School attendance rates across the UK vary greatly

The attendance levels of pupils returning school vary greatly across the UK, and shows in areas with the highest rates of the virus in the UK such as the North West of England, as many as 4 in 10 secondary pupils were unable to attend school during October. In contrast, other areas have seen almost all of their pupils attend school in person.

Published by the Education Policy Institute (EPI), supported by the Nuffield Foundation, the analysis concludes that the most disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils in the UK are more likely to have missed the most learning time as a result of the disruption to schools.

The research is the first to compare data on school attendance across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland since the return of schools in August and September. Within the four UK countries, the analysis considers how attendance rates vary among different pupil groups and in different areas.

Rising Covid-19 infection rates across the country have created a number of challenges for schools since they reopened several weeks ago, with hundreds of thousands of pupils and staff being sent home following outbreaks.

The research also suggests that in the first half of the autumn term the most deprived areas in the UK were more likely to have seen lower pupil attendance levels.

It finds a clear link in Scotland between pupils with higher levels of deprivation and low school attendance levels, along with indications in other parts of the UK that poorer pupils were also more likely to miss out on formal schooling during the first term back.

School attendance was far higher in Scotland and Northern Ireland at the very beginning of the autumn term. Attendance in the first week that all pupils returned was 94% in Scotland and 95% in Northern Ireland, compared to 87% in England and 85% in Wales. This could be due to Scotland and Northern Ireland having more time to prepare for reopening, given their schools were not widely open in June and July. They also opened at a time when national infection rates were far lower.

Scotland and Northern Ireland were still ahead with pupil attendance by October: recent data from Scotland shows over 90% of pupils attended school, while in Northern Ireland 93% were attending before the two-week closures to schools. In England, 87% of schools were open before half-term, while 85% were in Wales.
    
In all countries, attendance was far higher in primary than in secondary schools, reflecting ONS evidence on higher infection rates for older children.