Sick days per teacher in England's schools
Across England's state schools, sick days per teacher averaged 4.7 in 2024/25 (19,782 schools). Since 2010 it has risen by 0.9, which is the wrong direction. Official definition: sickness absence days per teacher.
The trend
Trend
Sick days per teacher
2010 to 2025
All state schoolsPrimarySecondary
Since 2010: +0.9
Year by year
| Year | All | Primary | Secondary | Schools |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024/25 | 4.7 | 4.3 | 5.5 | 19,782 |
| 2023/24 | 4.9 | 4.5 | 5.7 | 19,171 |
| 2022/23 | 4.8 | 4.5 | 5.5 | 18,703 |
| 2021/22 | 6.1 | 5.9 | 6.3 | 18,260 |
| 2020/21 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 17,802 |
| 2018/19 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 17,088 |
| 2017/18 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 16,020 |
| 2016/17 | 3.7 | 3.4 | 4.0 | 14,706 |
| 2015/16 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 14,644 |
| 2014/15 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 13,073 |
| 2013/14 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 12,172 |
| 2012/13 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 11,257 |
| 2011/12 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 10,295 |
| 2010/11 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 9,273 |
| 2009/10 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 9,139 |
By region
Latest year, best (lowest) first. The tick is the England figure.
Every council
151 councils ranked, best (lowest) first. Councils with very few schools swing more from year to year.
| # | Council | Sick days per teacher | Schools | vs England |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rutland | 2.9 | 21 | -1.7 |
| 2 | Kensington and Chelsea | 3.0 | 34 | -1.6 |
| 3 | Barking and Dagenham | 3.4 | 59 | -1.3 |
| 4 | Richmond upon Thames | 3.4 | 59 | -1.2 |
| 5 | Barnet | 3.5 | 124 | -1.2 |
| 6 | Surrey | 3.6 | 356 | -1.1 |
| 7 | Bedford | 3.6 | 71 | -1.1 |
| 8 | Wiltshire | 3.6 | 211 | -1.1 |
| 9 | North Somerset | 3.7 | 77 | -1.0 |
| 10 | Bromley | 3.7 | 99 | -1.0 |
| 11 | Devon | 3.7 | 322 | -0.9 |
| 12 | Sutton | 3.7 | 58 | -0.9 |
| 13 | Bexley | 3.7 | 83 | -0.9 |
| 14 | Bath and North East Somerset | 3.7 | 77 | -0.9 |
| 15 | Bolton | 3.8 | 118 | -0.9 |
| 16 | Worcestershire | 3.8 | 220 | -0.9 |
| 17 | Bury | 3.8 | 70 | -0.9 |
| 18 | Wokingham | 3.8 | 56 | -0.9 |
| 19 | Swindon | 3.8 | 85 | -0.8 |
| 20 | Merton | 3.8 | 54 | -0.8 |
| 21 | Bracknell Forest | 3.8 | 35 | -0.8 |
| 22 | Hammersmith and Fulham | 3.9 | 54 | -0.8 |
| 23 | Essex | 3.9 | 525 | -0.7 |
| 24 | Halton | 3.9 | 62 | -0.7 |
| 25 | Milton Keynes | 4.0 | 102 | -0.7 |
| 26 | Isle of Wight | 4.0 | 44 | -0.6 |
| 27 | Dudley | 4.1 | 100 | -0.6 |
| 28 | Buckinghamshire | 4.1 | 224 | -0.6 |
| 29 | Calderdale | 4.1 | 89 | -0.6 |
| 30 | Thurrock | 4.1 | 53 | -0.6 |
| 31 | Kent | 4.1 | 564 | -0.6 |
| 32 | Torbay | 4.1 | 42 | -0.5 |
| 33 | Hackney | 4.1 | 70 | -0.5 |
| 34 | Oxfordshire | 4.1 | 289 | -0.5 |
| 35 | Herefordshire, County of | 4.1 | 88 | -0.5 |
| 36 | Hertfordshire | 4.1 | 497 | -0.5 |
| 37 | North Northamptonshire | 4.1 | 136 | -0.5 |
| 38 | Ealing | 4.1 | 82 | -0.5 |
| 39 | West Berkshire | 4.2 | 69 | -0.5 |
| 40 | Hounslow | 4.2 | 75 | -0.5 |
| 41 | Croydon | 4.2 | 120 | -0.5 |
| 42 | Westminster | 4.2 | 47 | -0.4 |
| 43 | Cheshire East | 4.2 | 110 | -0.4 |
| 44 | Salford | 4.2 | 83 | -0.4 |
| 45 | Dorset | 4.2 | 147 | -0.4 |
| 46 | Kingston upon Thames | 4.3 | 48 | -0.4 |
| 47 | Gloucestershire | 4.3 | 271 | -0.4 |
| 48 | Wandsworth | 4.3 | 73 | -0.4 |
| 49 | Medway | 4.3 | 95 | -0.4 |
| 50 | Cheshire West and Chester | 4.3 | 136 | -0.4 |
| 51 | Harrow | 4.3 | 59 | -0.3 |
| 52 | Hartlepool | 4.3 | 37 | -0.3 |
| 53 | Nottinghamshire | 4.3 | 306 | -0.3 |
| 54 | Cambridgeshire | 4.3 | 255 | -0.3 |
| 55 | Kingston upon Hull, City of | 4.3 | 93 | -0.3 |
| 56 | Wigan | 4.3 | 121 | -0.3 |
| 57 | Telford and Wrekin | 4.4 | 64 | -0.3 |
| 58 | Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole | 4.4 | 97 | -0.3 |
| 59 | Staffordshire | 4.4 | 359 | -0.3 |
| 60 | East Riding of Yorkshire | 4.4 | 134 | -0.3 |
| 61 | Somerset | 4.4 | 231 | -0.2 |
| 62 | Leicestershire | 4.4 | 272 | -0.2 |
| 63 | West Northamptonshire | 4.4 | 167 | -0.2 |
| 64 | Lambeth | 4.4 | 81 | -0.2 |
| 65 | Suffolk | 4.4 | 295 | -0.2 |
| 66 | Redbridge | 4.4 | 78 | -0.2 |
| 67 | Plymouth | 4.5 | 95 | -0.2 |
| 68 | Gateshead | 4.5 | 80 | -0.2 |
| 69 | Brent | 4.5 | 84 | -0.2 |
| 70 | Reading | 4.5 | 56 | -0.1 |
| 71 | Walsall | 4.5 | 86 | -0.1 |
| 72 | West Sussex | 4.6 | 265 | -0.1 |
| 73 | Stoke-on-Trent | 4.6 | 90 | -0.1 |
| 74 | Havering | 4.6 | 82 | 0.0 |
| 75 | Sheffield | 4.6 | 160 | 0.0 |
| 76 | Southend-on-Sea | 4.6 | 50 | 0.0 |
| 77 | Greenwich | 4.6 | 84 | 0.0 |
| 78 | Windsor and Maidenhead | 4.6 | 61 | 0.0 |
| 79 | Hampshire | 4.7 | 497 | 0.0 |
| 80 | Brighton and Hove | 4.7 | 58 | +0.0 |
| 81 | Sandwell | 4.7 | 117 | +0.0 |
| 82 | Middlesbrough | 4.7 | 55 | +0.0 |
| 83 | South Tyneside | 4.7 | 59 | +0.0 |
| 84 | Cumberland | 4.7 | 125 | +0.0 |
| 85 | Leeds | 4.7 | 253 | +0.0 |
| 86 | Leicester | 4.7 | 109 | +0.0 |
| 87 | Wirral | 4.7 | 109 | +0.1 |
| 88 | Bristol, City of | 4.7 | 143 | +0.1 |
| 89 | Westmorland and Furness | 4.7 | 122 | +0.1 |
| 90 | Southampton | 4.8 | 74 | +0.2 |
| 91 | Haringey | 4.8 | 74 | +0.2 |
| 92 | Hillingdon | 4.8 | 89 | +0.2 |
| 93 | Central Bedfordshire | 4.8 | 118 | +0.2 |
| 94 | Norfolk | 4.9 | 374 | +0.2 |
| 95 | Doncaster | 4.9 | 124 | +0.2 |
| 96 | East Sussex | 4.9 | 169 | +0.2 |
| 97 | Stockport | 4.9 | 97 | +0.2 |
| 98 | Peterborough | 4.9 | 80 | +0.3 |
| 99 | Newham | 4.9 | 100 | +0.3 |
| 100 | Blackburn with Darwen | 4.9 | 71 | +0.3 |
| 101 | Cornwall | 5.0 | 240 | +0.3 |
| 102 | Trafford | 5.0 | 83 | +0.3 |
| 103 | North East Lincolnshire | 5.0 | 60 | +0.3 |
| 104 | Lewisham | 5.0 | 84 | +0.3 |
| 105 | Lincolnshire | 5.0 | 293 | +0.3 |
| 106 | Warwickshire | 5.0 | 226 | +0.3 |
| 107 | Warrington | 5.0 | 76 | +0.3 |
| 108 | Barnsley | 5.0 | 81 | +0.4 |
| 109 | Sunderland | 5.0 | 107 | +0.4 |
| 110 | Enfield | 5.1 | 94 | +0.4 |
| 111 | Shropshire | 5.1 | 115 | +0.4 |
| 112 | Bradford | 5.1 | 205 | +0.4 |
| 113 | Nottingham | 5.1 | 100 | +0.4 |
| 114 | Wakefield | 5.1 | 137 | +0.4 |
| 115 | Redcar and Cleveland | 5.1 | 58 | +0.4 |
| 116 | Oldham | 5.1 | 88 | +0.5 |
| 117 | Luton | 5.1 | 61 | +0.5 |
| 118 | Camden | 5.1 | 49 | +0.5 |
| 119 | South Gloucestershire | 5.1 | 105 | +0.5 |
| 120 | Tower Hamlets | 5.2 | 90 | +0.5 |
| 121 | Slough | 5.2 | 46 | +0.6 |
| 122 | Liverpool | 5.3 | 150 | +0.6 |
| 123 | Solihull | 5.3 | 79 | +0.6 |
| 124 | Blackpool | 5.3 | 41 | +0.6 |
| 125 | Manchester | 5.3 | 168 | +0.6 |
| 126 | North Lincolnshire | 5.3 | 72 | +0.7 |
| 127 | Tameside | 5.3 | 77 | +0.7 |
| 128 | York | 5.3 | 61 | +0.7 |
| 129 | Coventry | 5.3 | 114 | +0.7 |
| 130 | Southwark | 5.3 | 93 | +0.7 |
| 131 | Islington | 5.4 | 59 | +0.7 |
| 132 | Portsmouth | 5.4 | 61 | +0.7 |
| 133 | Sefton | 5.4 | 94 | +0.7 |
| 134 | Derby | 5.4 | 95 | +0.8 |
| 135 | Waltham Forest | 5.4 | 75 | +0.8 |
| 136 | Rochdale | 5.4 | 73 | +0.8 |
| 137 | Wolverhampton | 5.5 | 95 | +0.8 |
| 138 | North Tyneside | 5.5 | 73 | +0.9 |
| 139 | Newcastle upon Tyne | 5.5 | 96 | +0.9 |
| 140 | Darlington | 5.6 | 40 | +0.9 |
| 141 | County Durham | 5.7 | 232 | +1.0 |
| 142 | St. Helens | 5.7 | 65 | +1.0 |
| 143 | Kirklees | 5.8 | 161 | +1.2 |
| 144 | Derbyshire | 5.9 | 349 | +1.2 |
| 145 | Northumberland | 5.9 | 141 | +1.2 |
| 146 | Lancashire | 6.0 | 473 | +1.3 |
| 147 | North Yorkshire | 6.0 | 273 | +1.3 |
| 148 | Rotherham | 6.0 | 117 | +1.4 |
| 149 | Birmingham | 6.0 | 382 | +1.4 |
| 150 | Stockton-on-Tees | 6.1 | 71 | +1.5 |
| 151 | Knowsley | 7.1 | 59 | +2.4 |
How to read this
Each figure is a simple average across open state schools that have the measure published. A school counts once whatever its size, so the figures can differ a little from the Department for Education's national figures, which count pupils. Special schools and alternative provision are left out of results measures. Independent schools are left out throughout. Sources and update calendar.