence rate was lowest in East Renfrewshire (25.4%) and highest in North Ayrshire (45.8%). The lowest persistent absence rate in special schools was in South Ayrshire (13.0%) and highest in Dundee City (59.6%). All local authorities except Shetland Islands decreased their persistent absence rate from 2023/24 to 2024/25.
Additional analysis of persistent absence at school-level and by ASN status and deprivation (Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD)) is available in the attendance and absence 2024/25 tables.
Figure 1: The attendance rate has increased since last year but is still below the pre-COVID-19 level.
Attendance and absence by detailed reason, percentage of possible half days 2016/17 to 2024/25 [Note 1].
|
Attendance / absence type |
2016/17 |
2018/19 |
2020/21 |
2022/23 |
2023/24 |
2024/25 |
|
Attendance |
93.3 |
93.0 |
92.0 |
90.2 |
90.3 |
91.0 |
|
In school |
91.1 |
90.6 |
88.2 |
87.0 |
86.8 |
87.3 |
|
Late |
2.0 |
2.2 |
1.8 |
3.0 |
3.3 |
3.4 |
|
Work experience |
0.1 |
0.1 |
low |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
|
Sickness with education provision |
low |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
|
COVID-19 sickness with provision for home-learning |
z |
z |
0.1 |
z |
z |
z |
|
COVID-19 self-isolation with provision for home-learning |
z |
z |
1.8 |
z |
z |
z |
|
Authorised absence |
4.2 |
4.4 |
4.7 |
6.1 |
5.9 |
5.3 |
|
Sickness without education provision |
3.5 |
3.6 |
3.5 |
5.0 |
4.8 |
4.4 |
|
Very late |
low |
low |
low |
low |
low |
low |
|
Authorised holidays |
low |
0.1 |
low |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
|
Exceptional domestic circumstances |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
|
Other authorised |
0.6 |
0.6 |
0.7 |
0.8 |
0.8 |
0.7 |
|
COVID-19 sickness without provision for home-learning |
z |
z |
low |
z |
z |
z |
|
COVID-19 self-isolation without provision for home-learning |
z |
z |
0.3 |
z |
z |
z |
|
Unauthorised absence |
2.4 |
2.6 |
3.2 |
3.7 |
3.8 |
3.7 |
|
Unauthorised holidays |
0.7 |
0.7 |
0.3 |
0.9 |
1.0 |
1.1 |
|
Unexplained absence, including truancy |
1.5 |
1.7 |
2.1 |
2.3 |
2.3 |
2.1 |
|
Exceptional domestic circumstances (unauthorised) |
low |
low |
low |
low |
0.1 |
low |
|
Other unauthorised |
0.2 |
0.2 |
0.8 |
0.4 |
0.4 |
0.4 |
|
All absences (authorised and unauthorised) |
6.6 |
7.0 |
7.9 |
9.7 |
9.6 |
9.0 |
|
Temporary exclusion |
low |
low |
low |
low |
low |
low |
Note 1: Attendance and absence reporting in 2020/21 was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Figures for 2020/21 shown here are only for when schools were open and so are comparable to other years. COVID-19 codes were only available in the 2020/21 collection. Please see the background notes for more information.
Figure 2: Overall attendance is higher for male than female pupils.
Attendance by sex, percentage of half days, 2024/25
|
Sex |
Primary |
Secondary |
Special |
Total |
|
All Pupils |
93.1 |
88.4 |
87.9 |
91.0 |
|
Male |
93.0 |
88.9 |
88.0 |
91.1 |
|
Female |
93.3 |
87.9 |
87.8 |
90.8 |
Figure 3: Attendance is highest in the ‘Black/African/Caribbean’ grouping and there is very little difference between the other known ethnicity categories.
Attendance by ethnicity, percentage of half days, 2024/25
| Ethnicity |
Primary |
Secondary |
Special |
Total |
|
All Pupils |
93.1 |
88.4 |
87.9 |
91.0 |
|
White Scottish |
93.2 |
87.9 |
87.6 |
90.8 |
|
White non-Scottish |
92.6 |
88.6 |
89.3 |
90.8 |
|
Mixed or multiple ethnic groups |
93.7 |
89.5 |
88.8 |
92.0 |
|
Asian |
92.5 |
90.8 |
87.8 |
91.7 |
|
African/Black/Caribbean |
95.9 |
93.8 |
90.7 |
95.1 |
|
All other ethnic groups |
92.1 |
89.0 |
88.2 |
90.8 |
|
Not Disclosed / Not Known |
92.0 |
87.5 |
87.3 |
90.5 |
Figure 4: Pupils with ASN had a lower attendance rate than pupils with no ASN and more deprived pupils had a lower attendance rate than less deprived pupils.
Attendance by additional support need and SIMD, percentage of half days, 2024/25
|
Additional Support Needs and SIMD |
Primary |
Secondary |
Special |
Total |
|
All Pupils |
93.1 |
88.4 |
87.9 |
91.0 |
|
Pupils with ASN |
91.1 |
85.4 |
87.9 |
88.2 |
|
Pupils with no ASN |
94.1 |
90.9 |
0.0 |
92.9 |
|
Lowest 20% of SIMD (Most deprived) |
90.3 |
84.2 |
85.9 |
87.6 |
|
Highest 20% of SIMD (Least deprived) |
95.6 |
92.4 |
92.5 |
94.1 |
Figure 5: Attendance rates vary across local authorities, but all have improved since last year except for the Shetland Islands.
Attendance by local authority, percentage of half days, 2016/17 to 2024/25
|
Local Authority |
2016/17 |
2018/19 |
2020/21 |
2022/23 |
2023/24 |
2024/25 |
|
Aberdeen City |
93.6 |
93.3 |
93.0 |
91.2 |
91.6 |
92.4 |
|
Aberdeenshire |
94.9 |
94.4 |
94.9 |
92.4 |
92.3 |
92.8 |
|
Angus |
93.7 |
93.4 |
92.8 |
90.5 |
90.7 |
91.5 |
|
Argyll and Bute |
93.7 |
93.5 |
93.3 |
90.6 |
90.3 |
90.7 |
|
City of Edinburgh |
93.9 |
93.8 |
92.6 |
91.6 |
91.6 |
92.1 |
|
Clackmannanshire |
92.9 |
92.9 |
92.9 |
90.7 |
91.1 |
91.2 |
|
Dumfries and Galloway |
94.2 |
93.6 |
93.2 |
90.7 |
90.3 |
90.7 |
|
Dundee City |
92.3 |
91.8 |
90.6 |
88.6 |
88.9 |
89.6 |
|
East Ayrshire |
93.0 |
92.2 |
90.9 |
88.4 |
88.3 |
89.1 |
|
East Dunbartonshire |
95.0 |
94.9 |
94.3 |
92.7 |
92.5 |
92.9 |
|
East Lothian |
93.7 |
93.1 |
91.8 |
90.0 |
90.3 |
92.3 |
|
East Renfrewshire |
95.3 |
95.2 |
94.6 |
93.0 |
93.1 |
93.6 |
|
Falkirk |
93.1 |
92.9 |
92.0 |
90.6 |
90.7 |
91.6 |
|
Fife |
93.0 |
92.6 |
91.1 |
89.6 |
89.6 |
90.2 |
|
Glasgow City |
92.5 |
92.2 |
90.6 |
88.9 |
88.9 |
89.2 |
|
Highland |
93.4 |
92.7 |
91.5 |
89.8 |
89.6 |
90.1 |
|
Inverclyde |
92.5 |
92.2 |
92.3 |
90.3 |
90.6 |
91.6 |
|
Midlothian |
92.6 |
92.6 |
92.3 |
90.7 |
90.7 |
91.5 |
|
Moray |
94.0 |
93.9 |
93.8 |
91.2 |
90.8 |
91.2 |
|
Na h-Eileanan Siar |
95.2 |
94.0 |
93.7 |
91.4 |
91.5 |
91.9 |
|
North Ayrshire |
92.6 |
92.1 |
91.4 |
88.8 |
89.1 |
89.6 |
|
North Lanarkshire |
91.8 |
91.2 |
89.8 |
88.7 |
89.1 |
89.9 |
|
Orkney Islands |
94.6 |
93.8 |
94.9 |
91.2 |
90.9 |
91.9 |
|
Perth and Kinross |
93.6 |
93.3 |
91.9 |
90.4 |
90.2 |
90.8 |
|
Renfrewshire |
93.3 |
93.0 |
91.9 |
90.2 |
90.3 |
91.0 |
|
Scottish Borders |
94.2 |
93.7 |
93.3 |
91.5 |
91.7 |
92.1 |
|
Shetland Islands |
94.5 |
94.4 |
95.5 |
91.8 |
92.5 |
91.5 |
|
South Ayrshire |
93.2 |
92.6 |
91.5 |
89.1 |
90.0 |
91.2 |
|
South Lanarkshire |
93.4 |
92.9 |
91.6 |
90.1 |
90.5 |
91.1 |
|
Stirling |
94.1 |
93.7 |
93.4 |
91.7 |
91.8 |
92.4 |
|
West Dunbartonshire |
91.8 |
91.8 |
90.4 |
88.4 |
88.9 |
90.5 |
|
West Lothian |
93.3 |
92.7 |
92.3 |
89.7 |
89.7 |
90.6 |
|
Grant-aided mainstream |
97.1 |
96.7 |
97.5 |
95.4 |
95.5 |
96.5 |
Figure 6: Persistent absence rates vary across local authorities and sectors.
Persistent absence (percentage of persistent absentees - 10% or more sessions missed) by Local Authority and sector, 2024/25
|
Local Authority |
Primary |
Secondary |
Special |
All sectors |
|
Aberdeen City |
19.8 |
30.2 |
23.7 |
24.1 |
|
Aberdeenshire |
14.3 |
29.3 |
25.9 |
20.9 |
|
Angus |
18.9 |
36.5 |
z |
26.7 |
|
Argyll and Bute |
18.7 |
43.3 |
23.4 |
30.2 |
|
City of Edinburgh |
18.3 |
30.5 |
31.5 |
23.8 |
|
Clackmannanshire |
23.9 |
36.3 |
24.0 |
29.2 |
|
Dumfries and Galloway |
18.7 |
36.5 |
33.3 |
27.0 |
|
Dundee City |
24.7 |
43.1 |
59.6 |
33.6 |
|
East Ayrshire |
26.5 |
45.1 |
35.8 |
34.7 |
|
East Dunbartonshire |
11.7 |
29.3 |
29.0 |
20.3 |
|
East Lothian |
16.6 |
32.5 |
z |
23.7 |
|
East Renfrewshire |
11.8 |
25.4 |
20.7 |
18.3 |
|
Falkirk |
20.4 |
33.9 |
33.7 |
26.6 |
|
Fife |
24.8 |
39.1 |
31.2 |
31.4 |
|
Glasgow City |
30.6 |
42.5 |
43.7 |
35.8 |
|
Highland |
22.2 |
43.0 |
30.7 |
31.9 |
|
Inverclyde |
20.4 |
37.4 |
23.5 |
28.3 |
|
Midlothian |
17.0 |
36.5 |
27.8 |
25.3 |
|
Moray |
20.0 |
39.0 |
z |
28.5 |
|
Na h-Eileanan Siar |
13.5 |
37.6 |
z |
24.8 |
|
North Ayrshire |
26.8 |
45.8 |
31.6 |
35.6 |
|
North Lanarkshire |
25.2 |
43.2 |
41.8 |
33.6 |
|
Orkney Islands |
14.7 |
36.1 |
z |
24.5 |
|
Perth and Kinross |
18.2 |
38.7 |
29.2 |
27.3 |
|
Renfrewshire |
18.5 |
40.2 |
27.6 |
28.3 |
|
Scottish Borders |
16.5 |
33.5 |
z |
24.5 |
|
Shetland Islands |
14.1 |
36.4 |
z |
24.8 |
|
South Ayrshire |
19.3 |
40.0 |
13.0 |
28.9 |
|
South Lanarkshire |
19.8 |
38.2 |
38.9 |
28.2 |
|
Stirling |
15.8 |
31.0 |
33.3 |
23.4 |
|
West Dunbartonshire |
22.7 |
43.0 |
35.4 |
32.1 |
|
West Lothian |
21.3 |
38.0 |
31.5 |
28.9 |
|
Grant Aided |
1.9 |
9.0 |
z |
5.9 |
|
Scotland |
21.1 |
37.4 |
35.8 |
28.5 |