Attendance and absence

Attendance rates

The overall attendance rate for 2023/24 was 90.3% (Figure 31). This means that of all the possible half-days (openings) that all pupils could have attended school, they were recorded as attending for 90.3% 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%. Therefore, although the attendance rate for 2023/24 represents an increase on the previous year, it is still lower than the pre-COVID-19 period prior to 2022/23.

Absence rates

Within the authorised absence category, sickness without education provision is the biggest reason for absence, accounting for 4.8% of possible half-days. Although the rate of sickness without education provision has dropped a little from 2022/23, it remains higher than the typical rate of around 3.5% recorded historically.

Unauthorised absence increased from 3.7% in 2022/23 to 3.8% in 2023/24. Within the unauthorised absence category, unexplained absence (including truancy) is the biggest reason for absence. However, the biggest contributor to the increase in unauthorised absence was unauthorised holidays, which accounted for 1.0% of all openings, the highest since 2010/11.

Attendance rate by pupil characteristics

Figure 32 shows that overall attendance is higher for male (90.5%) than female (90.2%) pupils. This is driven by secondary and special school attendance, but the pattern is reversed in primary schools where attendance for males (92.4%) is lower than for females (92.6%).

Figure 33 shows attendance by ethnicity, with overall attendance highest in the ‘Black/African/Caribbean’ grouping (94.6%) and very little difference between the other ethnicity categories (range from 89.8% to 91.5%). This pattern is similar between sectors.

Figure 34 shows that pupils with additional support needs had a lower overall attendance rate than pupils with no additional support needs (87.4% compared with 92.0%), with the difference being greater in secondary school.

Pupils living in the most deprived areas had lower attendance rates than those living in the least deprived areas. Across all sectors, pupils living in the 20% most deprived areas had an attendance rate of 86.9% compared to 93.6% for those living in the 20% least deprived areas. This deprivation related gap in attendance rates was greatest in secondary schools, with pupils living in the least deprived areas having an attendance rate 8.4 percentage points higher than those living in the most deprived areas (Figure 34).

Figure 35 shows that in 2023/24 the attendance rate in local authorities ranged from 88.3% (East Ayrshire) to 93.1% (East Renfrewshire) and 95.5% in the grant-aided mainstream school (Jordanhill).

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 2023/24 was 31.4%, meaning that 31.4% of pupils in Scotland were absent for 10% or more of the school year (38 half day openings or 19 full days). This represents a small decrease in persistent absence compared to 2022/23 when the rate was 32.5%. 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% (see attendance and absence supplementary statistics for 2023/24). Persistent absence in 2023/24 was highest in secondary at 40.6% and lowest in primary at 23.9% (see Figure 36).

Among local authorities, the rate of persistent absence was lowest in East Renfrewshire (20.0%) and highest in North Ayrshire (37.9%). The persistent absence rate in primary schools was lowest in East Renfrewshire (13.1%) and highest in Glasgow City (32.8%). In secondary schools, the persistent absence rate was lowest in East Renfrewshire (27.9%) and highest in West Dunbartonshire (51.4%). The lowest persistent absence rate in special schools was in South Ayrshire (18.3%) and highest in Dundee City (58.9%) (see Figure 36).

Figure 37 shows the persistent absence rate for all sectors in Scotland in 2023/24 for each 5% interval from 10% to 100% persistent absence. This graph shows that one tenth (11.9%) of pupils were absent for 20% or more (at least 38 days) and one in 40 (2.5%) pupils were absent for more than half of the school year (95 days or more).

Figure 31 Attendance and absence by detailed reason, percentage of possible half days 2016/17 to 2023/24 [Note 1]

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 32 Attendance by sex, percentage of half days, 2023/24

Figure 33 Attendance by ethnicity, percentage of half days, 2023/24

Figure 34 Attendance by additional support need and SIMD, percentage of half days, 2023/24

Figure 35 Attendance by local authority, percentage of half days, 2016/17 to 2023/24

Figure 36 Persistent absence (percentage of persistent absentees - 10% or more sessions missed) by Local Authority and sector, 2023/24

Figure 37 Pupil absence rate (percentage of pupils), Scotland, 2023/24