Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the most common causes of school absences were in the 2024-25 academic year.

The department publishes figures on pupil attendance using daily data submitted by state-funded schools. The latest data for the 2024/25 academic year to date is published here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/pupil-attendance-in-schools/2025-week-24.

According to the absence codes recorded by schools, the most commonly used code is ‘authorised illness absence’, followed by ‘unauthorised other absence’. A full breakdown of absence codes used is available at the aforementioned link.