Seasonal influenza vaccine uptake in children of school age in England: winter season 2024 to 2025
Published 22 May 2025
Applies to England
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This report describes the final seasonal influenza vaccine uptake for the school-aged programme in England. All school children aged 4 to 16 years old (reception to year 11) were eligible during the 2024 to 2025 season.
All data in this report represents data returned from 100% (154 of 154) of local authorities in England on cumulative vaccinations administered from 1 September 2024 to 31 January 2025.
Main points
This season:
- 54.5% (2,514,483 out of 4,613,378) of primary school children (reception to year 6) combined were vaccinated compared with 55.1% (2,552,536 out of 4,631,343) during the 2023 to 2024 season
- 44.6% (1,560,525 out of 3,498,084) of secondary school children (year 7 to year 11) combined were vaccinated compared with 42.8% (1,469,605 out of 3,431,934) during the 2023 to 2024 season
- 50.2% (4,075,008 out of 8,111,462) of all school children (reception to year 11) combined were vaccinated compared with 49.9% (4,022,141 out of 8,063,277) during the 2023 to 2024 season
Comparison data is given to the previous season (2023 to 2024), which also had a 100% of data returned from local authorities. In the previous season all primary school-aged children in reception to year 6, and secondary school-aged children in years 7 to 11, were eligible for vaccination. However confirmation of secondary school-aged children’s inclusion in the programme was announced late in the programme planning cycle (July 2023), so comparison between seasons is limited. The background information section provides more information on differences in the programme between seasons.
Results of seasonal influenza vaccine uptake in school-aged children
This season (2024 to 2025), all primary school-aged children in reception to year 6, and secondary school-aged children in years 7 to 11 were eligible for vaccination.
Data tables and graphs showing final vaccine uptake for children in school years reception to year 11 at NHS region and local authority level are described and shown throughout this section. Vaccine uptake guidance and coverage data for this season and previous seasons is also available.
Cumulative vaccine uptake by academic year for the national programme in England this season is presented in Table 1a for primary school-aged children, Table 1b for secondary school-aged children, and in Table 1 of the supplementary data set.
Table 1a. Change in seasonal influenza vaccine uptake (%) between 2023 to 2024 and 2024 to 2025 seasons in primary school-aged children
| School year | Age | Number of vaccinated children in 2024 to 2025 | Total number of children eligible for vaccine in 2024 to 2025 | Vaccine uptake in 2024 to 2025 (%) | Vaccine uptake in 2023 to 2024 (%) | Percentage point changes (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reception | 4 to 5 | 330,200 | 603,721 | 54.7 | 55.9 | -1.2 |
| Year 1 | 5 to 6 | 350,632 | 630,362 | 55.6 | 56.4 | -0.8 |
| Year 2 | 6 to 7 | 359,668 | 650,832 | 55.3 | 55.6 | -0.3 |
| Year 3 | 7 to 8 | 365,841 | 670,228 | 54.6 | 55.8 | -1.2 |
| Year 4 | 8 to 9 | 373,583 | 684,268 | 54.6 | 55.1 | -0.5 |
| Year 5 | 9 to 10 | 370,369 | 685,021 | 54.1 | 54.1 | 0.0 |
| Year 6 | 10 to 11 | 364,190 | 688,946 | 52.9 | 53.3 | -0.4 |
| Total | 4 to 11 | 2,514,483 | 4,613,378 | 54.5 | 55.1 | -0.6 |
Table 1b. Change in seasonal influenza vaccine uptake (%) between 2023 to 2024 and 2024 to 2025 seasons in secondary school-aged children
| School year | Age | Number of vaccinated children in 2024 to 2025 | Total number of children eligible for vaccine in 2024 to 2025 | Vaccine uptake in 2024 to 2025 (%) | Vaccine uptake in 2023 to 2024 (%) | Percentage point changes (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 7 | 11 to 12 | 347,190 | 694,488 | 50.0 | 49.1 | 0.9 |
| Year 8 | 12 to 13 | 326,629 | 710,606 | 46.0 | 45.0 | 1.0 |
| Year 9 | 13 to 14 | 315,422 | 708,704 | 44.5 | 42.5 | 2.0 |
| Year 10 | 14 to 15 | 296,617 | 698,258 | 42.5 | 41.6 | 0.9 |
| Year 11 | 15 to 16 | 274,667 | 686,028 | 40.0 | 35.7 | 4.4 |
| Total (years 7 to 11) | 11 to 16 | 1,560,525 | 3,498,084 | 44.6 | 42.8 | 1.8 |
| Total (reception to year 11) | 4 to 16 | 4,075,008 | 8,111,462 | 50.2 | 49.9 | 0.3 |
This season the total vaccine uptake for all primary school-aged children (54.5%) was 0.6 percentage points lower compared with the previous season (2023 to 2024) (55.1%) (Figure 1 and Table 1a). As this is less than 1 percentage point difference with the previous season, this is considered comparable to the previous season. The total uptake in secondary school-aged children was 1.8 percentage points higher than the previous season (44.6% compared with 42.8%) (Table 1b). The total uptake in all school-aged children (reception to year 11) was 0.3 percentage higher than the previous season (50.2% compared with 49.9%), which was comparable (less than 1 percentage point difference) to the previous season (Table 1b).
By year group, this season the highest uptake was among children in year 1 (55.6%) and the lowest in eligible children in year 11 (40.0%) (Table 1a and Table 1b) .
Apart from year 5 which achieved the same level of vaccine uptake as the previous season, all primary school year groups decreased this season compared to the previous season (Table 1a). Decreases ranged from 0.3 percentage points (year 2) to 1.2 percentage points (reception and year 3). Four of the year groups (years 1, 2, 4 and 6) were less than 1 percentage point lower than the previous season and are therefore considered comparable to the previous season.
Vaccine uptake in all secondary year groups increased this season compared to last season (Table 1b). Increases ranged from 0.9 percentage points (years 7 and 10) to 4.4 percentage points (year 11). Two year groups (years 7 and 10) were less than 1 percentage point higher than the previous season and are therefore considered comparable to the previous season.
The national ambition for this season was to demonstrate a 100% offer and to achieve at least the uptake levels of the previous season. Of 154 local authorities in England, 80 (52.3%) had an uptake equal or above that of the previous season.
Response rates
All data in this final end of season report represents data returned from 100% (154 of 154) of local authorities in England on cumulative influenza vaccinations administered from 1 September 2024 to 31 January 2025. Data from the previous season’s annual report also represented a 100% return (154 of 154 local authorities).
Throughout this season, provisional uptake data was published on a cumulative monthly basis. The final end of season response rate for this annual report (100%) was higher than that observed in the provisional monthly surveys (Table 7a and Table 7b in the supplementary data set). This includes the last monthly survey (data up to 31 January 2025, published February 2025) which had a response rate of 89.0% with a total of 51.1% of all school-aged children (reception to year 11), 54.6% of primary school-aged children (reception to year 6) and 46.4% of secondary school-aged children (year 7 to year 11) receiving a vaccine in England. Caution should be used when interpreting provisional monthly data as the vaccine uptake percentages are based on denominators of those local authorities returning data that month.
National uptake
This season an estimated 4,075,008 children from school years reception to year 11 in England were vaccinated with a vaccine between 1 September 2024 to 31 January 2025 (Table 1b). Cumulative vaccine uptake based on combined data for the target populations (reception to year 11) was 50.2% (4,075,008 out of 8,111,462) and the median uptake is given in Table 2a.
Table 2a. Total number of children in primary school, in secondary school and all school years between reception to year 11 eligible for seasonal influenza vaccination, total number who received vaccination, vaccine uptake (%) and median vaccine uptake and by interquartile range (IQR) in England for the 2024 to 2025 season
| School year | Total number of eligible children | Total number of children vaccinated | Influenza vaccine uptake (%) | Median influenza vaccine uptake (%) | Lower quartile influenza vaccine uptake (%) | Upper quartile influenza vaccine uptake (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary school aged children (reception to year 6) | 4,613,378 | 2,514,483 | 54.5 | 55.1 | 45.5 | 63.0 |
| Secondary school aged children (year 7 to year 11) | 3,498,084 | 1,560,525 | 44.6 | 43.1 | 33.4 | 51.2 |
| All school aged children in reception to year 11 | 8,111,462 | 4,075,008 | 50.2 | 49.6 | 40.9 | 57.5 |
The previous season an estimated 4,022,141 children from school years reception to year 11 in England were vaccinated with a vaccine between 1 September 2023 to 31 January 2024 (Table 2b shows last season’s data). This season, 52,867 more school-aged children were vaccinated than in the previous season.
Table 2b. Total number of children in primary school, in secondary school and all school years between reception to year 11 eligible for seasonal influenza vaccination, total number who received vaccination, vaccine uptake (%) and median vaccine uptake and by interquartile range (IQR) in England for the 2023 to 2024 season
| School year | Total number of eligible children | Total number of children vaccinated | Influenza vaccine uptake (%) | Median influenza vaccine uptake (%) | Lower quartile influenza vaccine uptake (%) | Upper quartile influenza vaccine uptake (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary school aged children (reception to year 6) | 4,631,343 | 2,552,536 | 55.1 | 54.5 | 46.2 | 63.5 |
| Secondary school aged children (year 7 to year 11) | 3,431,934 | 1,469,605 | 42.8 | 40.1 | 31.0 | 50.3 |
| All school aged children in reception to year 11 | 8,063,277 | 4,022,141 | 49.9 | 48.5 | 40.0 | 57.3 |
Vaccine uptake in primary school children
For primary school-aged children (reception to year 6), the cumulative uptake and the median uptake is shown by year group in Table 3a (this season), Table 3b (the previous season) and Figure 1.
For primary school-aged children, influenza vaccine uptake decreased by 0.6 percentage points to 54.5% (2,514,483 out of 4,613,378) this season (Table 3a), compared with the corresponding groups in the previous season 55.1% (2,552,536 out of 4,631,343) (Table 3b). This season, 38,053 fewer primary school-aged children were vaccinated than in the previous season.
Figure 1. Seasonal influenza vaccine uptake (%) for children in primary school years reception to year 6 by year group for the 2024 to 2025 season and the previous 5 seasons
This season in all year groups (apart from year 5), vaccine uptake decreased (albeit by less than 1 percentage point in 4 year groups) for a fourth consecutive season (Figure 1). The exception was year 1 who had comparable uptake in 2022 to 2023 and 2023 to 2024 seasons and for this season year 5 who had equivalent uptake to the previous season and below the 4 seasons before that. This season all year groups were below levels seen before the COVID-19 pandemic (2019 to 2020 season), ranging from 3.1 percentage points lower (year 5) to 9.6 percentage points lower for reception age children. Supplementary Table 5a and trends in vaccine uptake over seasons contain further details.
Table 3a. Total number of children in primary school years reception to year 6 eligible for seasonal influenza vaccination, total number who received vaccination, vaccine uptake (%) and median vaccine uptake in England for the 2024 to 2025 season
| School year | Total number of eligible children | Total number of children vaccinated with influenza vaccine | Influenza vaccine uptake percentage (%) | Median influenza vaccine uptake (%) | Lower quartile influenza vaccine uptake (%) | Upper quartile influenza vaccine uptake (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reception | 603,721 | 330,200 | 54.7 | 55.4 | 46.2 | 62.4 |
| Year 1 | 630,362 | 350,632 | 55.6 | 55.6 | 47.1 | 63.6 |
| Year 2 | 650,832 | 359,668 | 55.3 | 56.0 | 46.1 | 63.3 |
| Year 3 | 670,228 | 365,841 | 54.6 | 54.5 | 46.0 | 63.0 |
| Year 4 | 684,268 | 373,583 | 54.6 | 54.5 | 45.7 | 63.2 |
| Year 5 | 685,021 | 370,369 | 54.1 | 53.5 | 45.3 | 62.6 |
| Year 6 | 688,946 | 364,190 | 52.9 | 53.3 | 44.1 | 60.9 |
| Total | 4,613,378 | 2,514,483 | 54.5 | 55.1 | 45.5 | 63.0 |
Table 3b. Total number of children in primary school years reception to year 6 eligible for seasonal influenza vaccination, total number who received vaccination, vaccine uptake (%) in England for the 2023 to 2024 season
| School year | Total number of eligible children | Total number of children vaccinated with influenza vaccine | Influenza vaccine uptake percentage (%) | Median influenza vaccine uptake (%) | Lower quartile influenza vaccine uptake (%) | Upper quartile influenza vaccine uptake (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reception | 612,937 | 342,475 | 55.9 | 55.7 | 47.3 | 63.2 |
| Year 1 | 637,204 | 359,273 | 56.4 | 56.0 | 48.2 | 63.6 |
| Year 2 | 656,681 | 364,986 | 55.6 | 55.1 | 47.3 | 63.6 |
| Year 3 | 673,407 | 375,488 | 55.8 | 55.6 | 47.1 | 64.0 |
| Year 4 | 676,465 | 372,657 | 55.1 | 54.6 | 45.6 | 63.3 |
| Year 5 | 679,801 | 367,566 | 54.1 | 53.9 | 44.6 | 62.8 |
| Year 6 | 694,848 | 370,091 | 53.3 | 52.8 | 43.6 | 61.2 |
| Total | 4,631,343 | 2,552,536 | 55.1 | 54.5 | 46.2 | 63.5 |
Vaccination uptake in secondary school children
The cumulative uptake and the median uptake for secondary school-aged children (year 7 to year 11) are shown in Table 4a (this season) and Table 4b (previous season).
Table 4a. Total number of children in secondary school year 7 to year 11 eligible for seasonal influenza vaccination, total number who received vaccination, vaccine uptake (%) and median vaccine uptake for England for the 2024 to 2025 season
| School year | Total number of eligible children | Total number of children vaccinated with influenza vaccine | Influenza vaccine uptake percentage (%) | Median influenza vaccine uptake (%) | Lower quartile influenza vaccine uptake (%) | Upper quartile influenza vaccine uptake (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 7 | 694,488 | 347,190 | 50.0 | 48.9 | 38.5 | 57.1 |
| Year 8 | 710,606 | 326,629 | 46.0 | 44.6 | 35.5 | 52.7 |
| Year 9 | 708,704 | 315,422 | 44.5 | 42.8 | 34.0 | 51.3 |
| Year 10 | 698,258 | 296,617 | 42.5 | 41.0 | 30.5 | 48.7 |
| Year 11 | 686,028 | 274,667 | 40.0 | 39.1 | 28.3 | 46.8 |
| Total (years 7 to 11) | 3,498,084 | 1,560,525 | 44.6 | 43.1 | 33.4 | 51.2 |
Table 4b. Total number of children in secondary school years 7 to year 11 eligible for seasonal influenza vaccination, total number who received vaccination, vaccine uptake (%) and median vaccine uptake for England for the 2023 to 2024 season
| School year | Total number of eligible children | Total number of children vaccinated with influenza vaccine | Influenza vaccine uptake percentage (%) | Median influenza vaccine uptake (%) | Lower quartile influenza vaccine uptake (%) | Upper quartile influenza vaccine uptake (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 7 | 692,900 | 340,471 | 49.1 | 46.8 | 37.2 | 56.0 |
| Year 8 | 694,868 | 313,021 | 45.0 | 42.6 | 33.4 | 52.7 |
| Year 9 | 688,905 | 292,548 | 42.5 | 39.3 | 31.0 | 50.4 |
| Year 10 | 678,974 | 282,270 | 41.6 | 39.0 | 29.5 | 49.3 |
| Year 11 | 676,287 | 241,295 | 35.7 | 32.8 | 23.9 | 42.7 |
| Total (years 7 to 11) | 3,431,934 | 1,469,605 | 42.8 | 40.1 | 31.0 | 50.3 |
For secondary school-aged children (year 7 to year 11) vaccine uptake increased by 1.8 percentage points to 44.6% (1,560,525 out of 3,498,084) this season (Table 4a). This was when compared to the corresponding groups in the previous season 42.8% (1,469,605 out of 3,431,934) (Table 4b). This season, 90,920 more secondary school-aged children were vaccinated than in the previous season.
Ambitions for flu immunisation programme
In this season, out of 154 local authorities in England, 80 (52.3%) had an uptake equal or above that of the previous season. Therefore, a comparable number of local authorities achieved the national ambition this season than the previous season, when 52.9% (81 out of 154 local authorities) achieved uptake equal or above the previous season (this season was 0.6 percentage points lower than the previous season, which was less than 1 percentage point difference).
For this season, in primary school-aged children, 49.7% (76 out of 154) of local authorities had an uptake equal or above that of the previous season. In secondary school-aged children, 83.7% (128 out of 154) local authorities had an uptake equal or above that of the previous season.
Trends in uptake over seasons
The cumulative vaccine uptake for all eligible year groups each season since the schools’ programme was rolled out nationally are shown in Table 5a (primary school, Table 5b (secondary school) and supplementary Table 5a. The highest national uptake on record in England for school-aged children was during the 2020 to 2021 season (the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic). That season reception to year 7 were eligible for the programme. For most year groups (year 1 to year 7), the highest uptake was seen in the 2020 to 2021 season. For reception-aged children, the highest uptake was seen before the COVID-19 pandemic (2018 to 2019 and 2019 to 2020) with uptake of 64.3% in both seasons. The highest uptake in a year group was seen in 2020 to 2021 in year 1 (64.5%).
Table 5a. Seasonal influenza vaccine uptake (%) for primary school-aged children, by year group for each season since the primary schools’ programme was rolled out nationally
| School year | Reception | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | Year 6 | Total: primary school-aged children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 to 2025 | 54.7 | 55.6 | 55.3 | 54.6 | 54.6 | 54.1 | 52.9 | 54.5 |
| 2023 to 2024 | 55.9 | 56.4 | 55.6 | 55.8 | 55.1 | 54.1 | 53.3 | 55.1 |
| 2022 to 2023 | 56.7 | 56.4 | 57.5 | 57.3 | 56.2 | 55.6 | 54.2 | 56.3 |
| 2021 to 2022 | 56.9 | 58.9 | 58.8 | 58.0 | 57.3 | 56.2 | 55.8 | 57.4 |
| 2020 to 2021 | 64.2 | 64.5 [note 2] | 63.7 [note 2] | 63.2 [note 2] | 61.8 [note 2] | 61.1 [note 2] | 59.2 [note 2] | 62.5 |
| 2019 to 2020 | 64.3 [note 2] | 63.6 | 62.6 | 60.6 | 59.6 | 57.2 | 55.0 | 60.4 |
| 2018 to 2019 | 64.3 [note 2] | 63.6 | 61.5 | 60.4 | 58.3 | 56.5 | [z] | 60.8 |
| 2017 to 2018 | 62.6 | 61.0 | 60.4 | 57.6 | 55.8 | [z] | [z] | 63.1 |
| 2016 to 2017 | [note 1] | 57.6 | 55.4 | 53.3 | [z] | [z] | [z] | 55.4 |
| 2015 to 2016 | [note 1] | 54.4 | 52.9 | [z] | [z] | [z] | [z] | 53.6 |
Note 1: Reception-aged children were vaccinated through GP practices, not school-aged delivery.
Note 2: This figure shows the season with the highest uptake on record for that year group.
Table 5b. Seasonal influenza vaccine uptake (%) for secondary school-aged children, by year group for each season since the secondary schools’ programme was rolled out nationally
| School year | Year 7 | Year 8 | Year 9 | Year 10 | Year 11 | Total: secondary school-aged children | Total: all school-aged children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 to 2025 | 50.0 | 46.0 | 44.5 | 42.5 | 40.0 | 44.6 | (reception to year 11) 50.2 |
| 2023 to 2024 | 49.1 | 45.0 | 42.5 | 41.6 | 35.7 | 42.8 | (reception to year 11) 49.9 |
| 2022 to 2023 | 45.2 | 40.7 | 39.6 | [note 1] | [note 1] | 41.9 [note 3] | (reception to year 9) 51.9 |
| 2021 to 2022 | 48.5 | 45.8 [note 2] | 42.2 [note 2] | 42.0 | 38.9 | 45.5 [note 4] | (reception to year 11) 53.8 |
| 2020 to 2021 | 56.2 [note 2] | [z] | [z] | [z] | [z] | 56.2 [note 5] | (reception to year 7) 61.7 |
Note 1: Figures not reported here (once an offer had been made to younger children and at-risk groups - and subject to vaccine availability, any remaining vaccine offered to years 10 and 11).
Note 2: This figure shows the season with the highest uptake on record for that year group.
Note 3: Total for years 7 to year 9 only.
Note 4: Includes totals for all secondary school-aged children, years 7 to year 11.
Note 5: Total for year 7 only.
The general trend over previous seasons was one of decreasing uptake with increasing age of school-aged children (Table 5a (primary school), Table 5b (secondary school) and supplementary Table 5a). As discussed in the background information section, comparisons between seasons are limited due to the differences in the phased rollout of the school-aged programme.
All primary school-aged children have been eligible for the national influenza vaccination programme since the 2019 to 2020 season (the last season prior to the COVID-19 pandemic). Across those 5 seasons, this season has the lowest uptake 54.5% (2,514,483 out of 4,613,378). Compared to the last pre-pandemic season (2019 to 2020) this season is 5.9 percentage points below that (60.4%, 2,876,531 out of 4,764,192). Compared to the season with the highest primary school uptake on record (2020 to 2021 season, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic), this season is 8.0 percentage points below that (62.5%, 2,962,494 out of 4,740,044).
The number of children vaccinated each season since the live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) programme was introduced in the 2013 to 2014 season can be found in supplementary Table 6a; and a summary of the total number of children vaccinated in each delivery setting can be found in supplementary Table 6b.
Progress throughout the 2024 to 2025 season
Throughout the season, monthly vaccine uptake data was collected from October to January, with provisional data published the following month (November to February). During the season the national level vaccine uptake data in primary school-aged children showed an increase during the first 2 months of the vaccination campaign (collected in October and November) which then plateaued for data collected for December and January. See supplementary Table 7a on vaccine uptake percentage in each survey month in primary school-aged children.
See background information for differences in programme implementation between seasons and therefore the limitations to comparisons between seasons.
For primary school-aged children when compared with the same timepoint in previous seasons, this season saw the highest vaccine uptake recorded by 31 October (30.0% compared with 25.2%). After the robust start to the vaccination campaign, momentum was lost as the campaign continued. By 30 November, influenza vaccine uptake was 1 percentage point higher than other seasons on record at that time point (49.1% compared with 48.1% in the previous season and the 2020 to 2021 season). By 31 December, vaccine uptake was lower than that seen in pre-COVID-19 pandemic seasons (54.0% compared with 57.9% in 2019 to 2020 season) and showed the lowest amount of vaccination activity occurring in primary schools between 1 and 31 December (less than a 5-percentage point increase during this time). In comparison during the 2019 to 2020 season there was over a 14-percentage point increase between 1 and 31 December. Vaccine uptake data up to 31 January (54.6%) was the lowest on record since 2016 to 2017 season (supplementary Table 7a). This was comparable to the uptake seen last season (2023 to 2024, 55.1%) and in the first 2 years of the schools’ programme roll out (2015 to 2017). In 2015 to 2016, only 2 year groups in primary school were vaccinated. In 2016 to 2017, 3 year groups in primary school were vaccinated (Table 5a).
In secondary school-aged children during the 2024 to 2025 season, vaccine uptake increased during the first 3 months of vaccination (October, November and December) and plateaued in January. Vaccine uptake in each survey month in secondary school-aged children can be found in supplementary Table 7b. Throughout the vaccination campaign, uptake in secondary school-aged children was lower than in primary school-aged children. In contrast to primary school activity during December (less than a 5-percentage point increase between 1 and 31 December), vaccination uptake in secondary school children saw over an 11-percentage point increase during this time. Although the cumulative monthly influenza vaccine uptake data published during the 2024 to 2025 season demonstrated some variability in the prioritisation of school-aged cohorts early in the vaccination campaign, the national vaccination trends align with the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advice to vaccinate the youngest age groups first.
Vaccine uptake by NHS region
For the final end of season data, variation in vaccine uptake was observed between the 7 NHS England Regions, ranging from 39.4% (London) to 57.8% (South West). The East of England, South East, and South West were all above the national average uptake of 50.2% (Table 6).
Table 6. Estimated number and proportion of children in school years reception to year 11 who were vaccinated with seasonal influenza vaccine by NHS Region from 1 September 2024 to 31 January 2025
| NHS commissioning region | Number of children eligible for vaccination | Number of children vaccinated with at least one dose of influenza vaccine | Number of children unvaccinated | Vaccine uptake percentage (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East of England | 948,063 | 531,967 | 416,096 | 56.1 |
| London | 1,218,558 | 479,598 | 738,960 | 39.4 |
| Midlands | 1,587,474 | 747,745 | 839,729 | 47.1 |
| North East and Yorkshire | 1,227,477 | 615,106 | 612,371 | 50.1 |
| North West | 1,032,332 | 502,374 | 529,958 | 48.7 |
| South East | 1,348,491 | 764,893 | 583,598 | 56.7 |
| South West | 749,067 | 433,325 | 315,742 | 57.8 |
| Total | 8,111,462 | 4,075,008 | 4,036,454 | 50.2 |
In primary school-aged children variation in vaccine uptake was observed between the 7 NHS England Regions (Figure 2a), ranging from 43.6% (London) to 62.8% (South West). The North West, East of England, South East, and South West were all above the national average uptake of 54.5%. All regions had uptake lower than the previous season (Table 7a) apart from the South West (0.3 percentage points higher than the previous season). Decreases in uptake ranged from 0.3 percentage points (London) to 3.4 percentage points (North East and Yorkshire).
In secondary school-aged children variation in vaccine uptake was observed between the 7 NHS England Regions (Figure 2b), ranging from 33.3% (London) to 52.1% (South East). The North East and Yorkshire, East of England, South West and South East were all above the national average uptake of 44.6%. All regions had uptake higher than the previous season (Table 7b) apart from the East of England (0.2 percentage points lower than the previous season). Increases in uptake ranged from 0.6 percentage points (South East) to 5.2 percentage points (North East and Yorkshire).
In all school-aged children (reception to year 11) variation in vaccine uptake was observed between the 7 NHS England Regions (Figure 2c), ranging from 39.4% (London) to 57.8% (South West). The East of England, South East, and South West were all above the national average uptake of 50.2%. Four regions had uptake lower than the previous season (Table 7c) (ranging from 0.3 percentage points (Midlands) to 1.4 percentage points (East of England), whilst 3 regions had uptake that was higher (ranging from 0.4 percentage points (North West) to 3.5 percentage points (North East and Yorkshire).
Figure 2a: Number and estimated proportion of primary school-aged children (reception to year 6) who were vaccinated with seasonal influenza vaccine by NHS region between 1 September 2024 to 31 January 2025 (with line showing national primary school-aged average uptake of 54.5%)
Figure 2b: Number and estimated proportion of secondary school-aged children (year 7 to 11) who were vaccinated with seasonal influenza vaccine by NHS region between 1 September 2024 to 31 January 2025 (with line showing national secondary school-aged average uptake of 44.6%)
Figure 2c: Number and estimated proportion of all school-aged children (reception to year 11) who were vaccinated with seasonal influenza vaccine by NHS region between 1 September 2024 to 31 January 2025 (with line showing national England average uptake of 50.2 %)
Table 7a. Change in seasonal influenza vaccine uptake between 2023 to 2024 and 2024 to 2025 seasons in primary school-aged children
| Region | Influenza vaccine uptake (%) in 2024 to 2025 | Influenza vaccine uptake (%) in 2023 to 2024 | Percentage point change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| East of England | 60.0 | 62.7 | -2.7 |
| London | 43.6 | 43.9 | -0.3 |
| Midlands | 50.9 | 53.2 | -2.4 |
| North East and Yorkshire | 54.0 | 57.4 | -3.4 |
| North West | 55.5 | 57.3 | -1.8 |
| South East | 60.4 | 61.8 | -1.4 |
| South West | 62.8 | 62.4 | 0.3 |
| Total | 54.5 | 56.3 | -1.8 |
Table 7b. Change in seasonal influenza vaccine uptake between 2023 to 2024 and 2024 to 2025 seasons in secondary school-aged children
| Region | Influenza vaccine uptake (%) in 2024 to 2025 | Influenza vaccine uptake (%) in 2024 to 2025 | Percentage point change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| East of England | 51.0 | 51.2 | -0.2 |
| London | 33.3 | 31.6 | 1.7 |
| Midlands | 42.1 | 41.1 | 1.1 |
| North East and Yorkshire | 45.0 | 39.8 | 5.2 |
| North West | 39.6 | 37.7 | 1.8 |
| South East | 52.1 | 51.5 | 0.6 |
| South West | 51.7 | 49.8 | 1.9 |
| Total | 44.6 | 42.8 | 1.8 |
Table 7c. Change in seasonal influenza vaccine uptake between 2023 to 2024 and 2024 to 2025 seasons in all school-aged children
| Region | Influenza vaccine uptake (%) in 2024 to 2025 | Influenza vaccine uptake (%) in 2024 to 2025 | Percentage point change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| East of England | 56.1 | 57.5 | -1.4 |
| London | 39.4 | 40.0 | -0.7 |
| Midlands | 47.1 | 47.4 | -0.3 |
| North East and Yorkshire | 50.1 | 46.6 | 3.5 |
| North West | 48.7 | 48.3 | 0.4 |
| South East | 56.7 | 57.2 | -0.4 |
| South West | 57.8 | 56.7 | 1.1 |
| Total | 50.2 | 49.9 | 0.4 |
Vaccine uptake by local authority
Vaccine uptake for children in school years reception to year 11 combined by local authority varied across England, ranging from 25.0% in Bradford to 72.5% in Cambridgeshire (supplementary Table 4).
The following local authorities report collectively:
- City of London and Hackney
- Cornwall and Isles of Scilly
- Leicestershire and Rutland
Therefore, the total local authority count in this section is 151 in contrast to the 154 referenced in the report.
For primary school-aged children (reception to year 6), no local authorities achieved less than 20% uptake. 2 out of 151 local authorities (1.3%) had uptake in the range of 20% to 29%. A further 20 (13.2%) had uptake in the range of 30% to 39%, 32 (21.2%) were in the range of 40% to 49%, 48 (31.8%) were in the range of 50% to 59%, 39 (25.8%) were in the range of 60% to 69%, and 10 (6.6%) were in the range of 70% to 79%, with none achieving uptake of over 80% (Figure 3a).
Figure 3a. Histogram of number of local authorities by seasonal influenza vaccine uptake (%), in England, in the 2024 to 2025 season for all primary school-aged children
For secondary school-aged children (year 7 to year 11), no local authorities achieved less than 9% uptake. 2 out of 151 local authorities (1.3%) had uptake in the range of 10% to 19%, while 25 (16.6%) had uptake in the range of 20% to 29%, 29 (19.2%) had uptake in the range of 30% to 39%, 51 (33.8%) were in the range of 40% to 49%, 33 (21.9%) were in the range of 50% to 59%, 11 (7.3%) were in the range of 60% to 69%, with none achieving uptake of over 70% (Figure 3b).
Figure 3b. Histogram of number of local authorities by seasonal influenza vaccine uptake (%), in England, in the 2024 to 2025 season for all secondary school-aged children
For all school-aged children (reception to year 11), no local authorities achieved less than 20% uptake. 8 out of 151 local authorities (5.3%) had an uptake in the range of 20% to 29%. A further 29 (19.2%) had uptake in the range of 30% to 39%, with 43 (28.5%) in the range of 40% to 49%, 42 (27.8%) in the range of 50% to 59%, 26 (17.2%) in the range of 60% to 69%, and 3 (2%) in the range of 70% to 79%, with none achieving uptake of over 80% (Figure 3c).
Figure 3c. Histogram of number of local authorities by seasonal influenza vaccine uptake (%), in England, in the 2024 to 2025 season for all school-aged children
Vaccine uptake (%) by school year group and local authority ranged from:
- 26.8% to 75.9% in reception
- 27.8% to 76.8% in year 1
- 27.1% to 75.5% in year 2
- 28.3% to 76.8% in year 3
- 26.8% to 80.3% in year 4
- 26.2% to 81.1% in year 5
- 25.7% to 83.1% in year 6
- 20.9% to 77.5% in year 7
- 15.2% to 69.4% in year 8
- 16.7% to 68.6% in year 9
- 14.0% to 70.0% in year 10
- 11.2% to 67.5% in year 11
Glossary
At-risk
At-risk patients with clinical risk groups as listed in the Green Book.
Green Book
The Green Book, or Immunisation against infectious disease has the latest information on vaccines and vaccination procedures, for vaccine preventable infectious diseases in the UK. Chapter 19 refers to influenza.
ImmForm
A website that provides a secure online platform for vaccine uptake data collection for several immunisation surveys, including the seasonal influenza vaccine uptake collection.
School-age year
The school-age year is determined by the child’s age on the 31 August. This will be correct for the majority of children.
Median
The median is used when the data includes clear outliers that could distort the mean, making it a less reliable measure of central tendency. The median is less affected by extremes and gives a more accurate reflection of the typical vaccine uptake across school years. This makes it a better choice for understanding the overall trend in the presence of uneven data.
IQR
Interquartile range (IQR) is defined as the difference between the upper and lower quartile values in a set of data. It is commonly referred to as IQR and is used as a measure of spread and variability in a data set.
Data sources and methodology
UKHSA provides screening and immunisation teams in England a standard protocol describing the inclusion criteria and method of collecting the data. Data providers must use a suitable data source to identify eligible school cohorts in the local area. These sources are decided upon locally, usually by the screening and immunisation team or the school-aged immunisation service (SAIS). Most children are offered a single dose of vaccine. Eligible children in clinical at-risk groups without prior vaccination history aged under 9 years are recommended 2 doses of vaccine and are counted as one vaccination in the numerator. More information about this can be found in chapter 19 of the Green Book.
Cumulative data on seasonal influenza vaccine uptake was collected for all 154 local authorities between 1 September 2024 to 31 January 2025 using the ImmForm website managed by UKHSA. ImmForm provides a secure online platform for vaccine uptake data collection for nearly all the national immunisation programmes, including the seasonal influenza vaccine uptake collections. UKHSA coordinated and managed the data collection and produced monthly provisional data on vaccinations. This allowed the NHS and Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to track the progress of the programme during the 2024 to 2025 influenza season. This collection received approval as a mandatory collection from the Data Alliance Partnership Board (DAPB) under the reference ‘DAPB2195 Amd 50/2022 Childhood Influenza Vaccination Programme: Primary School Age Children’.
Final end-of-season programme vaccine uptake was calculated based on the number of children in the target population reported as having received the influenza vaccine (either LAIV or inactivated influenza vaccine during the campaign period). Therefore, vaccine coverage reflects all children in school years reception to year 11 (aged 4 years rising to aged 16 years old, based on age on 31 August 2024) that received an influenza vaccine between 1 September 2024 and 31 January 2025. Compared to the provisional monthly data, the final end-of-season vaccine uptake date undergoes additional data validation and quality assurance processes.
Data in this report covers all reported vaccinations given during the 2024 to 2025 season and is compared with data from the season before where this is available. Additional tables also compare uptake data from 2024 to 2025 season with all previous seasons where school-aged delivery has taken place.
Target population
In 2024 to 2025, primary school-aged children in reception to year 6 and secondary school-aged children in years 7 to 11 were included for the national school-aged childhood influenza vaccination programme. The target population is defined by school age cohorts born between 1 September 2008 and 31 August 2020, as defined by the child’s age on 31 August 2024 (Table 8). This season all children in reception to year 11 (aged 4 years rising to 16 years old) were offered the vaccine.
Table 8. Year group cohort definitions
| Academic year group | Age range on 31 August 2024 | Born from date | Born to date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reception | Aged 4 to 5 years | 1 September 2019 | 31 August 2020 |
| 1 | Aged 5 to 6 years | 1 September 2018 | 31 August 2019 |
| 2 | Aged 6 to 7 years | 1 September 2017 | 31 August 2018 |
| 3 | Aged 7 to 8 years | 1 September 2016 | 31 August 2017 |
| 4 | Aged 8 to 9 years | 1 September 2015 | 31 August 2016 |
| 5 | Aged 9 to 10 years | 1 September 2014 | 31 August 2015 |
| 6 | Aged 10 to 11 years | 1 September 2013 | 31 August 2014 |
| 7 | Aged 11 to 12 years | 1 September 2012 | 31 August 2013 |
| 8 | Aged 12 to 13 years | 1 September 2011 | 31 August 2012 |
| 9 | Aged 13 to 14 years | 1 September 2010 | 31 August 2011 |
| 10 | Aged 14 to 15 years | 1 September 2009 | 31 August 2010 |
| 11 | Aged 15 to 16 years | 1 September 2008 | 31 August 2009 |
Data in this report is a school-aged collection, predominantly delivered in schools and also a GP-based delivery model for some local areas and cohorts (such as the Isles of Scilly, and those aged 2 and 3 years). Children who reside in one locality attending schools in neighbouring localities would be captured by the schools in the neighbouring locality to avoid double counting. Data providers can use single or multiple sources as appropriate to identify their eligible population.
For the 154 local authorities where the programme was delivered through a school model, the denominator was based on all the eligible children in schools (all state-funded primary schools, special schools, academies, faith schools, free schools, pupil referral units, and independent schools) in the local authority geography. The denominator was also based on those children who were educated out of school in the local authority geography. This was defined by child age on 31 August 2024 using routine data sources such as the local education authority school registers. Data was submitted by data providers and/or screening and immunisation coordinators at the local authority level. Data was submitted on the ImmForm reporting website via manual upload.
For the Kernow local authority (which comprises Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly), most children were offered the vaccine through school delivery programmes, except for the Isles of Scilly, where the programme was delivered through GPs. The denominators for the Isles of Scilly were derived from GP systems that are based on the number of patients registered with a GP practice located within the local authority’s geographical boundary, as defined by a child’s age on 31 August 2024. Data was submitted on the ImmForm reporting website either via an automated extraction (XML bulk upload or a web service) or provided by GP IT software suppliers who extract data directly from GP computer systems as described in full in the GP flu vaccination annual report. Data was submitted at GP practice level and then aggregated at local authority level by GP postcode for reporting purposes.
Data limitations
The identification of the school-aged population may differ between localities depending on the data sources consulted. Depending on the characteristics of the local school-age population, it may be necessary that providers use multiple data sources to identify eligible school-aged cohorts. These include the school roll call and the local Child Health Information Services (CHIS) system.
Where the denominators (total number of children for the influenza vaccine) were not amended, denominators from the school census survey from January 2024 were used. This survey was provided to data providers at the start of the data collection as not all will have a complete school roll call while consent forms are still being collected. Some of the school data providers will only be indicating those children that have returned information on their vaccination status in consent forms (those who have already received the vaccine at the GP).
Although every effort is made to capture vaccinations delivered in other settings within this data collection, where data providers have indicated that they have included additional children that were vaccinated in other settings, it should be noted that the completeness of these figures may vary. It is important to note that not all data providers may be able to access information on children vaccinated through other settings such as GP practices. Most of the children vaccinated in GP practices are at-risk children that have been called in by their GP to receive the vaccination.
Healthy children in school years reception to year 11 who are not in a clinical risk group should not ordinarily be offered vaccination by their GP practice unless commissioned to vaccinate these children.
For these reasons, some caution is advised when making direct comparisons of vaccine coverage between localities and historic data as delivery models and timing of vaccine supply will affect any comparisons.
Further challenges to note were in the 2021 to 2022 season, (the second year that implementation of the secondary school programme took place), the influenza immunisation programme was also affected by pupil and immunisation staff absences as a result of COVID-19. The previous season (2022 to 2023) saw a change in policy for secondary school age children between April and July 2022, and therefore the time to implement the secondary school-aged programme was extended into the new year. For the first time, the annual report for last season (2022 to 2023) described influenza vaccine uptake for children of school age up to 28 February (rather than 31 January). Comparability between seasons for secondary school-aged vaccine uptake is therefore limited.
Throughout the 2024 to 2025 season, cumulative monthly vaccine uptake was published on UKHSA’s website on a cumulative monthly basis.
Background information
This is the tenth report evaluating uptake in the national childhood influenza school-aged vaccination programme across England. It is important to continue to monitor uptake in all current groups and improve on the uptake in future seasons
Childhood influenza programme roll-out timeline
Following the recommendation of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) in 2012 and accompanying statement, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) (formerly the Department of Health) in partnership with UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA, formerly Public Health England) and the National Health Service (NHS) England began the phased roll-out of the national influenza vaccination programme to ultimately cover all those aged 2 to 16 years (inclusive) in the UK. This programme uses the licensed live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV), with the aim of providing direct protection for those immunised, as well as indirectly protecting the remaining population by reducing transmission.
Outlined below are the changes in the school-aged programme for each season since the schools’ programme was introduced.
In summary, between 2014 to 2015 and the 2020 to 2021 seasons, the school-aged immunisation programme saw a consistent expansion with the addition of one year group each season. In contrast 2023 to 2024 and the previous season 2 seasons (2021 to 2022 and 2022 to 2023) saw the addition of multiple additional year groups within one season. Primary school roll out (reception to year 6) was completed in 2019 to 2020 season.
Implementation of the secondary school programme began in 2020 to 2021 season with an addition of 1 school year group (year 7). In contrast to previous seasons, the 3 subsequent seasons (2021 to 2022, 2022 to 2023 and 2023 to 2024) saw the addition of multiple secondary school-aged year groups within one season. An additional challenge to all of these seasons was that the announcements of the expansion into secondary schools were made later in the programme planning cycle than usual (in July 2021, July 2022 and July 2023, respectively), just weeks prior to schools closing for the summer term. This meant that the time to plan the secondary school age programme was reduced. See each season’s section for links to the annual flu letters with more details for that season. The 2024 to 2025 season is the first season since 2019 to 2020 where confirmation of school cohorts was made at the usual time in the programme planning cycle (the annual flu letter was published in March 2024).
Season summaries
2013 to 2014
The children’s programme began in the 2013 to 2014 season with all 2- and 3-year-olds being offered vaccination with LAIV through general practice and a school pilot programme was rolled out in geographically distinct areas in England, targeting all primary school-age children (aged 4 to 10 years, rising to 11 years old).
2014 to 2015
In the 2014 to 2015 season, the national programme was extended to 4-year-olds through general practice in England. In addition, the school pilot programme was extended to a total of 14 pilot areas (including 6 pilots that participated in 2013 to 2014 season), targeting both primary school-age children (aged 4 to 10 years, rising to 11 years old) and secondary school-age children (12 years rising to 13 years old).
2015 to 2016
In the 2015 to 2016 season, the national programme was extended to include children of appropriate age in school years 1 and 2. For most children, this was offered via a school-based programme, although in a few areas of England vaccinations were delivered through alternative schemes such as community pharmacies and general practices. The 2014 to 2015 pilot areas continued to offer vaccination to all primary school-age children (aged 5 to 10 years, rising to 11 years old) in 2015 to 2016. Pilot evaluations can be found in this report and the annual childhood influenza vaccination pilot programme, England 2014 to 2015
2016 to 2017
In the 2016 to 2017 season, the national programme was extended to include children in school year 3, offering LAIV vaccination to all children in school years 1, 2 and 3. Most children were offered the influenza vaccine via a school-based programme. However, in a few areas vaccinations were delivered through alternative schemes such as community pharmacies and general practice. Children aged 2, 3 and 4 years (but not 5 years or older) continued to be vaccinated by GPs. Vaccination continued to be offered to primary school-aged children (aged 5 to 10 years, rising to 11 years old) in the areas that had participated previously as pilot areas in England.
2017 to 2018
In the 2017 to 2018 season, the national programme was extended to include children in reception (aged 4 years, rising to 5 years old) to children in year 4 (aged 8 years rising to 9 years old) and all children of primary school age (aged 4 to 10 years, rising to 11 years old) in areas that participated previously as pilot areas. The mode of vaccination remained primarily through school delivery models with children aged 2 and 3 years offered the vaccine in GP practices, the only exception being the Isles of Scilly who delivered the vaccines through GP practices.
2018 to 2019
In the 2018 to 2019 season, the national programme was extended to include children in year 5 (aged 9 years rising to 10 years old). For most children, the LAIV vaccine was offered via school-based programmes (with additional mop-up clinics where required), with the Isles of Scilly operating via a GP model. Children aged 2 and 3 years (but not 4 years or older on 31 August 2018) were still offered the vaccine through general practices.
Vaccination continued to be offered to primary school-aged children in reception to year 6 (aged 4 to 10 years rising to 11 years old) in those areas that previously participated in primary school pilots in England.
2019 to 2020
During the 2019 to 2020 season, the national programme was extended to include children of year 6 (aged 10 years rising to 11 years old) and thus included all children of primary school age for the first time and no additional age cohorts were added to the previous pilot areas. It is important to note that there were supply issues for the LAIV vaccine in this season that may have affected the programme (more information about this can be found in the 2020 to 2021 edition of this release). The mode of vaccination remained primarily through school delivery, with eligible children in the Isles of Scilly (and all children aged 2 and 3 years) offered the vaccine in GP practices.
2020 to 2021
During the 2020 to 2021 season, the national programme was extended to include children of year 7 (aged 11 years rising to 12 years old), with no pilot areas. This was announced later in the programme planning cycle than usual (August 2020). The mode of vaccination remained primarily through school delivery, with eligible children in the Isles of Scilly and all children aged 2 and 3 years offered the vaccine in GP practices. Please note that the programme will have been affected by the second and third national COVID-19 restrictions (‘lockdowns’) in England that began on the 31 October 2020 and 6 January 2021. The third lockdown included school closures except for vulnerable children and children of key workers.
2021 to 2022
During the 2021 to 2022 season, the national programme was extended as a temporary measure during the COVID-19 pandemic to include children of year 8 (aged 12 rising to 13 years), year 9 (aged 13 rising to 14 years), year 10 (aged 14 rising to 15 years) and year 11 (aged 15 rising to 16 years) with no pilot areas. This was the first season where all children aged 2 through to 16 years old had been offered the vaccine. This was an expansion of 4 additional year groups (whereas previous seasons have seen an expansion of one additional year group) and was announced later in the programme planning cycle than usual (July 2021). The mode of vaccination remained primarily through school delivery, with eligible children in the Isles of Scilly (and all children aged 2 and 3 years) offered the vaccine in GP practices. Note that the programme will have been affected by the COVID-19 related pupil and immunisation staff absences.
2022 to 2023
For the 2022 to 2023 season, between April 2022 and July 2022 there was a change in policy for school-aged children, with an expansion from the original policy of primary school-aged children (reception to year 6), to also include secondary school-aged children focusing on years 7, 8 and 9, with any remaining vaccine offered to years 10 and 11, subject to vaccine availability. More details about this can be found in the National flu immunisation programme plan 2022 to 2023 and Statement of amendments to annual flu letter 2022 to 2023. Vaccination of younger cohorts and at-risk children was therefore prioritised first with vaccination of secondary school-aged children continuing into the new year. Therefore, for the first-time data for the 2022 to 2023 season included data submitted up until 28 February.
During the 2022 to 2023 season, the national programme included all primary school-aged children and secondary school-aged children in year 7 to year 9 (aged 13 years rising to 14 years), with no pilot areas. The mode of vaccination remained primarily through school delivery, with eligible children in the Isles of Scilly and all children aged 2 and 3 years offered the vaccine in GP practices.
2023 to 2024
For the 2023 to 2024 season, the national programme included all primary school-aged children and secondary school-aged children in year 7 to year 11 (aged 15 years rising to 16 years), with no pilot areas. The inclusion of primary school-aged children (reception to year 6) in the national programme was announced in May 2023, with confirmation of the inclusion of secondary school-aged children (year 7 to Year 11) announced in July 2023. The mode of vaccination remained primarily through school delivery, with eligible children in the Isles of Scilly (and all children aged 2 and 3 years) offered the vaccine in GP practices.
2024 to 2025
For the 2024 to 2025 season, the national programme included all primary school-aged children and secondary school-aged children in year 7 to year 11 (aged 15 years rising to 16 years), with no pilot areas. The inclusion of primary and secondary school-aged children (reception to year 6) in the national programme was announced in March 2024 which allowed for optimal planning timelines for the first time since the 2019 to 2020 season. The mode of vaccination remained primarily through school delivery, with eligible children in the Isles of Scilly (and all children aged 2 and 3 years) offered the vaccine in GP practices.
Intended audience
This report is aimed at professionals directly involved in the delivery of the influenza vaccine to children such as GPs, pharmacy leads, screening and immunisation teams, local commissioners involved in the planning and financing of local health services, the wider public health community, governmental organisations and researchers with an interest in the influenza vaccination programme in England.
Aim of the report
This report provides an evaluation of the national childhood influenza vaccination programme in school-aged children (from school years reception to year 11) at national and sub-national levels.
Further information and contact details
Feedback and contact information
You are welcome to contact us directly by emailing childfluvac@ukhsa.gov.uk with any feedback you may have about this report and data.
Alternatively, you can contact OSR with any comments about how we meet these standards by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank everyone who contributed to the data collection, specifically:
- all NHS school-age vaccination providers who participated in, delivered and supported the childhood influenza vaccination programme uptake collection for 2024 to 2025
- all data providers and NHS England public health commissioning team colleagues (including screening and immunisation influenza coordinators and others)
- the ImmForm helpdesk and development team who provided and supported the online survey
Official statistics
Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.
UKHSA is committed to ensuring that these statistics comply with the Code of Practice for Statistics. This means users can have confidence in the people who produce UKHSA statistics because our statistics are robust, reliable and accurate. Our statistics are regularly reviewed to ensure they support the needs of society for information.
UKHSA has conducted a formal review of these statistics. Following this review, an implementation plan has been developed to continue to improve the trustworthiness, quality, and value of these statistics. Key continuous improvements made will be highlighted within future releases of these statistics for transparency.