The 14 Doncaster state primary schools with the lowest absences - and excellent attendance rates

From illnesses, to unauthorised term-time holidays, to children slipping through the cracks and going missing from education, many different factors can drive absences up.

But parents and schools which work together to make sure children miss as little class time as possible may be helping to set them up for a lifetime of success.

The Government’s latest absence and attendance figures, covering the full 2023/24 school year show that the country’s 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.

This can take its toll on a child’s education, even for younger pupils. A recent Department for Education report found that primary 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 cuts down their chances by around 25%.

The Doncaster Council area alone has more than 100 primary schools, and to help keep local parents in the loop, we’ve taken a look at the data to find the state-funded schools that managed to keep overall absence rates particularly low. Only schools with absence rates below 4.5% have been included in our league table - including infant and junior schools - a phenomenal achievement for any school community.

Here were the 14 schools that made the cut: