While children’s time in primary school might not be punctuated by as many high-stakes exams as their secondary years, attending as often as possible is still vital to their future success.
But 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 - still lingers well above pre-pandemic figures. One in five pupils were also labelled ‘persistently absent’, meaning they missed at least 10% of these half-day sessions.
A recent Department for Education report has demonstrated just how much this matters for a pupil’s outcomes, even in primary school. It found 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 reduces their chances by around 25%.
We’ve taken a look at overall absence rates for state-funded primary schools - including infant and lower schools - across the Dewsbury and Batley parliamentary constituency. Using this data, we’ve created a league table for parents featuring all of the local schools with absence rates below 6% - an outstanding achievement for any school and its community.
Here were the 11 local primary schools that made the grade:
5. Windmill CofE Primary School
Windmill is another maintained Anglican primary school, this one is in Batley. It has a roll size of about 421 pupils, and is another above-average performer. In the 2023/24 school year, it had an overall absence rate of 5%. | Google
6. St Paulinus Catholic Primary Academy
St Paulinus is a Catholic primary academy in Dewsbury, with about 386 pupils. In the 2023/24 school year, it had an overall absence rate of 5.3%. | Google
7. Bywell Church of England Junior School
This is a local authority-maintained junior school in Dewsbury, which takes pupils from the ages of 7 to 11. It has a roll size of about 378, and an above-average rate of pupils meeting performance targets. In the 2023/24 school year, it had an overall absence rate of 5.4%. | Google
8. Mill Lane Primary School
Mill Lane is another local authority-maintained primary school in the Hanging Heaton area. It has about 154 pupils, with a higher-than-average rate meeting reading, writing, and maths targets. In the 2023/24 school year, it had an overall absence rate of 5.6%. | Google