The latest attendance figures from the Department for Education (DfE, 2025) show that for the autumn term 2024, attendance in primary schools was 94.8% with an 5.2% absence rate.
Of this, 3.8% of sessions missed were authorised and 1.4% were unauthorised. This compares to the autumn term in 2023 when absence was at 5.3% with 1.5% unauthorised.
When it comes to persistent absence – students who missed 10% or more of school sessions – this stood at 15.4% in autumn 2023 meaning that the situation has worsened slightly with persistent absence of 15.8% in autumn 2024.
This year the government has raised the fines for non-attendance to £80 (it used to be £60). The new approach means that each parent will only get up to two fines for the same child in a three-year period – but if they get a second fine in three years it will be at £160. If parents do not pay the fine in 28 days they may be taken to court for keeping their child out of school (DfE, 2024).
Register now, read forever
Thank you for visiting Headteacher Update and reading some of our content for professionals in primary education. Register now for free to get unlimited access to all content.
What's included:
-
Unlimited access to news, best practice articles and podcasts
-
New content and e-bulletins delivered straight to your inbox every Monday
Already have an account? Sign in here