School Attendance and Exclusions

Pupil Absence

Overall state-funded primary, secondary and special school pupil absence (authorised and unauthorised, and accounting for the percentage of possible sessions missed) was 4.9% in Somerset in 2016/17, marginally above the national rate of 4.7%. Primary school absence in Somerset was 4.2% and Secondary school absence was 5.7%.

The Persistent Absence rate (that is, the proportion of pupils missing 10% or more possible sessions) was 8.2% in Somerset primary schools and 14.8% in secondary schools in 2016/17, with both rates above national averages.

Pupil Absence and Persistent Absence, Somerset 2013/14 to 2016/17

Source: Department for Education. State-funded schools.

*The definition of persistent absence changed from the 2015/16 academic year. Pupils missing 10% or more of possible sessions (due to authorised or unauthorised absence) are classified as persistent absentees. Prior to 2015/16 the benchmark was 15%.

Exclusions from School

In 2016/17, there were 4,985 fixed period exclusions from Somerset state-funded primary, secondary and special schools, representing a rate of 7.20 (expressed as a percentage of the number of pupils on roll). This was a higher rate than the national average rate of 4.76.

In 2016/17, there were 92 permanent exclusions from Somerset schools, representing a rate of 0.13. This was above the national average rate (0.10).

Fixed Term and Permanent Exclusion rates, 2013/14 to 2016/17

Source: Department for Education