Summary statistics for schools in Scotland no. 10: 2019 edition
Results of the annual pupil and teacher census and early learning and childcare provision conducted in September 2019 and attendance, absence and exclusions for the 2018 to 2019 school year.
This document is part of 2 collections
Chapter 6: Attendance and absence
93.0% attendance in 2018/19, down from 93.3% in 2016/17
Schools record information on pupils attendance and absence from school and the reasons for this. This information is used to monitor pupil engagement and also to ensure pupils safety and wellbeing by following up on pupils who do not attend school.
The Scottish Government published detailed guidance in 2007 on promoting good attendance at school and effective management of absenteeism (see: http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2007/12/05100056/0). An updated version was published in June 2019 (see: https://www.gov.scot/publications/included-engaged-involved-part-1-positive-approach-promotion-management-attendance-scottish-schools/).
Information on attendance and absence was not collected in 2011/12, 2013/14, 2015/16 or 2017/18 as this data is collected only once every two years.
There have been some variations in recording practice between local authorities and over time for certain reasons for absence. This should be kept in mind when analysing the statistics at this level. Statistics on overall attendance, overall absence and temporary exclusions are not affected by these issues.
Table 6.1 shows school attendance, absence and temporary exclusion rates over the period 2010/11 to 2016/17. Since 2010/11 pupils' rate of attendance has remained relatively stable, increasing from 93.1% to 93.7% in 2014/15 then decreasing to 93.0% in 2018/19.
Table 6.1: Attendance and absence by detailed reason(1)
Percentage of half day openings
| 2010/11 | 2012/13 | 2014/15 | 2016/17 | 2018/19 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attendance | 93.1 | 93.6 | 93.7 | 93.3 | 93.0 |
| In school | 91.1 | 91.7 | 91.6 | 91.1 | 90.6 |
| Late | 1.8 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 2.2 |
| Work experience | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Sickness with education provision | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| Authorised absence | 4.9 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 4.4 |
| Sickness without education provision | 3.4 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.6 |
| Very late | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Authorised holidays | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Exceptional domestic circumstances | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Other authorised(2) | 1.2 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.6 |
| Unauthorised absence | 1.9 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 2.6 |
| Unauthorised holidays | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.7 |
| Unexplained absence, including 'occasional absence without parental awareness' | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 1.7 |
| Exceptional domestic circumstances (unauthorised) | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Other unauthorised | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| All absences (authorised and unauthorised) | 6.8 | 6.4 | 6.3 | 6.6 | 7.0 |
| Temporary exclusion | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
(1) Detailed absence reasons will be affected by differing reporting practices across local authorities and over time. Overall absence and attendance are comparable.
(2) Includes part-time timetable (exclusion related) and part-time timetable (health related). Please see the background notes for more information.
Table 6.2 shows the 2018/19 national attendance rate across each sector broken down by sex, ethnicity, additional support needs and the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2016 (SIMD, 20% most deprived versus 20% least deprived).
Pupils with additional support needs had a lower attendance rate than pupils with no additional support needs, with the difference being greater in secondary school.
Pupils living in the most deprived areas had lower attendance rates in all sectors than those living in the least deprived areas - across all sectors pupils living in the 20% most deprived areas had an attendance rate of 90.4% compared to 95.3% for those living in the 20% least deprived areas. This effect was the greatest in secondary schools, with pupils living in the least deprived areas having an attendance rate 6.6 percentage points higher than those living in the most deprived areas.
Table 6.2: Attendance by pupil characteristic
Percentage of half day openings
| Primary | Secondary | Special | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Pupils | 94.5 | 90.7 | 90.1 | 93.0 |
| Sex | ||||
| Male | 94.5 | 90.8 | 90.2 | 92.9 |
| Female | 94.6 | 90.7 | 90.0 | 93.0 |
| Ethnicity | ||||
| White Scottish | 94.7 | 90.6 | 89.8 | 92.9 |
| White non-Scottish | 93.9 | 90.6 | 91.2 | 92.7 |
| Mixed or multiple ethnic groups | 95.0 | 91.4 | 91.8 | 93.7 |
| Asian | 93.8 | 93.1 | 90.2 | 93.5 |
| African/Black/Caribbean | 96.3 | 94.5 | 93.8 | 95.6 |
| All other ethnic groups | 93.0 | 91.0 | 88.9 | 92.3 |
| Not Disclosed / Not Known | 93.4 | 89.2 | 91.4 | 92.3 |
| Additional support needs(1) | ||||
| Pupils with ASN | 93.1 | 88.1 | 90.2 | 90.8 |
| Pupils with no ASN | 95.1 | 92.0 | # | 93.9 |
| SIMD(1)(2) | ||||
| Lowest 20% of SIMD (Most deprived) | 92.4 | 87.3 | 88.3 | 90.4 |
| Highest 20% of SIMD (Least deprived) | 96.4 | 93.9 | 92.4 | 95.3 |
(1) Pupils that were not matched to the pupil census have not been included.
(2) SIMD data not available for 11,660 pupil enrolments, 1.6% of the total, including those pertaining to pupils not matched to the pupil census. Please see the background notes for more information.
Table 6.3 shows local attendance rates over the period 2010/11 to 2018/19. In 2018/19 the percentage attendance in Scottish local authority schools ranged from 91.2% to 95.2%. This range of variation in attendance rates was consistent with the preceding years.
Table 6.3: Average attendance
Percentage of half day openings
| Local Authority | 2010/11 | 2012/13 | 2014/15 | 2016/17 | 2018/19 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen City | 93.0 | 93.0 | 93.5 | 93.6 | 93.3 |
| Aberdeenshire | 94.5 | 94.5 | 94.8 | 94.9 | 94.4 |
| Angus | 94.2 | 94.2 | 94.3 | 93.7 | 93.4 |
| Argyll and Bute | 93.7 | 94.3 | 94.2 | 93.7 | 93.5 |
| City of Edinburgh | 93.0 | 93.9 | 94.1 | 93.9 | 93.8 |
| Clackmannanshire | 93.6 | 93.4 | 93.3 | 92.9 | 92.9 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 94.4 | 94.2 | 94.5 | 94.2 | 93.6 |
| Dundee City | 92.0 | 92.3 | 92.4 | 92.3 | 91.8 |
| East Ayrshire | 93.0 | 93.4 | 93.4 | 93.0 | 92.2 |
| East Dunbartonshire | 94.6 | 95.2 | 95.3 | 95.0 | 94.9 |
| East Lothian | 93.8 | 94.2 | 93.9 | 93.7 | 93.1 |
| East Renfrewshire | 95.2 | 95.5 | 95.6 | 95.3 | 95.2 |
| Falkirk | 93.4 | 93.8 | 93.6 | 93.1 | 92.9 |
| Fife | 92.6 | 93.0 | 93.5 | 93.0 | 92.6 |
| Glasgow City | 91.3 | 92.6 | 92.8 | 92.5 | 92.2 |
| Highland | 92.8 | 93.0 | 93.2 | 93.4 | 92.7 |
| Inverclyde | 92.9 | 93.4 | 93.0 | 92.5 | 92.2 |
| Midlothian | 93.0 | 93.2 | 93.0 | 92.6 | 92.6 |
| Moray | 93.9 | 94.2 | 94.1 | 94.0 | 93.9 |
| Na h-Eileanan Siar | 93.9 | 93.9 | 94.9 | 95.2 | 94.0 |
| North Ayrshire | 93.2 | 93.5 | 93.3 | 92.6 | 92.1 |
| North Lanarkshire | 92.1 | 92.9 | 92.8 | 91.8 | 91.2 |
| Orkney Islands | 93.1 | 93.8 | 94.2 | 94.6 | 93.8 |
| Perth and Kinross | 93.8 | 94.0 | 93.9 | 93.6 | 93.3 |
| Renfrewshire | 93.8 | 94.0 | 93.6 | 93.3 | 93.0 |
| Scottish Borders | 94.0 | 94.3 | 94.4 | 94.2 | 93.7 |
| Shetland Islands | 94.2 | 94.5 | 94.4 | 94.5 | 94.4 |
| South Ayrshire | 93.2 | 93.2 | 93.2 | 93.2 | 92.6 |
| South Lanarkshire | 93.2 | 93.8 | 93.9 | 93.4 | 92.9 |
| Stirling | 92.5 | 94.1 | 94.4 | 94.1 | 93.7 |
| West Dunbartonshire | 92.3 | 93.3 | 92.7 | 91.8 | 91.8 |
| West Lothian | 93.7 | 93.9 | 93.9 | 93.3 | 92.7 |
| Grant-Aided(1) | 95.8 | 96.9 | 96.8 | 97.1 | 96.7 |
| Scotland | 93.1 | 93.6 | 93.7 | 93.3 | 93.0 |
(1) Includes Jordanhill the mainstream grant-aided school only. Grant-aided special schools are not included in the collection.
Contact
Email: Alasdair.Anthony@gov.scot
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