Item 10 Appendix 1
West Dunbartonshire Council · 18 March 2026
Back to Educational Services Committee — 18 March 2026 and its agenda
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1 School Pupil Attendance Report–Session 2025-26 – All Data Shown Is For Session So Far As At End January Primary Attendance ranges from 88.3% at Renton Primary School up to 94.8% at St Stephen's Primary School. In secondary schools the range is from 86.3% at Vale of Leven Academy up to 89.2% at St Peter the Apostle High School. Appendix 1
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2 Month to Month Data for Context The average Attendance across all WDC schools for the month of January is 90.8%, up 5.2 percentage points on the December figure. This is lower than the position we were in at the same point in time last session when our January Attendance level was 0.5 percentage points higher at 91.3%. The session rolling average Attendance figure (August to end of January) across all WDC schools (that’s the red line on the chart) has increased by 0.2 percentage points to 90.5% since the end of December. This is lower than the position we were in at the same point in time last session when our session average Attendance level was 0.3 percentage points higher at 90.8%.
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3 Authorised Absence in Primary ranges from 7.7% at St Michael's Primary School down to 3.6% at Braehead Primary School. In secondary schools the range is from 9.1% at Our Lady and St Patrick's High School down to 5.8% at St Peter the Apostle High School.
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4 Month to Month Data for Context Authorised Absence across all WDC schools for the month of January is 5.7%, down 3.7 percentage points on the December figure. This is higher than the position we were in at the same point in time last session when our January Authorised Absence level was 0.4 percentage points lower at 5.3%. The session rolling average Authorised Absence figure (August to end of January) across all WDC schools (that’s the red line on the chart) has decreased by 0.1 percentage points to 6% since the end of December. This is higher than the position we were in at the same point in time last session when our session average Authorised Absence level was 0.4 percentage points lower at 5.6%.
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5 Unauthorised Absence in Primary ranges from 5.8% at Dalreoch Primary School down to 0.8% at St Peter's Primary School. In secondary schools the range is from 7.2% at Vale of Leven Academy down to 3.8% at Our Lady and St Patrick's High School.
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6 Month to Month Data for Context Unauthorised Absence across all WDC schools for the month of January is 3.5%, down 1.6 percentage points on the December figure. This is the same as the position we were in at the same point in time last session when our January Unauthorised Absence level was at 3.5%. The session rolling average Unauthorised Absence figure (August to end of January) across all WDC schools (that’s the red line on the chart) has decreased by 0.1 percentage points to 3.5% since the end of December. This is better than the position we were in at the same point in time last session when our session average Unauthorised Absence level was 0.1 percentage points higher at 3.6%.
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8 February Focus Area: Percentage of Pupils With Less than 90% Attendance The measurement of pupils with less than 90% attendance is restricted to only those who have also been on the roll for more than 4 weeks. This is to prevent pupils who are new to the school and who have also had a period of sickness soon after joining, falling into this category unfairly. Percentage of Pupils With Less than 90% Attendance in Primary ranges from 39.3% at Renton Primary School down to 13% at St Stephen's Primary School. In secondary schools the range is from 43.1% at Vale of Leven Academy down to 37.7% at St Peter the Apostle High School. The average level across all WDC schools is 31.4%.
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9 Looking at the primary school data by stage, it is generally increasing from P1 to P6, with P7 then slightly lower. P2 is an outlier in this trend. In secondary it is increasing from S1 to S3 then decreasing to S6. Special sector data is provided for information, but there are very small numbers in this sector and therefore individual pupils with specific issues are likely to be heavily influencing the percentages.
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10 Looking at the primary, secondary and all sectors’ data by SIMD 2020 Quintile, it is generally decreasing from Q1 to Q5, although in primary and in all sectors, Q5 is higher than Q4. Special sector data is provided for information, but there are very small numbers in this sector and therefore individual pupils with specific issues are likely to be heavily influencing the percentages.
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11 February Focus Area: Percentage of Pupils With Less than 80% Attendance The measurement of pupils with less than 80% attendance is restricted to only those who have also been on the roll for more than 4 weeks. This is to prevent pupils who are new to the school and who have also had a period of sickness soon after joining, falling into this category unfairly. Percentage of Pupils With Less than 80% Attendance in Primary ranges from 18.8% at Dalreoch Primary School down to 2.2% at Goldenhill Primary School. In secondary schools the range is from 19.1% at Vale of Leven Academy down to 11.9% at St Peter the Apostle High School. The average level across all WDC schools is 11%.
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12 Looking at the primary school data by stage, it ranges between 4.5-8% for P1 to P5, then 10% for P6 and 7.6% for P7. In secondary it rises from 12.3% in S1 to about 21% in S3 then declines to around 10% in S5/S6. Special sector data is provided for information, but there are very small numbers in this sector and therefore individual pupils with specific issues are likely to be heavily influencing the percentages.
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13 Looking at the primary, secondary, special and all sectors’ data by SIMD 2020 Quintile, it is generally decreasing from Q1 to Q4. Quintile 5 then has the same or a higher level than Quintile 4. However, again we must be wary of small numbers, in primary this represents only 15 individuals out of 308 total primary pupils in SIMD Quintile 5. Special sector data is provided for information, but there are again very small numbers in this sector and therefore individual pupils with specific issues are likely to be heavily influencing the percentages.
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14 March Focus Area: SIMD 2020 Quintiles Comparison For both Unauthorised and Authorised Absence in primary and secondary sectors there appears to be a trend of higher absence for the more deprived quintiles to lower absence for the least deprived quintiles, although Q5 Unauthorised in primary, secondary and all sectors is higher than Q4. There is more variation in the special sector, but this is likely related to small numbers in the various cohorts. Quintiles 1 and 2 account for 71% of all possible attendance, with Quintiles 3, 4 and 5 and unknowns all together accounting for just 29%.
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15 March Focus Area: Free Meal Entitlement (via Deprivation Criteria only) The FSM cohort shows higher levels of both Unauthorised and Authorised Absence than the non-FSM cohort in all sectors. The FSM cohort accounts for 34.6% of all possible attendance in the primary sector, for 25.5% in secondary, 50.3% in special, and 30.8% across all sectors.
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16 April Focus Area: English as an Additional Language The EAL cohort shows lower levels of both Unauthorised and Authorised Absence than the non-EAL cohort in the primary, secondary and special sectors. The EAL cohort accounts for 4.9% of all possible attendance in the primary sector, for 4.6% in secondary, 2.5% in special, and 4.7% across all sectors.
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17 May Focus Area: Local Learning Communities Across all school sectors, attendance is highest in the Clydebank LLC (91%) and Vale of Leven LLC is the lowest (89.5%). The Dumbarton LLC has the highest attendance level in the primary sector, but in secondary, St Peter the Apostle is highest. Vale of Leven LLC has the lowest attendance in both the primary and secondary sectors. OLSP LLC has the largest difference between its primary attendance and its secondary attendance. The difference is 5.6 percentage points. The smallest difference is at SPTA LLC, where there is 3.4 percentage points between the primary attendance percentage and the secondary. N.B. the Special Sector schools are all included in the Dumbarton LLC.
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18 Focus Area: Postcode Prefix A request was made to see data by area, so that has been provided here. G13 Yoker/Knightswood Area: G15 Drumchapel Area: G60 Bowling/Old Kilpatrick Area: G81 Clydebank Area: G82 Dumbarton Area: G83 Vale of Leven Area: G84 Helensburgh Area: (descriptions of areas covered by postcode prefixes are not official and are intended as a guide only)
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19 September Focus Area: % Attendance of P1/S1 Pupils Percentage Attendance of P1 pupils in primary ranges from 96.7% at Gartocharn Primary School down to 88.9% at Renton Primary School. In secondary schools the range for S1 pupils is from 90.6% at Clydebank High School down to 88.8% at Vale of Leven Academy. The average P1 level across all WDC primary schools is 93.5% and S1 level across all WDC secondary schools is 89.7%.
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20 September Focus Area: Individual Attendance Codes: Focus on Specific Codes: ATF/FLX/VHL/SEP ATF - Adapted Timetable (Flexible Education) In the primary sector, this has been used by 13 schools, the highest being St Kessog’s, where it accounts for 0.7% of possible attendance. In the secondary sector, it has been used by all schools and the rate ranges from 0.6% at Clydebank High School up to 2% at St Peter the Apostle High School, of possible attendance.
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21 FLX - Flexible Learning In the primary sector, it has been used by 5 schools, the highest being Christie Park Primary, where the rate is around 0.4% of possible attendance. In the secondary sector, it has been used by 3 schools. The highest is SPTA, where the rate is 4.6% of possible attendance. VHL - Virtual Home Learning This has not yet been used in primary schools this session. This has not yet been used in secondary schools this session.
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22 ATF + FLX+ VHL – All Three Flexible Learning Codes Combined In the primary sector, flexible learning codes have been used by 14 schools. The school with the highest rate being St Kessog’s, where they account for 0.7% of possible attendance. In the secondary sector, they have been used by all schools. The range is from 0.6% at Clydebank High School up to 6.6% at St Peter the Apostle High School, of possible attendance.
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23 SEP – Sickness With Educational Provision In the primary sector, it has been used by 6 schools, the highest being Lennox Primary, where the rate is 0.6% of possible attendance. In the secondary sector, it has been used by 3 schools, VoLA where the rate is around 0.1% of possible attendance, Dumbarton where it is around 0.7% and SPTA where the rate is around 1.6%.
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24 September Focus Area: Pupils with No, or Very Low, Attendance There were 14 primary school pupils with no attendance at all, August to January. There was 1 primary school pupil with 10% or less attendance, August to January.
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25 There were 47 secondary school pupils with no attendance at all, August to January. 34 of these individuals are of age to have already left school and all have been marked as leavers, although their leaving date, being during the current session, means they have possible attendance in this session and therefore must still be included in the attendance/absence statistics. Of the 13 not yet old enough to leave school, 4 are still current pupils. Eight have moved on to other schools and one has left the country. Again, their leaving dates, being during the current session, means they have possible attendance in this session and therefore must still be included in the attendance/absence statistics. There were 24 secondary school pupils with 10% or less attendance, August to January. Eight of these individuals are of age to have already left school. Two remain on the roll and the other six of them have been marked as leavers, but their leaving date, being during the current session, means they have possible attendance in this session and therefore must still be included in the attendance/absence statistics. The remaining 16 are not yet old enough to leave school. Two have transferred to other schools and the other 14 remain on school rolls.
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26 October Focus Area: Care Experienced The care experienced cohort shows higher levels of Unauthorised and Authorised Absence than the non-care experienced cohort in all sectors. The Care Experienced cohort accounts for 3.2% of all possible attendance in primary, for 3.8% in secondary, 12% in special and 3.7% across all sectors.
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27 October Focus Area: Care Experienced Young Carers Compared to non Care Experienced Young Carers For Unauthorised Absence, the Care Experienced Young Carer cohort shows much higher levels than the non-Care Experienced Young Carer cohort in the secondary and special sectors. There is a much lower level of unauthorised absence for the Care Experienced Young Carer cohort in the primary sector. For Authorised Absence, the Care Experienced Young Carer cohort shows a lower level than the non-Care Experienced Young Carer cohort in the primary sector. In the secondary and special sectors it is higher. The Care Experienced Young Carer cohort accounts for 0.9% of all possible Young Carer attendance in primary, for 5.6% in secondary, 2.6% in special and 3.1% across all sectors. October Focus Area: Child Protection Registered
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28 The Child Protection Registered cohort shows higher levels of Unauthorised Absence than the non-Child Protection Registered cohort in all sectors. The Child Protection Registered cohort shows higher levels of Authorised Absence than the non-Child Protection Registered cohort in all sectors. The Child Protection Registered cohort accounts for 0.8% of all possible attendance in primary, for 0.6% in secondary, 2.3% in special and 0.7% across all sectors.
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29 October Focus Area: Individual Attendance Codes: Focus on Specific Codes: OAT OAT - Other Attendance Out of School (e.g. pupil on a day release to a college). In the primary sector, this has been used by 18 schools. The school with the highest rate being St Eunan’s where it accounts for around 0.4% of possible attendance. In the secondary sector, it has been used by all schools where the rate ranges from 1.7% at CHS to 4.2% at Dumbarton, of possible attendance. The 2023-24 Local Authority working group on Attendance Coding provided additional guidance on circumstances where this code could be used and these suggestions are provided below to give a bit of context to the use of this code: Pupils on a day release to a College or other learning provider Interviews and visits relating to further and higher education or careers events Debates, sports, musical or drama activities in conjunction with the school Educational excursions, visits, or field trips organised by the school Day and residential visits to outdoor centres Pupils receiving tuition via outreach teaching services Activities in connection with psychological services, learning or behaviour support.
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30 November Focus Area: Comparison of Attendance Levels by Sex The female cohort shows a higher level of Unauthorised Absence than the male cohort in the secondary sector. The male cohort is higher in the special sector. Primary is equal. The female cohort shows higher levels of Authorised Absence than the male cohort in the special sector. In the primary sector the male cohort is higher. Secondary is equal. There is a near 50/50 split between the two cohorts in primary and secondary and across all sectors, but the male cohort is larger in the special sector (the split being 70%/30%).
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31 November Focus Area: Individual Attendance Codes: Focus on Specific Codes: RFS/PTH/PTX RFS - Refusal to Attend In the primary sector, this has been used by 14 schools. The school with the highest rate being Carleith where it accounts for 1.8% of possible attendance. In the secondary sector, it has been used by all schools where the rate ranges from 0.1% at St Peter the Apostle High School up to 1% at Our Lady & St Patrick’s High School, of possible attendance.
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32 PTH - Part Time Timetable (health related) In the primary sector, this has been used by 6 schools. The school with the highest rate being St Peter’s, where it accounts for 0.4% of possible attendance. In the secondary sector, it has been used by 2 schools. The rate is less than 0.1% at CHS & OLSP, of possible attendance. PTX - Part Time TimeTable (exclusion related) This has not yet been used in primary schools this session. In the secondary sector, it has been used by 1 school, CHS, where its level of use is negligible.
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33 December Focus Area: Additional Support Needs The ASN cohort shows higher levels of both Authorised and Unauthorised Absence than the non-ASN cohort in both primary and secondary sectors. The ASN cohort accounts for 41.3% of all possible attendance in primary, for 50.3% in secondary, 100% in special, and 46.8% across all sectors.
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34 January Focus Area: Attendance of Stage S3 Pupils Looking across all stages, Unauthorised Absence shows a generally increasing trend by stage in the primary sector, P1-P6 then dropping off again in P7, although the changes between stages are pretty small. P2 stands out as unusually high at 2.3%. In secondary the increase is from around 3.5% of all possible attendance in S1 to 6.6% in S4. S5 & S6 are a little lower at 4.9%.
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36 A request was made to see the year stage data also broken down by sex, so that has been provided here.
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37 Looking at S3, the cohort identified for specific focus in January, this year/stage is the one with the lowest level of attendance at 85.4%. Its absence is mostly made up of authorised absence, which accounts for 8.4% of possible attendance (the highest of all the stages) while the unauthorised portion (at 6.2%) is 2nd highest, behind S4 (at 6.6%).
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38 There is a 3.3 percentage point difference between female and male attendance in S3, with Female being at 83.7% and Male at 87.0%. Authorised Absence, for Females in S3 is at 8.9%, which is 1.0 percentage points higher than S3 Males at 7.9%. For unauthorised, Females are at 7.4%, which is 2.3 percentage points higher than S3 males at 5.1%.
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39 Across the secondary schools, the attendance rate for S3 pupils ranges from 87.8% at Dumbarton Academy down to 84% at Vale of Leven Academy. The S3 level across all WDC secondary schools is 85.4%.
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40 The biggest difference between Female and Male S3 attendance is at Vale of Leven Academy where the Female attendance is 8.5 percentage points lower than Males. The smallest is at Clydebank High where it is 0.2 percentage points and also this is the only school where Female S3 attendance is actually higher than Males. The biggest differential in Authorised Absence is at Dumbarton (4.9), while in Unauthorised Absence it is at Vale of Leven Academy (6.3).
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41 Focus Area: Individual Attendance Codes: List of Codes SEEMiS code Attendance Code Description SEEMiS code Authorised Absence Code Description --- Present ABS Other authorised Absence ATF Adapted Timetable (Flexible Education) DCA Exceptional domestic circumstances (auth) FLD Field Trip LT2 Late (arrives after mid-point) FLX Flexible Learning MED Medically Certified LAT Late (arrives before mid-point) NIM Notifiable illness (medically certified) MIS Missing NIS Notifiable illness (self certified) OAT Other attendance out of school PHL Authorised Parental Holiday PER Medical or Dental Appointment PTH Part Time Timetable (health related) SCH In school but not in class PTX Part Time Timetable (exclusion related) SEP Sickness with educational provision SEL Self Certified STY Study Leave VHL Virtual Home Learning VIS School Visit WRK Work Placement SEEMiS code Unauthorised Absence Code Description DCU Exceptional domestic circumstances (unauth) OUA Other unauthorised absence RFS Refusal to attend TBC To be Confirmed UNA Truancy or Unexplained Absence UPH Parental Holiday If no chart is shown below for a code that appears in this table, then there is negligible attendance data assigned to that code so far this session.
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42 Focus Area: Individual Attendance Codes: Primary Sector: Attendance
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48 Primary Sector: Authorised Absence
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52 Focus Area: Individual Attendance Codes: Primary Sector: Unauthorised Absence
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55 Focus Area: Individual Attendance Codes: Primary Sector: Exclusion
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56 Focus Area: Individual Attendance Codes: Secondary Sector: Attendance
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60 Focus Area: Individual Attendance Codes: Secondary Sector: Authorised Absence
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62 Focus Area: Individual Attendance Codes: Secondary Sector: Unauthorised Absence
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64 Focus Area: Individual Attendance Codes: Secondary Sector: Exclusion
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65 Focus Area: Individual Attendance Codes: Special Sector: Attendance
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69 Focus Area: Individual Attendance Codes: Special Sector: Authorised Absence
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71 Focus Area: Individual Attendance Codes: Special Sector: Unauthorised Absence
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73 Focus Area: Individual Attendance Codes: Special Sector: Exclusion
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