Missing too much time in class for any reason can have a big impact on pupil achievement - even in their early, primary school days.
A recent Department for Education report found that pupils who attended school nearly every day in Year 6 were 1.3 times more likely to meet the Government’s expected standards in reading, writing and maths compared to pupils who only attended 90-95% of the time. This means missing just 10 days of school cuts down their chances by around 25%.
But England’s overall school attendance rates could certainly be better. The Government’s latest full absence and attendance figures, covering the full 2023/24 school year show that the overall absence rate - the percentage of half-days missed for all pupils - sits at 7.1%; still well above pre-pandemic figures. One in five pupils were also labelled ‘persistently absent’, meaning they missed at least 10% of these half-day sessions.
As well as looking at how schools across the country fared, we’ve also taken a deep dive into attendance rates for state primary schools in the Nottingham City and Nottinghamshire County council areas. Using this data, we’ve created a league table celebrating the schools that have managed to keep their overall absence rates at 3.5% or lower - an achievement any school community should be proud of.
Here were the 13 schools that made the list:
5. Abbey Primary School
This is a primary academy in Mansfield, an above average academic performer with about 454 pupils. In the 2023/24 school year, it had an overall absence rate of 3.3%. | Google
6. Bleasby Church of England Primary School
This is an Anglican primary academy in the village of Bleasby. It has about 129 pupils, with a higher-than-average proportion of them meeting Government performance targets. In the 2023/24 school year, it had an overall absence rate of 3.4%. | Google
7. Bramcote Hills Primary School
This is a local authority-maintained primary school in Bramcote. It has about 413 pupils, with a notably higher amount of its Year 6s achieving reading, writing, and maths targets. In the 2023/24 school year, it too had an overall absence rate of 3.4%. | Google
8. St Teresa's Catholic Primary School
St Teresa’s is a Catholic primary academy in Nottingham. It has about 420 pupils, with an especially high number of them meeting Government performance targets. In the 2023/24 school year, it again had an overall absence rate of 3.4%. | Google