Scottish Government

This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007

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Attendance and Absence in Scottish Schools 2004-05

06/12/2005

The results of the attendance and absence survey for 2004-05, relating to local authority and mainstream grant-aided schools, are published today

The survey was revised in 2003-04 to give information at a greater detail and implement changes to definitions of attendance.

Much of the information is therefore not available for years prior to 2003-04 and direct comparison with years prior to 2003-04 must take into account changes in definitions.

Some local authorities only implemented the new codes part of the way through 2003-04 or at the start of 2004-05. Direct comparison between 2003/04 and 2004/05 figures must take into account these delays.

Analysis of the local authority data shows that in some areas there is still a considerable proportion of primary schools and a smaller proportion of secondary schools who are not recording absences to the level of detail expected.

Summary information for 2004/05

• The overall rate of attendance was 93 per cent (93.1 per cent in 2003-04)
• The rate of attendance for primary schools was 95 per cent (95.3 per cent in 2003/04). The rate for secondary schools remained at 90.2 per cent. The rate for special schools was 91.0 per cent (91.1 per cent in 2003-04)
• Attendance was fairly stable between stages P1 and P7, and then decreased steadily through to S4, before increasing slightly in S5 and S6. Overall there was little difference in rates between boys and girls. However, boys did have noticeably better attendance rates from S4 to S6
• Seventy-nine per cent of pupils had an attendance rate of 90 per cent or above. About 34,000 pupils (five per cent) had a 100 per cent attendance record. These figures only include pupils when they are at a school for more than half the year and so are not comparable with last year

Reasons for absence

• Within the overall absence rate of seven per cent, 2.8 per cent of days were recorded as sickness (about 3.75 million pupil-days). Sickness rates increase suddenly in secondary school, particularly amongst girls. Deprivation increased the likelihood of being absent due to sickness. The increase this year in reported sickness rates is due to more accurate reporting where last year "other authorised absence" was used to code sickness in some schools. However, there still appears to be many schools not recording sickness correctly
• The second most common reason for absence was "other authorised absence", which accounted for 2.5 per cent of days. This category includes lack of transport, weddings, bereavements, religious observances, sporting and cultural events not arranged by the school, and attendance at hearings (and for some schools this category included sickness)
• About 143,000 pupils (20 per cent) who attended a school for more than half the year were recorded as truanting at least once during 2004-05, with 10 per cent of pupils responsible for 90 per cent of time lost due to truancy, and two per cent of pupils responsible for 50 per cent of truancy. These figures are not comparable with last year.
• 0.8 per cent of days (about one million pupil-days) were lost due to truancy. Truancy rates remain level at 0.4 per cent for both girls and boys throughout primary, before rising to two per cent in S4. Pupils registered for free school meals had a truancy rate more than twice that of other pupils
• 0.5 per cent of days were lost due to holidays. This equates to a total of 645,000 pupil-days lost, or just less than one day per pupil. Just over a third of these days were authorised by the school. Holidays are now only to be authorised in exceptional circumstances (previously they were authorised if the pupil's attendance was otherwise satisfactory), but it is likely that some authorities had yet to fully implement this change, rather than the figures showing the true extent of "exceptional circumstances"
• 139,000 pupils (19 per cent) took holidays during term, taking an average of five days each. Holiday absence rates were highest in primary school and lowest in S4 to S6
• 0.1 per cent of days were lost due to exceptional domestic circumstances. These were mainly short term and are considered authorised absence. About ten per cent of them were long term, where there is an expectation that additional support services will be assessed by the local authority to support the pupil, to ensure that pupils do not miss out on their entitlement to education
• Absence from school due to temporary exclusion accounted for 0.1 per cent of days

Punctuality

• Pupils were recorded late on 1.5 per cent of openings. Of these 97 per cent were recorded as arriving during the first half of the morning or afternoon
• There was a sharp increase in recorded lateness between P7 and S1, with boys being late more often than girls in secondary

Summary absence information

• Total authorised absence in primary schools was 4.1 per cent, in secondary schools it was 7.7 per cent, and in special schools 6.6 per cent
• Total unauthorised absence in primary schools was 0.9 per cent, in secondary schools it was 1.9 per cent, and in special schools it was 2.0 per cent
• Absence due to temporary exclusion in primary schools was 0.02 per cent, in secondary schools it was 0.24 per cent, and in special schools it was 0.37 per cent
• Per pupil, the average total absence in primary schools was just under two school weeks (19 half days), out of a possible 38 school weeks; in secondary schools it was just under four school weeks, (37 half days) and in special schools the figure was around three and a half school weeks (34 half days) out of a possible 38 school weeks
• On average, each day there were around 51,000 pupils absent (seven per cent), of which about 21,000 were sick, 5,600 were truanting, 3,600 were on holiday, and about 800 temporarily excluded

Analysis of absence

• About 460,000 pupils (65 per cent) had no unauthorised absence during the year, with 89 per cent of pupils having no more than one week unauthorised absence. 10 per cent of pupils were responsible for 75 per cent of unauthorised absence
• Authorised absence rates were slightly higher amongst girls than boys, with unauthorised absence rates being fairly equal, and absence due to temporary exclusion being higher amongst boys
• Pupils living in urban areas were absent more often than those in rural areas
• In general, schools with higher levels of deprivation had higher levels of absence, with the effect being greater in secondary school. There were many schools which did not follow this trend. Pupils who were registered for free school meals were absent for an average of ten days more than those who were not, with the difference being greater amongst boys
• Pupils with a Record of Needs or Individualised Educational Programme in mainstream schools were absent for an average of four days more than other pupils in those schools, with the difference being greater in secondary school. Of these, pupils with social and emotional behavioural difficulties have the highest rate of absence.
• Children looked after by local authorities were absent on average ten more days than other pupils, with those looked after at home missing on average just over six weeks of school
• Where a child has multiple risk factors (is registered for free meals, has a Record of Needs and is looked after) they are on average absent for just over six weeks
• There was little difference in attendance rates of pupils from minority ethnic groups (92 per cent compared with 93 per cent amongst whites), though this varied across the different ethnic groups

Local authority analysis

Comparisons of local authority data will be affected by the extent to which they have compiled with guidance on recording absence. While this generally will not affect summary attendance and absence rates, just the detailed reasons for absence, Dundee City Council have not reported their late figures on the same basis as other authorities, which would slightly increase their attendance rates. Another aspect of non-compliance is that until the reason for an absence is explained, schools are meant to record a pupil as "unexplained absence" (part of the truancy category). However, we understand that some authorities use "other authorised absence" as the default. There is a danger that this will result in lower truancy/unexplained absence figures for these authorities.

The percentage attendance in primary schools by local authority ranged from 96.4 per cent to 92.9 per cent, and in secondary schools from 94.0 per cent to 86.6 per cent. The range in attendance rates reflects the differing prevalence of risk factors, as previously identified, found in local authority populations.

Percentage unauthorised absence in primary schools by local authority ranged from 1.8 per cent to 0.3 per cent, and in secondary schools from 5.5 per cent to 0.2 per cent.