Introduction

This publication brings together statistics from the annual attendance and absence collection and the biennial exclusions collection.

This is the first time attendance, absence and exclusions data is being published as a stand-alone report. Previously, this data was published in “Summary Statistics for Schools in Scotland”, an accredited official statistics publication that provides information from (i) the annual pupil census, (ii) the annual school staff census, (iii) the annual early learning and childcare (ELC) census, (iv) the annual attendance and absence collection and the (v) biennial exclusions collection. Previous versions of “Summary Statistics for Schools in Scotland” can be found here: Summary statistics for schools in Scotland 2024 - gov.scot.

The main purpose of this bulletin is to present the latest statistics. However, previously published statistics from recent years are sometimes also presented to aid contextual understanding of the latest statistics. The complete set of statistics over time, as well as statistics containing more detailed breakdowns, are available for attendance and exclusions. 

For the first time, a full release of the 2024-25 attendance, absence and exclusion statistics, including supplementary tables, has been published alongside this report. Prior to this, a limited headline release was published in December, followed by the full supplementary statistics in March.

The statistics in this bulletin supersede all previously published statistics. Please note that the 2020/21 and 2022/23 exclusions data has been corrected in this publication. Please refer to the background notes for more information.

An Accredited Official Statistics Publication for Scotland

These statistics are accredited official statistics. The Office for Statistics Regulation has independently reviewed and accredited these statistics as complying with the standards of trustworthiness, quality, and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics.

Accredited official statistics are called National Statistics in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007.

Scottish Government statistics are regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.

More information about Scottish Government statistics is available on the Scottish Government website.