A concise summary of the DfE's weekly attendance estimates for state-funded schools in England, highlighting trends, causes and data limitations
DfE publishes fortnightly pupil attendance snapshot
Summary
The Department for Education now publishes a rolling fortnightly snapshot of pupil attendance using daily register feeds from participating state-funded schools. The latest snapshot covers the week beginning 2 February 2026 and draws on returns from primary, secondary and special schools for children of compulsory school age (5–15).
These are provisional figures taken from the routine daily feeds schools send the DfE — useful early indicators but subject to change as registers are corrected.
Top-line figures and weekly pattern
– Reported attendance for the week beginning 2 February 2026: 93.15% (absence 6.85%).
– Absence varied through the week: lowest on Wednesday (6.56%), highest on Friday (7.48%) — a recurring mid-week/Friday pattern seen across the year.
Remember: these figures reflect the subset of schools that submitted daily data that week and may be revised in later releases.
Academic-year trends so far
– 64%.
– Persistent absence (pupils missing 10%+ of sessions): 18.52% — substantially higher than the short-term average and a sign of a vulnerable group needing targeted support.
Attendance rose after the start of the school year, moving from a weekly low in early autumn to a peak in mid-December, before easing back in the first week of the spring term to around the mid-6% range. These movements underline how seasonal factors and outbreaks affect attendance.
Illness as the main driver
Illness has been the principal cause of absence. Short-term sickness climbed through autumn and was a major contributor to December’s peak:
– Illness-related absence peaked at 4.73% (week commencing 1 December).
– It began the term lower (around 1.89%), dipped, then rose to 3.54% in the most recent snapshot.
These swings show how quickly local health trends or transmissible illness waves can alter attendance totals. By contrast, persistent absence points to deeper issues — welfare, chronic health problems or access barriers — and usually requires focused interventions rather than short-term measures.
Data coverage, response rates and important caveats
This reporting covers only schools that returned daily data for each week shown. That selective coverage matters: changes in which schools report (for example, fewer large urban schools submitting data) can shift national averages even if local attendance remains unchanged. Other factors that can create week-to-week fluctuation include:
– reporting delays,
– variation in how absence reasons are coded,
– and localised outbreaks.
On the most recent full day of data (6 February 2026), roughly 99% of state-funded primary schools and about 98% of state-funded secondary and special schools had submitted registers — improving confidence in the snapshot — but published totals remain provisional and may change as coverage and coding are finalised.
Revisions and reporting lag
Schools often update registers after their initial submission. Corrections to attendance codes can reduce reported absence: historical patterns show that reported absence for a given day can fall by around one percentage point as records are revised. Figures from later in the year will be recalculated in future releases, so modest downward adjustments are to be expected as the data are finalised.
Practical steps for schools
To get the most from these daily feeds and act quickly when attendance shifts:
– Check the Wonde portal: if your school isn’t connected, approve the DfE data-sharing request and follow the portal prompts (an authorised administrator typically needs to authenticate).
– Confirm daily report delivery settings and make sure recipient lists include the safeguarding lead, attendance officer and local authority contact where appropriate.
– Set up automated alerts for sudden attendance drops in small cohorts and define clear escalation pathways for rapid follow-up.
– Monitor the split between short-term and long-term illness: short-term spikes usually signal transmissible conditions; rises in long-term absence point to underlying needs that require targeted support.
How to access the data and get support
The DfE publishes these fortnightly snapshots and supporting files on its website. If you need help connecting your school or interpreting reports, contact your local authority attendance team or the DfE support channels listed alongside the data release. Schools that check connections and configure alerts can respond more quickly when attendance patterns change.
Final note
Treat each snapshot as an early indicator. They’re a powerful tool for spotting trends and targeting help, but allow for revision and bear in mind the limits of coverage and coding differences when comparing weeks or making policy decisions.
