Pupil attendance and absence rates

Request school attendance data by school, absence reason, and year group.

Regular attendance is closely linked to educational outcomes. Absence data by school shows where attendance is a concern and what kinds of absence are most common.

Dear [AUTHORITY NAME], Please provide the following information for [SCHOOL YEAR e.g. 2024-25]: 1. The overall attendance rate for each school in the authority. 2. A breakdown of absence by category (e.g. authorised, unauthorised, sickness, family holiday) for each school. 3. The number of pupils with attendance below 80% (sometimes categorised as severely absent), broken down by primary and secondary. I would prefer to receive this as a spreadsheet or CSV if possible. Yours faithfully, [YOUR NAME]
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Who to send it to#

Your local council’s education department. Find your council on the Commissioner’s directory of Scottish public authorities. You can also send your request through WhatDoTheyKnow, which publishes responses online.

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Tips#

  • The Scottish Government publishes school attendance, absence, and exclusion statistics. Check the latest publication before submitting your request.
  • Post-pandemic attendance patterns have changed significantly. Comparing current data with pre-2020 figures can highlight the scale of the shift.
  • If you are interested in a single school, name it in the request. This makes the request simpler for the council to answer.
  • Schools in areas of higher deprivation tend to have lower attendance rates. Pairing this data with SIMD information adds useful context.