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DfE Attendance Week 43 – 20/10/25

Weekly Attendance Summary – Week Commencing 20 October 2025

School attendance across England: 92.64%, with an overall absence rate of 7.36%.

  • Authorised absences: 4.78%.
  • Unauthorised absences: 2.59%.

By school type:

  • Primary: Absence rate 6.10% (Authorised: 4.14%, Unauthorised: 1.96%)
  • Secondary: Absence rate 8.66% (Authorised: 5.34%, Unauthorised: 3.32%)
  • Special schools: Absence rate 13.16% (Authorised: 9.38%, Unauthorised: 3.78%)

Comparison to the same week last year:

  • Absence this week was 0.32 percentage points higher compared with the equivalent week in the previous academic year.
  • The increase was driven by authorised absence (up 0.29 percentage point) and a smaller rise in unauthorised absence (up 0.04 percentage point).

For the academic year to date (08 September 2025 to 24 October 2025):

  • Overall absence: 5.90% → Attendance: 94.10%.
  • By school type:
    • Primary: Absence 4.56% (Authorised 3.18%, Unauthorised 1.38%)
    • Secondary: Absence 7.17% (Authorised 4.55%, Unauthorised 2.62%)
    • Special schools: Absence 12.01% (Authorised 8.71%, Unauthorised 3.31%)

Attendance this week has slipped compared to earlier weeks, with the overall absence rate up to 7.36% — higher than the ~6% range seen in some earlier weeks this term.

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Practice & Case Studies

The Christmas Jumper story; what have we learned?

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In 2019, a seemingly harmless Christmas tradition revealed something far more serious about school attendance. When a group of schools shared their day-by-day attendance data, an unexpected dip appeared across several sites on the same December day: Christmas Jumper Day. In this reflective piece, Duncan Baldwin looks back at how that discovery challenged assumptions about “fun” school activities, highlighted the unseen pressures faced by some pupils, and demonstrated the power of collaboration and shared data. From machine learning insights to questions about accountability, this is a story about marginal gains, unintended consequences, and why improving attendance is often about the small things schools choose to do – or not do – every day.
Research & Commentary

Intersectionality – why we need to look at students’ attendance in several dimensions

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Understanding attendance through a single lens rarely tells the full story. When we look at how different factors overlap, patterns become clearer and support becomes sharper. That’s the essence of intersectionality, and why it matters for attendance — Duncan Baldwin
Policy

Attendance in the New Ofsted Framework: What Has Changed, and What Schools Need to Know (November 2025)

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The new Ofsted Schools Inspection Framework (Nov 2025) brings a major shift in how attendance is evaluated. Inspectors now look beyond numbers to understand the barriers pupils face, the quality of a school’s systems, and how leadership creates an inclusive culture where pupils feel able to attend. This article explains what’s changed, and what evidence schools will need to show.
Practice & Case Studies

When Fines Become Conversations: What Camden’s Parent “Awareness Course” Tells Us About Attendance and Relationships

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A Camden primary school has drawn national attention for replacing attendance fines with a supportive “awareness course” for parents whose children were persistently absent. The approach has been covered by Schools Week, Netmums, and the BBC, each reporting encouraging early results.
Policy

A Temporary Glitch or the Start of a U-Turn? Inside the DfE’s Paused AI Attendance Targets

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Attendance isn’t solved with targets — digital or otherwise. Targets may provide structure, but meaningful change relies on strong systems: processes that ensure nothing is missed, every concern is acted on promptly, and communication with families is consistent and timely. AI might eventually support parts of this work, but it cannot replace the human understanding, professional judgement and relational work that sit at the heart of attendance practice.

Attendance Matters is a collaborative space for education professionals exploring school attendance. Run by a group of experienced educators, governors, and parents, it connects research, policy, and real experiences to promote fair and inclusive practice. Sponsored by Attend, all editorial content is created independently.

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