VerbatimParliament, as it happens

Pupils: Absenteeism

Asked by Ian SollomLiberal DemocratDepartment for EducationTabled Answered 3 December 2024UIN 16265

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many teaching hours have been missed by persistently absent pupils with SEND in the 2023-24 school year.

Answered by Stephen Morgan

Information on pupil absence, including persistent absence and breakdowns by pupil characteristics, is published in the ‘Pupil absence in schools in England’ statistical release. This can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/pupil-absence-in-schools-in-england/2022-23.

The most recent data available is for the autumn and spring terms of the 2023/24 academic year. Data for the full 2023/24 academic year will be published in March 2025.

Data is collected in sessions as opposed to hours missed. One session is equal to half a day. The number of overall absence sessions for persistent absentees, broken down by special educational need status, can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/dabc07e5-3cb8-48ca-7115-08dd0ae16946.

Verbatim has judged this answer against the question that was actually asked — answered, partly answered, or evaded. Sign in to see the verdict →

Open this question in Verbatim →

Every written question, searchable

155,000 questions tabled since the election, with the answer each department gave — and the ones still unanswered, with the clock running. Free to search.

Search written questions →Read on Verbatim