Primary school attendance improves across Wales

Welsh primary schools are seeing positive progress in tackling persistent absences, with new data revealing encouraging improvements in pupil attendance.

The latest figures show that persistent absences – defined as missing more than 10% of required school sessions – by primary school-aged pupils have fallen across Wales.

Particularly notable improvements have been recorded amongst primary pupils eligible for free school meals. Half-day sessions missed by this cohort decreased to 11.8% in 2024/2025 compared to 12.1% the previous school year. Persistent absences for primary pupils eligible for free school meals also decreased to 44.7% compared to 46.9% in 2023/2024.

The Cabinet Secretary for Education, Lynne Neagle, said: “It is fantastic that we are making progress in tackling school absences, and this improvement reflects our sustained focus on attendance and the investments we’ve made. But we must not be complacent and raising school attendance remains a top priority.

“There are a range of reasons for learner absence. Effective relationships between schools and families are essential and there is a lot of good practice already happening across Wales. We will continue to work with schools, local authorities and other partners to address the barriers that prevent children from attending school regularly.

“To support this work we have provided £7 million this year to help children re-engage with school. We are already seeing the benefits of this investment and I want to thank all school staff, local authorities and families for working together to achieve this.”

The Welsh Government has invested £7 million this year specifically to help children re-engage with school, with the benefits of this investment already becoming apparent.

Earlier this year, statistics released for secondary school pupils also showed attendance rates had improved, rising to 89.1% from 88.0%, with overall absences falling from 12.0% to 10.9% in the 2024/25 academic year when compared to the same time in 2023/2024.