Parents probably know all too well that in order for children to get the most out of their education, they need to attend school as often as possible.
But across England, absence rates don’t really reflect the importance of good attendance. The Government’s latest absence and attendance figures, covering the full 2023/24 school year, show that the overall absence rate - the percentage of half-days missed for all pupils - sits at a lofty 7.1%, well above pre-pandemic figures. One in five pupils were also ‘persistently absent’, meaning they missed at least 10% of these half-day sessions.
A recent Department for Education report has highlighted just how much these absences add up, even at a primary school level. It found that pupils who attended school nearly every day in Year 6 were 1.3 times more likely to meet the Government’s expected standards in reading, writing and maths compared to pupils who only attended 90-95% of the time. This means missing just 10 days of school cuts their chances by around 25%.
We’ve taken a deep dive into how state-funded primary schools - including infant and junior schools - across the Portsmouth, Southampton, and Hampshire County council areas did when it came to pupils missing class for any reason over the last academic year. We’ve used this data to create a league table celebrating the success of local school communities who’ve kept their absence rates low.
Here were the 14 Hampshire schools that led the pack:
9. Buryfields Infant School
Buryfields is a local authority-maintained infant school in Odiham, which takes pupils aged 4 to 7. It has a roll size of about 172. In the 2023/24 school year, it had an overall absence rate of 3.3%. | Google
10. Padnell Junior School
This is a local authority-maintained junior school in Waterlooville, which takes pupils from age 7 to 11. It has a roll size of about 358. In the 2023/24 school year, it too had an overall absence rate of 3.3%. | Google
11. St Francis Church of England Primary School
St Francis is a local authority-maintained Anglican primary school in Eastleigh. An above average performer academically, it has about 396 pupils. In the 2023/24 school year, it once again had an overall absence rate of 3.3%. | Google
12. St John's Cathedral Catholic Primary School
St John’s is a local authority-maintained Catholic primary school in Portsmouth. It has a roll size of about 243, and has a higher proportion of its pupils meeting the Government’s expected standard in reading, writing and maths than both the local and national averages. In the 2023/24 school year, it also had an overall absence rate of 3.3%. | Google