More than 40 per cent of Scotland’s secondary students are persistently absent from school, according to official statistics.
Figures released by the Scottish government today show a small reduction in the number of students in secondary schools who were absent for 10 per cent or more of the school year in 2023-24 (40.6 per cent), falling from 41 per cent in 2022-23.
But that remains high compared with the 2012-13 school year when the figure was 26.7 per cent.
Persistent absence in primary schools has also fallen slightly, from 25.6 per cent to 23.9 per cent, but remains well above the figures seen between 2010 and 2020, which ranged from 13.2 to 15.5 per cent.
The proportion of pupils absent from school for more than half of the year is also at the highest since at least 2010, with 2.5 per cent missing out - up from 2.3 per cent the previous year.
Covid impact on pupil attendance
A Scottish government spokesperson said that the Covid-19 pandemic had affected attendance and that the improvement was “welcome”, but added: “All children and young people should get the support that they need to reach their full potential, but we need sustained effort at all levels of the education system to ensure this happens.
“We are working with Education Scotland and the interim chief inspector [Janie McManus] to address issues of attendance and identify ways to make further improvements across the country.”
The spokesperson said this was on top of work each local authority is doing in efforts to prioritise improved school attendance.
Today has seen the publication of a wide range of annual education data in Scotland, also covering issues such as teacher numbers and numeracy and literacy.
More school attendance data is due to be published by the Scottish government in March.
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