Key points

Absence is reported by schools in half day sessions and recorded as authorised or unauthorised.

  • The overall attendance rate for primary, post-primary and special schools in the 2024/25 academic year was 92.1% of the total half days, an increase of 0.4 percentage points from 2023/24.

  • During the 2024/25 academic year 7.9% of total half days in primary, post-primary and special schools were missed due to absence. These comprised 4.5% authorised absence and 3.4% unauthorised absence.

  • The attendance rate for primary schools in 2024/25 was 93.8% of total half days, an increase of 0.5 percentage points from 2023/24. 3.6% of half days were missed due to authorised absence and 2.7% due to unauthorised absence.

  • The attendance rate for post-primary schools in 2024/25 was 90.2% (93.4% Grammar, 88.1% Non-Grammar) of total half days, an increase of 0.3 percentage points from 2023/24. 5.5% of half days were missed due to authorised absence and 4.3% due to unauthorised absence.

  • In special schools, the attendance rate in 2024/25 was 87.6% of total half days, an increase of 1.5 percentage points from 2023/24. This sector continues to have the highest absence rate, 12.4% of total half days comprising of 7.7% missed due to authorised absence and 4.6% due to unauthorised absence.

Introduction

  • Attendance data are collected annually via the School Census and are required by a range of organisations and individuals for a variety of purposes. The data are used by members of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Department of Education (DE), the Education Authority (EA) and the Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) for benchmarking, policy making and performance monitoring.

  • The statistics are also used by other departments when developing and monitoring cross-departmental policies. For example, attendance is an indicator in the Education Domain of the Northern Ireland Multiple Deprivation Measure. The data are also used by researchers, academics and students for research purposes and by the general public for informing choices about service providers.

  • Attendance data for the 2024/25 academic year was collected from all grant-aided primary, post-primary and special schools in Northern Ireland via the School Census 2025/26 data collection exercise which was conducted in October 2025.

1. All Schools by Sector

1.1 Key Findings

  • In primary schools, 6.2% of all half days were missed, comprising 3.6% authorised and 2.7% unauthorised absence (Table 1.1). This has decreased since 2023/24 when overall primary absence was 6.7% of all half days (4.1% authorised and 2.6% unauthorised).

  • In post-primary schools, 9.8% of all half days were missed, comprising 5.5% authorised absence and 4.3% unauthorised absence (Table 1.1). This has decreased since 2023/24 when overall post primary absence was 10.1% of the total half days (5.9% authorised and 4.2% unauthorised).

  • In Grammar schools 6.6% of all half days were missed, comprising 4.4% authorised absence and 2.2% unauthorised absence. In Non-Grammar, schools 11.9% of all half days were missed comprising 6.3% authorised absence and 5.7% unauthorised absence.

  • In special schools, 12.4% of all half days were missed, comprising 7.7% authorised and 4.6% unauthorised absence (Table 1.1). This has decreased since 2023/24 when overall special school absence was 13.9% of total half days (9.1% authorised and 4.9% unauthorised absence).


Table 1.1: Attendance and absence by school type, 2024/25

Table 1.1 shows the percentage of total half days

Measure Primary Post Primary Special
Attended 93.8 90.2 87.6
Overall absence 6.2 9.8 12.4
Authorised absence 3.6 5.5 7.7
Unauthorised absence 2.7 4.3 4.6


Chart 1.1: Absence from primary, post-primary and special schools, 2024/25


1.2 Reasons for Absence

The level of absence attributable to any particular reason is provided in Table 1.2.

  • Illness (Non-Covid-19) remains the most common reason for absence in all schools. It accounted for 48.6% of absent half days in primary schools, 43.6% in post-primary schools and 43.9% in special schools.

  • Absences due to medical/dental appointments: an authorised absence accounted for 3.1% of missed half days in primary schools, 5.0% in post-primary schools and 7.0% in special schools.

  • In primary schools, non-agreed family holidays represented 14.9% of absent half days in 2024/25, 4.4% in post-primary schools and 5.4% in special schools.

  • The proportion of absent half days for which no reason was provided represented 21.4% of absent half days in primary schools and 24.8% in post primary schools. The proportion in special schools was 23.6% in 2024/25.


Table 1.2: Absence from all grant-aided schools by reason, 2024/25

Absence Type Primary - % absent half days Primary - % total half days Post Primary - % absent half days Post Primary - % total half days Special - % absent half days Special - % total half days
Authorised Absence
Total Authorised Absence 57.3 3.6 56.5 5.5 62.5 7.7
Illness - Non Covid 48.6 3.0 43.6 4.3 43.9 5.4
Medical/ dental appointments 3.1 0.2 5.0 0.5 7.0 0.9
Family holiday agreed 0.2 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 0.7 <0.1
Bereavement 1.0 <0.1 1.3 0.1 0.5 <0.1
Religious Observation 0.3 <0.1 0.1 <0.1 0.2 <0.1
Artistic Endeavour 0.3 <0.1 0.2 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1
Covid19 Illness confirmed <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1
Covid19 Illness suspected <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 0.0 0.0
Suspension <0.1 <0.1 1.0 0.1 0.2 <0.1
Other exceptional circumstances 3.7 0.2 5.2 0.5 10.1 1.2
Unauthorised Absence
Total Unauthorised Absence 42.7 2.7 43.5 4.3 37.5 4.6
No reason provided 21.4 1.3 24.8 2.4 23.6 2.9
Family holiday not agreed 14.9 0.9 4.4 0.4 5.4 0.7
Late after registration closed 0.7 <0.1 0.5 <0.1 0.3 <0.1
Covid19 Self isolation vulnerable <0.1 <0.1 0.0 0.0 <0.1 <0.1
Covid19 Self isolation no learning 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Other 5.8 0.4 13.8 1.4 8.1 1.0
Total Absence 100.0 6.2 100.0 9.8 100.0 12.4


Note: In some cases, percentages may not sum due to rounding


1.3 Comparisons with England, Scotland and Wales

  • There are differences in how attendance is recorded across the countries of the UK, which means that any attempt to compare across the countries of the UK must be accompanied by some caveats. The most notable is:

Figures for Wales are not directly comparable as special schools’ data are contained within figures for primary and post-primary schools.

  • With this caveat in mind the following comparisons have been made. In primary schools, the highest overall absence rate in 2024/25 was recorded in Wales (7.4%). The overall absence rates recorded in other regions were: Northern Ireland: 6.2%, England: 5.2%, Scotland: 6.9%. In post-primary schools, the highest overall absence rate in 2024/25 was recorded in Scotland (11.6%). The overall absence rates recorded in other regions were: Northern Ireland: 9.8%, England: 8.1%, Wales: 10.9% (Table 1.3).

  • While overall 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. In primary schools, the highest persistent absence rate was recorded in Wales (21.8%). In post-primary schools, the highest persistent absence rate was recorded in Scotland (37.4%). Comparative figures for Northern Ireland were 17.0% in primary and 30.3% in post primary.


Table 1.3: Absence rates for Northern Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales, 2024/25

Table 1.3 shows the percentage of total half days

Region Primary - Overall Absence Primary - Persistent Absence Post Primary - Overall Absence Post Primary - Persistent Absence
Northern Ireland 6.2 17.0 9.8 30.3
England 5.2 13.3 8.1 21.9
Scotland 6.9 21.1 11.6 37.4
Wales 7.4 21.8 10.9 33.0


Data sources: England - Pupil Absence in Schools in England, Autumn Term 2024 and Spring Term 2025; Wales - Attendance and absence from primary schools: Sept 2024 to Aug 2025 and Attendance and absence from secondary schools: Sept 2024 to Aug 2025; Scotland - Summary statistics for schools In Scotland 2024


2. Pupil Level Analysis

2.1 Sex

  • Overall absence rates were similar for males and females of primary school age at 6.4% and 6.1% respectively. In post primary schools females (10.2%) had a higher overall absence rate than males (9.5%). In special schools the overall absence was also higher for females (13.5%) compared with males (11.9%).


Table 2.1: Attendance by sex, 2024/25

Table 2.1 shows the percentage of total half days

School Type Sex Attended Overall Absence Authorised Absence Unauthorised Absence
Primary Male 93.6 6.4 3.7 2.7
Primary Female 93.9 6.1 3.4 2.6
Primary Total 93.8 6.2 3.6 2.7
Post Primary Male 90.5 9.5 5.2 4.2
Post Primary Female 89.8 10.2 5.9 4.3
Post Primary Total 90.2 9.8 5.5 4.3
Special Male 88.1 11.9 7.3 4.6
Special Female 86.5 13.5 8.8 4.7
Special Total 87.6 12.4 7.7 4.6
All Schools Male 92.2 7.8 4.4 3.4
All Schools Female 92.1 7.9 4.5 3.4
All Schools Total 92.1 7.9 4.5 3.4


2.2 Religion of Pupil

  • There is very little difference between the attendance rates of each religion in Table 2.2. When all school types are considered, Protestant pupils and Catholic pupils have a similar attendance rate at 92.3% and 92.2% respectively. The largest difference in overall absence rates between Catholic and Protestant pupils in Northern Ireland was observed in primary schools. Catholic pupils had an overall absence rate of 6.2%, which was 0.5 percentage points higher than that of Protestant pupils (5.7%).


Table 2.2: Attendance by religion of pupil, 2024/25

Table 2.2 shows the percentage of total half days

School Type Religion Attended Overall Absence Authorised Absence Unauthorised Absence
Primary Protestant 94.3 5.7 3.1 2.6
Primary Catholic 93.8 6.2 3.8 2.5
Primary Other¹ 93.2 6.8 3.7 3.1
Primary Total 93.8 6.2 3.6 2.7
Post Primary Protestant 90.2 9.8 5.3 4.5
Post Primary Catholic 90.2 9.8 5.7 4.1
Post Primary Other¹ 90.1 9.9 5.5 4.5
Post Primary Total 90.2 9.8 5.5 4.3
Special Protestant 88.0 12.0 7.3 4.8
Special Catholic 87.7 12.3 7.8 4.5
Special Other¹ 87.1 12.9 8.1 4.8
Special Total 87.6 12.4 7.7 4.6
All Schools Protestant 92.3 7.7 4.2 3.5
All Schools Catholic 92.2 7.8 4.7 3.2
All Schools Other¹ 91.9 8.1 4.4 3.7
All Schools Total 92.1 7.9 4.5 3.4


Note: 1 Other religion includes Other Christian, No religion and non-Christian


2.3 Ethnicity

  • Irish Traveller pupils have a markedly higher absence rate than any other ethnic group (Table 2.3). Irish Traveller pupils missed 30.8% of total half days, compared with a rate of 8.9% for pupils from a Minority Ethnic Background and 7.7% for White pupils.


Table 2.3: Attendance by ethnicity, 2024/25

Table 2.3 shows the percentage of total half days

School Type Ethnicity Attended Overall Absence Authorised Absence Unauthorised Absence
Primary White 94.1 5.9 3.5 2.5
Primary Minority Ethnic Background² 91.6 8.4 4.2 4.2
Primary Irish Traveller 70.7 29.3 11.3 18.0
Primary Total 93.8 6.2 3.6 2.7
Post Primary White 90.2 9.8 5.6 4.2
Post Primary Minority Ethnic Background² 90.6 9.4 4.8 4.6
Post Primary Irish Traveller 63.7 36.3 13.2 23.1
Post Primary Total 90.2 9.8 5.5 4.3
Special White 87.9 12.1 7.6 4.4
Special Minority Ethnic Background² 85.2 14.8 8.6 6.2
Special Irish Traveller 69.7 30.3 15.7 14.6
Special Total 87.6 12.4 7.7 4.6
All Schools White 92.3 7.7 4.5 3.2
All Schools Minority Ethnic Background² 91.1 8.9 4.5 4.4
All Schools Irish Traveller 69.2 30.8 12.0 18.8
All Schools Total 92.1 7.9 4.5 3.4


Note: 2 Minority Ethnic Background includes Black African, Black Caribbean, Black Other, Bangladeshi, Chinese/Hong Kong, Indian/Sri Lankan, Korean, Malaysian, Pakistani, Roma, Vietnamese, Mixed, Other


2.4 Children Looked After3

  • In 2024/25, Children Looked After in post primary schools had an attendance rate of 84.2% compared with those who were not in care (90.2%). The largest gap in absence rates between Children Looked After and those that are not in care was in post-primary schools for unauthorised absence, with a difference of 5.2 percentage points (Table 2.4).


Table 2.4: Attendance of Children Looked After, 2024/25

Table 2.4 shows the percentage of total half days

School Type Children Looked After Attended Overall Absence Authorised Absence Unauthorised Absence
Primary Children Looked After³ 93.2 6.8 3.9 3.0
Primary Non Children Looked After 93.8 6.2 3.6 2.7
Primary Total 93.8 6.2 3.6 2.7
Post Primary Children Looked After³ 84.2 15.8 6.4 9.4
Post Primary Non Children Looked After 90.2 9.8 5.5 4.2
Post Primary Total 90.2 9.8 5.5 4.3
Special Children Looked After³ 87.8 12.2 6.6 5.7
Special Non Children Looked After 87.6 12.4 7.8 4.6
Special Total 87.6 12.4 7.7 4.6
All Schools Children Looked After³ 89.1 10.9 5.1 5.8
All Schools Non Children Looked After 92.2 7.8 4.5 3.3
All Schools Total 92.1 7.9 4.5 3.4


Note: 3 ‘Children looked after’ includes children defined in ‘The Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995’, i.e., ‘a child who is looked after by an authority is a reference to a child who is: (a) in the care of the authority; or (b) provided with accommodation by the authority.’ This includes children who are fostered.


2.5 Special Education Needs

  • In 2024/25, pupils with a statement of Special Education Needs (SEN) had an attendance rate of 88.1% compared with 93.1% for pupils without SEN. The largest difference in absence rates between statemented and non-SEN pupils was for unauthorised absence in post-primary schools, with a difference of 4.2 percentage points (Table 2.5).


Table 2.5: Attendance rates for pupils with SEN, 2024/25

Table 2.5 shows the percentage of total half days

School Type SEN Attended Overall Absence Authorised Absence Unauthorised Absence
Primary Statemented 91.0 9.0 5.6 3.4
Primary SEN Stage 1 & 2 91.7 8.3 4.4 3.9
Primary No SEN 94.4 5.6 3.2 2.4
Primary Total 93.8 6.2 3.6 2.7
Post Primary Statemented 84.3 15.7 8.0 7.7
Post Primary SEN Stage 1 & 2 84.5 15.5 7.8 7.7
Post Primary No SEN 91.5 8.5 5.0 3.5
Post Primary Total 90.2 9.8 5.5 4.3
Special Statemented 87.6 12.4 7.7 4.6
Special SEN Stage 1 & 2 89.0 11.0 7.7 3.3
Special Total 87.6 12.4 7.7 4.6
All Schools Statemented 88.1 11.9 6.9 5.1
All Schools SEN Stage 1 & 2 89.2 10.8 5.6 5.2
All Schools No SEN 93.1 6.9 4.0 2.9
All Schools Total 92.1 7.9 4.5 3.4


2.6 Neighbourhood Renewal Areas4

  • The absence rate for pupils living in Neighbourhood Renewal Areas was 4.5 percentage points higher than for pupils who did not live in a NRA, 11.6% and 7.1% respectively. When comparing school types, the absence gap is widest in the post-primary sector, with a difference of 5.5 percentage points (Table 2.6).


Table 2.6: Attendance rates for pupils living in NRAs, 2024/25

Table 2.6 shows the percentage of total half days

School Type NRA Attended Overall Absence Authorised Absence Unauthorised Absence
Primary NRA⁴ 90.6 9.4 4.7 4.7
Primary Non NRA 94.4 5.6 3.3 2.3
Primary Total 93.8 6.2 3.6 2.7
Post Primary NRA⁴ 85.6 14.4 7.2 7.2
Post Primary Non NRA 91.1 8.9 5.2 3.7
Post Primary Total 90.2 9.8 5.5 4.3
Special NRA⁴ 85.5 14.5 8.3 6.2
Special Non NRA 88.4 11.6 7.5 4.0
Special Total 87.6 12.4 7.7 4.6
All Schools NRA⁴ 88.4 11.6 5.8 5.7
All Schools Non NRA 92.9 7.1 4.2 2.9
All Schools Total 92.1 7.9 4.5 3.4


Note: 4 Neighbourhood Renewal Areas (NRAs) are neighbourhoods identified as experiencing the most severe multiple deprivation and have been chosen to receive support under the Department of Communities’ People and Place strategy for Neighbourhood Renewal.


2.7 Free School Meal Entitlement


2.7.1 School Level data

  • School pupils who are entitled to free school meals have lower attendance rates than those who are not. This is reflected in the school level data which shows that absence rates increase in line with the percentage of enrolled pupils who are entitled to free school meals (Table 2.7.1).

  • The overall absence rate was lowest (4.0%) in primary schools where less than 10% of pupils were entitled to free school meals and highest (10.0%) in primary schools where more than 60% of pupils were entitled to free school meals. In the post primary sector, the difference was even greater with an absence rate of 5.2% for schools with less than 10% of pupils entitled to free school meals compared with 14.9% for schools with 50% or more of their pupils entitled to free school meals. Since the level of free school meal eligibility is indicative of deprivation levels, the data shows that absence is higher in more disadvantaged areas.


Table 2.7.1: Attendance by FSME band, 2024/25

Table 2.7.1 shows the percentage of total half days

School Type FSME band Attended Overall Absence Authorised Absence Unauthorised Absence
Primary Under 10.00 96.0 4.0 2.6 1.4
Primary 10.00 – 19.99 95.1 4.9 3.2 1.7
Primary 20.00 – 29.99 93.9 6.1 3.5 2.6
Primary 30.00 – 39.99 92.6 7.4 4.0 3.3
Primary 40.00 – 49.99 91.5 8.5 4.6 4.0
Primary 50.00 – 59.99 91.1 8.9 4.2 4.7
Primary 60.00 or more 90.0 10.0 4.8 5.2
Primary Total 93.8 6.2 3.6 2.7
Post Primary Under 10.00 94.8 5.2 4.1 1.2
Post Primary 10.00 – 19.99 92.8 7.2 4.5 2.7
Post Primary 20.00 – 29.99 89.6 10.4 5.9 4.5
Post Primary 30.00 – 39.99 87.5 12.5 6.3 6.2
Post Primary 40.00 – 49.99 85.0 15.0 8.4 6.6
Post Primary 50.00 or more 85.1 14.9 6.4 8.6
Post Primary Total 90.2 9.8 5.5 4.3


2.7.2 Pupil Level data

  • In 2024/25, free school meal entitled (FSME) pupils were absent for 12.1% of total half days compared with 6.4% for pupils not entitled to free school meals, a gap of 5.7 percentage points. (Table 2.7.2).

  • The difference in absence rate was greatest in post-primary schools, where pupils entitled to free school meals had an absence rate of 15.8%, compared to 7.9% for pupils not entitled to free school meals, a difference of 7.9 percentage points


Table 2.7.2: Attendance by FSME status, 2024/25

Table 2.7.2 shows the percentage of total half days

School Type FSME Attended Overall Absence Authorised Absence Unauthorised Absence
Primary FSME 90.3 9.7 5.1 4.5
Primary Non FSME 95.0 5.0 3.0 2.0
Primary Total 93.8 6.2 3.6 2.7
Post Primary FSME 84.2 15.8 8.0 7.8
Post Primary Non FSME 92.1 7.9 4.8 3.2
Post Primary Total 90.2 9.8 5.5 4.3
Special FSME 88.1 11.9 7.7 4.3
Special Non FSME 87.1 12.9 7.8 5.1
Special Total 87.6 12.4 7.7 4.6
All Schools FSME 87.9 12.1 6.4 5.7
All Schools Non FSME 93.6 6.4 3.8 2.5
All Schools Total 92.1 7.9 4.5 3.4


2.8 Newcomer Status

  • In 2024/25, Newcomer pupils had a lower attendance rate (90.1%) than those who were not Newcomer pupils (92.3%) across all school types. The difference in absence rate was greatest in primary schools, where Newcomer pupils had an absence rate of 9.3%, compared to 6.0% for non-newcomer pupils, a difference of 3.3 percentage points (Table 2.8).


Table 2.8: Attendance by Newcomer status, 2024/25

Table 2.8 shows the percentage of total half days

School Type Newcomer Attended Overall Absence Authorised Absence Unauthorised Absence
Primary Newcomer 90.7 9.3 4.6 4.6
Primary Non Newcomer 94.0 6.0 3.5 2.5
Primary Total 93.8 6.2 3.6 2.7
Post Primary Newcomer 88.0 12.0 5.6 6.4
Post Primary Non Newcomer 90.3 9.7 5.5 4.2
Post Primary Total 90.2 9.8 5.5 4.3
Special Newcomer 84.8 15.2 9.6 5.7
Special Non Newcomer 87.7 12.3 7.7 4.6
Special Total 87.6 12.4 7.7 4.6
All Schools Newcomer 90.1 9.9 4.9 5.0
All Schools Non Newcomer 92.3 7.7 4.5 3.3
All Schools Total 92.1 7.9 4.5 3.4


2.9 Overview

  • Schools monitor attendance to identify potential concerns at an early stage. When a concern is identified the school will contact parents/guardians to seek their assistance. However, there are instances when, despite the school using a range of intervention strategies to support them, the pupil will still struggle with attendance. When schools are unable to resolve an attendance issue and the school is concerned or attendance has reduced below 85%, they should refer a pupil to the EA’s dedicated Education Welfare Service (EWS). The detailed breakdown in Table 2.9 of attendance by pupil characteristics, grouped by categories such as sex, religion and ethnicity can help identify characteristics which make a pupil more prone to poor attendance.

  • At primary school level the figures indicate that there are particular attendance issues involving Irish Traveller pupils – 68.9% of these pupils are absent for at least 15% of total half days.

  • Pupils entitled to free school meals are more likely to have attendance at 85% or below with 25.7% of pupils in this category compared with only 7.7% of pupils not entitled to free school meals.


Table 2.9: Attendance overview for all schools, 2024/25

Characteristic 85% or below 85.01% - 99.99% 100%
Male 12.3 83.7 3.9
Female 12.5 83.4 4.1
FSME 25.7 72.6 1.7
Non FSME 7.7 87.5 4.8
White 11.9 84.2 3.9
Minority Ethnic Background 16.2 78.7 5.1
Irish Traveller 68.9 30.4 0.7
Protestant 12.4 82.4 5.1
Catholic 11.9 84.8 3.3
Other Religion 13.5 82.3 4.2
Total 12.4 83.6 4.0


Contact Details

Published by: Statistics and Research Team, Department of Education

Lead Statistician: John Toogood

Email: statistics@education-ni.gov.uk

Press office: press.office@education-ni.gov.uk

Notes for readers

Accredited Official Statistics

  1. These accredited official statistics have been independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics. Accredited official statistics are called National Statistics in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. Accreditation signifies their compliance with the authority’s Code of Practice for Statistics which broadly means these statistics are:
  • managed impartially and objectively in the public interest
  • meet identified user needs
  • produced according to sound methods
  • well explained and readily accessible

  1. Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.

  2. You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing or via the OSR website.

  3. You can also find Accredited official statistics on the Internet.

School Attendance

  1. The statistics in this release have been derived from the annual School Census. More information about the collection of school attendance data can be found here.

  2. The 2024/25 figures in this statistical release are based on school census information. They may be subject to minor revision and these will be notified in accordance with our revisions policy.

  3. The data are produced at aggregate level only; therefore individual pupils cannot be identified. More information on confidentiality can be found in the DE Confidentiality and Access Statement.

  4. New attendance codes were introduced in January of the 2020/21 academic to more accurately record the impact of COVID-19 in schools. Details on these codes can be found here: Circular 2020/08 - Attendance guidance and absence recording by schools.

  5. The code ‘T – Traveller absence’ was removed prior to the 2010/11 academic year. In 2010/11, the code ‘E – Educated offsite’ was removed and broken down into 8 new codes, providing more detail on the type of alternative educational provision. Further details can be found here.

A new ‘J – Extended Leave’ code was introduced in the 2018/19 academic year. This will allow pupils, for a limited period only to travel outside the UK without their attendance levels being adversely affected.

  1. If a pupil is learning remotely from home whether this is due to self-isolation or at the request of the school then this is recorded as a present mark.

Definitions

  1. Attendance or absence is measured for every pupil in half day sessions (am and pm). Absence can be either authorised or unauthorised.

Attendance
In addition to actual attendance within the school premises, the following are also considered as attendance at school:
- Late (before registration closed)
- Approved sporting activities
- Study leave
- Educational visits
- Work experience
- Alternative education provision (organised by the EA)*
- Home/hospital tuition (organised by the EA)*
- Pupil referral unit*
- Another mainstream school (under Entitlement Framework)*
- Training Organisation (under Entitlement Framework)*
- FE College (under Entitlement Framework)*
- Intensive Support Learning Unit*
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)*
- Covid-19 Self Isolation & Learning from Home
- Covid-19 Self Isolation from Home – Social Distancing


Authorised absence
An authorised absence is absence with permission from an authorised school representative on provision of a satisfactory explanation. This includes:
- Artistic endeavour**
- Bereavement
- Suspension
- Agreed family holiday (in very exceptional circumstances)
- Illness
- Medical /dental appointments
- Other exceptional circumstances (includes an exceptional event outside control of the school, for example, travelling children, court appearance)
- Religious observance
- Covid-19 Illness Confirmed
- Covid-19 Illness Suspected/Unconfirmed

Unauthorised absence
An unauthorised absence is absence without permission from an authorised school representative due to unexplained or unjustified absence. This includes:
- Family holiday not agreed
- Other absence (includes absence not covered by any other code or a reason which is not acceptable to the school, for example, pupil’s / parent’s or sibling’s birthday)
- No reason provided for absence
- Late (after registration closed)
- Covid-19 Self-Isolating-Vulnerable pupil or household member
- Covid-19 Self-Isolating-No evidence of learning from home

Data quality and coverage

  1. Overall absence is considered to be a more reliable measure of absence than authorised and unauthorised absence. Both figures have been provided, however limitations in comparing rates of unauthorised and authorised absence should be noted - for those absences which are not covered by a specific code, the decision to allocate the absence as authorised or unauthorised is taken by the school.

  2. Prior to September 2009, schools were advised to record unexplained absence initially as ‘no reason yet provided’, however, if a reason was not provided within a specified period of time, these should be changed to ‘other’. From September 2009 onwards, schools were instructed that, if a reason was never provided, the code should remain as ‘no reason yet provided’. This has resulted in higher rates of unauthorised absence being recorded as ‘no reason yet provided’ and lower figures for ‘other’ than in previous years.

  3. Primary and post-primary data refer to pupils in Years 1 to 12 only, which aligns with the compulsory school age in Northern Ireland. Figures for special schools include all pupils attending special schools in 2024/25.

  4. In some cases, percentages may not sum due to rounding.

  5. Pupil level information refers to the number of pupil enrolments rather than the number of pupils. A pupil can move schools during the year and will therefore have an attendance record at more than one school.

  6. Comparison of the number of looked after children recorded in the school census and the number recorded by the DoH Children Order Statistical Tables suggests some under-reporting of looked after children in the school census. It is possible that schools are unaware of the child’s looked after status. Also, since attendance data is collectively retrospectively from schools and matched with current pupil characteristics, the looked after status may have changed. Despite this, attendance rates for looked after children have been included in this publication since the data are sufficiently robust to produce indicative figures.

  7. As stated earlier, attendance is measured for each pupil in half day sessions. In order to provide information on the actual number of school days missed, these totals have been divided by two. While this is useful to provide an indication of school days missed, it is generally more accurate to report in terms of half days.

  8. Schools are required to be in operation for 190 days in the school year, less any School Development Days (SDDs). Schools can apply for up to five SDDs, which can produce slight variations between the numbers of days individual schools are open to pupils.

Users and uses of the data

  1. Attendance data are collected annually via the school census and are required by a range of organisations and individuals for a variety of purposes. The data are used by members of the NI Assembly, the Department of Education (DE), the Education Authority and the Education and Training Inspectorate for benchmarking, policy making and performance monitoring. The statistics are also used by other departments when developing and monitoring cross-departmental policies. For example, attendance is an indicator in the Education Domain of the Northern Ireland Multiple Deprivation Measure. The data are also used by researchers, academics and students for research purposes and by the general public for informing choices about service providers.

  2. Special analyses of the attendance information can be undertaken on request (contact details above) or contact the Statistics and Research Team.

  3. Feedback on this publication can be provided directly to John Toogood (contact details above)

Accessibility contact

Please contact Dissemination Branch for assistance with accessibility requirements or alternative formats. Contact details are:

Email:

Telephone: +44 (0)300 200 7836

Dissemination Branch
NISRA
Colby House
Stranmillis Court
BELFAST
BT9 5RR

Open Government Licence

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