Attendance and Absence in Scottish Schools: 1999/2000 to 2001/2002

Description	Latest results of Attendance and Absence in Scottish Schools survey
ISBN	N/A (Web Only)
Official Print Publication Date
Website Publication Date	December 06, 2002

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News Release
ATTENDANCE AND ABSENCE IN SCOTTISH SCHOOLS: 1999/2000 TO 2001/2002

6 ^th December 2002

This is a Scottish Executive National Statistics Publication

This document is also available in pdf format (390k)

Additional tables showing average number of half days unauthorised absence per pupil due to 'temporary exclusion' and 'truancy and other' - Education Authority primary and secondary schools 1998/99 to 2001/2002 (18k)

The latest data on attendance and absence in Scottish schools has been published today by the Scottish Executive Education Department. Attendance and absence information is provided to The Scottish Executive by the education authorities, and managers of grant-aided and self-governing schools.

The news release contains information on attendance and absence over the last three school sessions. Summary information for education authorities and for Scotland is also shown.

The main findings are:

Total percentage absence for primary schools for 2001/02 was 5.1 per cent. With the exception of 1999/2000, this was the lowest rate in recent years.
Total percentage absence for secondary schools for 2001/02 is 11.1 per cent. With the exception of 1999/2000, this was the lowest rate in recent years.
Authorised absence in primary schools in 2001/02 was 4.7 per cent. With the exception of 1999/2000, this was the lowest rate in recent years. Unauthorised absence also decreased slightly, from 0.4 per cent in 2000/01 to 0.3 per cent in 2001/02, but remained higher than in earlier years.
Authorised absence in secondary schools in 2001/02 was 9.6 per cent. This was the lowest rate in recent years, with the exception of 1999/2000. Unauthorised absence also decreased slightly in 2001/02, but at 1.5 per cent was still higher than in years prior to 2000/01.
About one in twenty unauthorised absences in primary schools were due to temporary exclusions. In secondary schools one in six unauthorised absences were due to temporary exclusions.
Absence, both authorised and unauthorised, were fairly stable between P1 and P7, and then increased through S4, before decreasing slightly in S5.
Glasgow City had the highest total percentage absence in primary schools with 7.3 per cent, whilst East Renfrewshire and the Orkney Islands had the lowest total percentage absence of 3.7 per cent.
Glasgow City also had the highest total percentage absence in secondary schools with 15.4 per cent, whilst Orkney Islands had the lowest total percentage absence with 5.7 per cent.
Total absences in primary schools were just under 2 lost school weeks per pupil, from a possible 38 school weeks. This was an average of 18 half-days authorised absence and 1 half-day unauthorised absence.
Total absences in secondary schools were over 4 lost school weeks per pupil, from a possible 38 school weeks. This was an average of 36 half-days authorised absence and 6 half-days unauthorised absence.
On average there were approximately 53,000 pupils absent from Scottish schools each day.

NOTES TO NEWS EDITORS

Scottish Office Circulars 1/95 and 10/95 gave specific guidance to schools and education authorities on the categorisation of attendance and absence.

Attendance was defined as:

participation in the programme of educational activities arranged by the school.

In addition to actual attendance within the school premises, it covered:

work experience;
educational visits;
day and residential visits to outdoor centres;
college/consortium school study;
interviews and visits relating to further and/or higher education;
debates, sports, musical or theatrical productions etc. arranged by, or in conjunction with, the school;
activities in connection with psychological services;
school medical examinations off-site;
hospital tuition.

Authorised absence was defined as:

sickness;
medical and dental treatment;
bereavement;
domestic circumstances relating to exceptional hardship at home;
no school within walking distance and no transport arrangements;
study leave;
religious observance;
family holidays where attendance is otherwise satisfactory;
meetings prior to, and in, court;
attendance at, or in connection with, a Child Care Review;
attendance at, or in connection with, a Children's Hearing;
weddings of immediate family;
certified debates, sports, musical or theatrical productions not arranged by, or in conjunction with, the school;
extended visits overseas to relatives;
sanctioned, extended absence in relation to children of travelling families.

Unauthorised absence was defined as:

temporary exclusions arising from incidents in or out of class;
truancy, an application having been made to the education authority in relation to an attendance order;
truancy, an appeal having been made to the Sheriff in relation to an attendance order;
family holidays where attendance is otherwise unsatisfactory;
truancy, defined as unauthorised absence from school, for any period, as a result of premeditated or spontaneous action on the part of the pupil, parent or both;
unexplained absence.

Percentages for authorised and unauthorised absence relate to the total number of possible attendances. For many schools this is 380 half-day sessions during the school year.
This is a National Statistics publication. National Statistics are produced to high professional standards set out in the National Statistics Code of Practice. They undergo regular quality assurance reviews to ensure that they meet customer needs. They are produced free from any political interference.

Enquiries

Statistical tables are available through the following link: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00218-00.asp
Public enquiries (non-media) about the information contained in this News Release should be addressed to Neil White, Assistant Statistician, Scottish Executive Education Department, Area 1-A, Victoria Quay, Edinburgh EH6 6QQ. Telephone 0131 244 0300 or e-mail ea.stats@scotland.gsi.gov.uk.
Media enquiries about the information in this News Release should be addressed to:
Barry Winter 0131 244 2087

News Release
6 December 2002

Statistical Notes and Definitions

Tables
Table 1: Percentage of half-day sessions missed due to absence from schools, 1995/96 to 2001/02
Table 2: Percentage absence in primary schools 2000/2001 to 2001/2002, by education authority
Table 3: Percentage absence in secondary schools 2000/2001 to 2001/2002, by education authority

Grant-aided and Self-governing Schools
SELF GOVERNING PRIMARY SCHOOL
GRANT AIDED PRIMARY SCHOOL
GRANT AIDED SECONDARY SCHOOL

Statistical Notes and Definitions

Sources

Attendance and absence information is provided to the Scottish Executive by the education authorities, and managers of grant-aided and self-governing schools. The information shown for attendance and absence is for the academic year. School roll information is provided to the Scottish Executive by schools each September as part of the annual School Census.

Coverage

This report contains three year's information on school roll and attendance and absence for education authority, grant-aided and self-governing primary and secondary schools. The absence figures relate to half-days, i.e. a morning or afternoon.

This report does not give information on attendance and absence in special schools, independent schools or pre-school establishments.

Schools listed are those open as at September 2001. Schools which closed at the end of the 2001/2002 session, and for which data are available, are included in the education authority figures.

The attendance and absence of S6 pupils and of adults attending day-school classes have been excluded from the figures as they are beyond the age of compulsory schooling.

Almost all secondary schools offer education from S1-S6. Where this does not apply, the stages offered are printed after the school name.

Definitions

SOED Circular 1/95 and SOEID Circular 10/95 give specific guidance to schools and education authorities. These circulars defined attendance, and specified the two categories for the recording of absence in school handbooks: authorised and unauthorised.

Attendance is defined as:

Participation in the programme of educational activities arranged by the school.

In addition to actual attendance within the school premises, it covered:

Work experience
Educational visits
Day and residential visits to outdoor centres
College/consortium school study
Interviews and visits relating to further and/or higher education
Debates, sports, musical or theatrical productions etc. arranged by, or in conjunction with, the school
Activities in connection with psychological services
School medical examinations off-site
Hospital tuition.

Authorised absence was defined as:

Sickness
Medical and dental treatment
Bereavement
Domestic circumstances relating to exceptional hardship at home
No school within walking distance and no transport arrangements
Study leave
Religious observance
Family holidays where attendance is otherwise satisfactory
Meetings prior to, and in court
Attendance at, or in connection with a Child Care Review
Attendance at, or in connection with a Children's Hearing
Weddings of immediate family
Certified debates, sports, musical or theatrical productions not arranged by, or in conjunction with the school
Extended visits overseas to relatives
Sanctioned, extended absence in relation to children of travelling families.

Unauthorised absence was defined as:

Temporary exclusions arising from incidents in or out of class
Truancy, an application having been made to the education authority in relation to an attendance order
Truancy, an appeal having been made to the Sheriff in relation to an attendance order
Family holidays where attendance is otherwise unsatisfactory
Truancy, defined as unauthorised absence from school, for any period, as a result of premeditated or spontaneous action on the part of the pupil, parents or both
Unexplained absence.

School roll for any session is the total number of pupils on the roll in the school census taken in September of that session. It does not include adults enrolled for day-time classes, pupils of other schools who use the facilities of the school on a part-time basis, or other individuals who use the school facilities, for example, where the school is a community school. For the purpose of this report, pupils who are placed in special units are included on the school roll. Secondary school roll figures exclude S6 pupils.

Average number of half-days authorised absence per pupil is obtained by multiplying a school's percentage authorised absence by 380 for non-Lothian schools, 342 for most schools in the Lothians.

Average number of half-days unauthorised absence per pupil is obtained by multiplying a school's percentage unauthorised absence by 380 for non-Lothian schools, 342 for most schools in the Lothians.

The education authority average is the average number of half-days authorised or unauthorised absence for all pupils in education authority schools only.

The national average is the average number of half-days authorised or unauthorised absence for education authority, grant-aided and self-governing schools in Scotland.

Authorised and unauthorised absence rates are shown as percentages of the total possible number of attendances for each school.

Local interpretation of national guidance may influence the figures reported by schools or education authorities, from whom further information can be obtained.

Each morning and afternoon of each school day counts as a separate possible attendance.

The total number of possible attendances for a school is calculated by totalling the number of possible attendance for all pupils while they were on the school register.

Symbols

Two asterisks (**) are printed in the report in place of figures based on very small school rolls (more than 0 but fewer than 5 pupils).

Two hashes (##) indicates that the school has recently opened or merged with another school and this information is not available.

The Scottish Government

Statistics

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