Attendance and exclusions

Attendance summary

Attendance at school is linked directly with better performance in examinations and an increased likelihood of securing employment. Some of those pupils who are absent from school have an increased likelihood of becoming involved in youth offending. They are also more likely to be involved in risk taking behaviours, such as alcohol and drug use.

Key points for School Attendance, 2021/22

• During 2021/22, overall levels of absence in Lancashire-12 schools (7.14%) were lower than the national (7.55%), regional (7.53%), and neighbouring unitary authorities' rates (Blackburn with Darwen 7.38% and Blackpool 7.90%).
• The level of persistent absenteeism in Lancashire-12 schools (21.2%), under the definition which includes pupils having an overall absence rate of 10 per cent or above, was also lower than the national (22.5%), regional (22.6%) and neighbouring unitary authorities' rates (Blackburn with Darwen 23.6% and Blackpool 25.6%).

Please click here to view the Department for Education's pupil absence for recent years.  

Absence levels in state funded schools, 2021/22 (six half terms)

	Primary schools		Secondary schools		Overall
	Total absence %	Persistent absentees %	Total absence %	Persistent absentees %	Total absence %	Persistent absentees %
Lancashire-12	5.7	15.6	8.8	27.5	7.1	21.2
Blackburn with Darwen	6.2	18.9	8.7	28.6	7.4	23.6
Blackpool	6.5	20.8	9.7	31.6	7.9	25.6
North West	6.1	17.4	9.2	28.3	7.5	22.6
England	6.3	17.7	9.0	27.7	7.6	22.5

Source: Department for Education (DfE)/Lancashire County Council (LCC) Business Intelligence

Exclusions summary

Research has suggested that there is a direct link between being excluded from school and getting involved in crime. A Youth Justice Board survey showed that, when compared with other school children, excluded pupils were more than twice as likely to get involved in crime. Consequently, it is argued that reducing the number of exclusions can have a knock-on effect on reducing crime.

Key points for School Exclusions, 2021/22

• During 2021/22, there were 244 permanent exclusions and 12,502 fixed period exclusions from Lancashire schools. The Lancashire-12 rate increased compared to the previous year for permanent exclusions (0.14%, against 0.09%) and was still higher than the national (0.08%), the regional (0.11%), Blackburn with Darwen (0.07%) and Blackpool (0.13%) rates.
• Data for 2021/22 indicates that the proportion of permanent exclusions in Lancashire-12 primary schools (0.03%) increased compared to the previous year (0.02%). The Primary Exclusion rate for Lancashire-12 is placed in the last quartile nationally and ranked 121 of 152 authorities. This is slightly higher than the national (0.02%) and regional (0.02%) rates, and higher than Blackburn with Darwen (0%). The number of permanent primary exclusions was 26.
• Compared to primary schools, the proportion of permanently excluded pupils is higher in Lancashire secondary schools. Data for 2021/22 (Table 3) indicates that the percentage of permanent exclusions was 0.3%, a 0.1 percentage point increase from the previous year.
• The 2019/20 data should be treated with caution as it was interrupted by with the first national lockdown on 23 March 2020, during the spring term. Schools remained open for vulnerable children and children of key workers.
• Addressing exclusions and their causes is an ongoing focus for the Authority. The work of education strategy focusing on inclusivity in schools, trauma informed training, recruitment of behaviour consultants, behaviour quality mark, relational toolkit work and Alternative Provision strategy should all drive these numbers down over time.

Please click here to view the Department for Education's Exclusions data for recent years.  

Proportion of pupils excluded from state funded schools, 2021/22

	Primary schools		Secondary schools		Total
Exclusion:	Permanent	Fixed-term	Permanent	Fixed-term	Permanent	Fixed-term
Lancashire-12	0.03%	1.32%	0.3%	15.07%	0.14%	7.1%
Blackburn with Darwen	0%	0.95%	0.15%	10.71%	0.07%	5.5%
Blackpool	0%	1.81%	0.34%	23.81%	0.13%	10.3%
North West	0.02%	1.1%	0.25%	15.5%	0.11%	7.1%
England	0.02%	1.42%	0.16%	13.96%	0.08%	6.9%

Source: Department for Education (DfE)/Lancashire County Council (LCC) Business Intelligence

Children and young people dashboard

The children and young people dashboard created as part of the Neighbourhood JSNA, now includes district and ward level data for KS2/ KS4/ Pupil Absence/ Exclusions/ NEET. This resource can be accessed here although the report is currently being updated.

Report updated September 2023