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Attendance and absence of pupils of compulsory school age, by free school meals (FSM) and year group

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Year group
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FSM eligibility
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Next update expected:December 2026

Updates

19th January 2026
Dataset first published.

Main information

Designation
Official statistics
Data provider 1
Welsh Government
Data source 1
Pupils' attendance record
Data provider 2
Welsh Government
Data source 2
Pupil Level Annual School Census (PLASC)
Time period covered
September 2013 to August 2025

Overview

Summary of dataset and variables

Attendance and absence data in Welsh maintained primary, middle, secondary and special schools for pupils aged 5 to 15 over the entire academic year.

Data collection or calculation

Attendance data is recorded throughout the year in each school’s attendance register/management information system.

Schools in Wales are legally required to keep pupil registers under section 434 of the Education Act 1996 (UK legislation). The detailed requirements are set out in The Education (Pupil Registration) (Wales) Regulations 2010 (UK legislation). These Regulations require the proprietor of every school to keep an admission register and, except where all pupils are boarders, an attendance register.

Statistical quality

We work closely with local authorities to ensure all data is validated before tables are published. Data is collated by local authorities into an electronic return and submitted to the Welsh Government through DEWi, a secure online data transfer system developed by the Welsh Government. Various stages of automated validation and sense-checking are built into the process to ensure a high quality of data.

All stages in the collection, validation and production of these statistics are led by statisticians from the Government Statistical Group.

Rounding applied

All the data has been rounded to one significant figure.

Related reports

Published by

Organisation
Welsh Government
Contact email
school.stats@gov.wales