Selected insights about pupils and staff
30th September 2025 by Timo Hannay [link]
To mark the new school year, we're sharing a collection of observations from some of the most recent data to appear in SchoolDash Insights, our deep database and interactive dashboard for education professionals. The focus here will be on the people that make up England's schools: both pupils (occupancy rates, SEN and exclusions) and staff (qualified status and sickness leave).
For more – much, much more – check out SchoolDash Insights itself. If you don't already subscribe request a free trial.
Paucity of pupils
Figure 1 school occupancy rates by year and phase. Primary school occupancy (red line), though traditionally higher than at secondary schools, has been in gradual but continual decline for many years now, driven in large part by falling birth rates. In 2025, overall occupancy rates at primary schools fell below 90% for the first time since our records began in 2011. Secondary school occupancy rates (blue line) have been more or less steady over the same period, but we expect the demographic trough that's already affecting primary schools to appear in their rolls any time now. Perhaps tellingly, occupancy rates at secondary schools fell slightly between 2024 and 2025.
Figure 1: School occupancy rates
Crucially, falling rolls do not fall equally on all schools, as we've previously explored. Current regional variations are shown in Figure 2. Among primary schools, London has the lowest occupancy rates (on which note, see this recent report from the Education Policy Institute). Secondary schools show a different pattern, but over time we would expect them to display similar trends to current primary schools: demography isn't destiny, but its a pretty good predictor of school admissions.
(Use the menu below to switch between primary schools and secondary schools. Hover over the map to see corresponding values and sample sizes.)
Figure 2: School occupancy rates (2025)
Suspensions of disbelief
Pupil suspensions (aka fixed-term exclusions) have continued to rise markedly following the pandemic, as shown in Figure 3. (Note that these data are very laggy, so the latest full-year numbers are for 2024.) Even primary schools, whilst showing much lower levels of suspensions than secondary schools, have also seen more than a doubling in suspension rates since 2021. Though not shown here, there have also been increases in pupil absences (see our previous analysis on that).
Figure 3: Pupil suspension rates
Figure 4 shows that permanent exclusion rates, though much lower in absolute terms, otherwise mirror the post-Covid rise in suspensions.
Figure 4: Pupil permanent exclusion rates
Figure 5 shows that this, too, falls unequally across the country, with The East of England showing the highest levels among primary schools and the North East topping secondary school suspension rates.
(Use the menu below to switch between primary schools and secondary schools. Hover over the map to see corresponding values and sample sizes.)
Figure 5: Pupil suspension rate (2024)
Children in need
Another area of intense interest over recent years has been provision for special educational needs (SEN) and children with 'Education, Health and Care' (EHC) plans. (See our recent analysis here.) Figure 6 shows that this has been increasing rapidly at both primary and secondary phases.
(Use the menu below to switch between primary schools and secondary schools. Hover over the map to see corresponding values and sample sizes.)
Figure 6: Pupils receiving SEN support
The same is true, only more so, for children with EHC plans, as shown in Figure 7. (For an excellent discussion of the reasons why, see this commentary by Sam Freedman.)
Figure 7: Pupils with EHC plans
Once again, the effects are not evenly distributed. As shown in Figure 8, the highest levels of SEN support among both primary and secondary schools are in the North East, while London and the south east of England tend to be lower.
(Use the menu below to switch between primary schools and secondary schools. Hover over the map to see corresponding values and sample sizes.)
Figure 8: Proportions of pupils receiving SEN support (2025)
Staff room
What of school staff? A key post-pandemic trend among teachers has been the increase in sickness leave, which is shown in Figure 10. This jumped by around 50% in 2022 and has yet to return to anything like pre-COVID levels.
Figure 9: Days per teacher lost to sickness leave
Finally, an interesting and persistent geographical trend is the uneven distribution of unqualified teachers. Figure 10 shows that proportions of qualified teachers, though a vast majority (>90%) everywhere, are relatively lower in the south east of England, and especially in London. This is true across both primary and secondary phases, and might reflect the relative tightness of labour markets in those regions.
(Use the menu below to switch between primary schools and secondary schools. Hover over the map to see corresponding values and sample sizes.)
Figure 10: Proportions of teachers who are qualified (2025)
We hope you've enjoyed these surface-skimming snippets. You can explore many other developing trends and all the latest data in SchoolDash Insights. For updates on the analyses presented here, see in particular the Pupils and Staff sections. We also welcome your feedback: write to [email protected].
