Education · Power BI template

School Attendance & Attainment Power BI template

Power BI school attendance dashboard template: attendance vs 95% target, persistent absence, pupil-premium gap, absence reasons, results by subject.

By · Founder & Reliability Engineer · Updated

Free for commercial use

Dark version: same layout, colours re-solved and checked for WCAG AA contrast.

School Attendance & Attainment Power BI dashboard template: 3 KPI cards, a gauge, a line chart, a donut chart, a column chart, a bar chart, a table and 2 slicers on a 1280×720 page

BetaOpens in Power BI Desktop with 9 tables of sample data and every visual bound. See what’s inside

Free, no sign-up. The PBIP with sample data includes the background, theme and a README. 1920×1080 fits a new page in a Fluent 2 report; 1280×720 and 2× fit Classic pages. Downloads carry a small “Made with VizForge” mark (sign in to the studio to remove it).

Customise in the design studio →
Layout
Side panel with gauge, 3 KPIs and slicers; weekly trend + absence donut, year-group + subject charts + follow-up list
Page size
1280×720 px (16:9, Power BI default)
Theme
Paper & Clay

Open the sample-data PBIP in Power BI Desktop

Checked against Microsoft Learn's Power BI Desktop projects documentation (as of Nov 2026).

  1. 1

    Unzip to a short path and open the .pbip

    Extract the zip to a short local folder such as C:\PBI (Windows limits project paths to 260 characters, and Desktop can't save a project straight to OneDrive or SharePoint), then double-click the .pbip file or use File → Open in Power BI Desktop. Microsoft still lists projects and TMDL as preview features (as of Nov 2026): if Desktop won't open the project, go to File → Options and settings → Options → Preview features, tick “Power BI Project (.pbip) save option” and “Store semantic model using TMDL format”, then restart Desktop.

  2. 2

    Select Refresh once

    The project ships without the local data cache (.pbi/cache.abf), so Desktop opens the full model definition without data. Select Home → Refresh: every table is built from values written into its Power Query step, so there is no data source to sign in to.

  3. 3

    Save as .pbix or connect your data

    Use File → Save as to keep a single .pbix file, or open Transform data and replace each table's Source step with your own query, keeping the column names so the measures and visuals keep working.

What’s inside the School Attendance sample model

Rendered from the same definition the download writes as TMDL, so this list always matches the file.

Tables
9
Fact rows
650
DAX measures
7

A fictional secondary school (Years 7–11): weekly attendance sessions by year group and pupil-premium status for the last 30 school weeks, year-to-date attendance for a sample of 100 pupils (anonymous IDs), absence sessions by reason, and those pupils' latest assessment scores in English, maths and science (100 = expected standard). Units: Sessions (two per school day); scaled assessment scores.

Tables and columns

Calendar

Date table · 2026, one row per day

Date table generated in Power Query (List.Dates), marked as the model's date table.

  • Date (date)
  • Year (whole number)
  • Quarter (text)
  • Month (text)
  • Month Name (text)
  • Week Start (date)
  • Weekday (text)
  • Fiscal Year (text)

Year Group

Dimension · 5 rows

Year groups in order.

  • Year Group (text)

Pupil Group

Dimension · 2 rows

Pupil-premium status.

  • Pupil Group (text)

Pupil

Dimension · 100 rows

Anonymous pupil IDs with year group and pupil group.

  • Pupil ID (text)
  • Year Group (text)
  • Pupil Group (text)

Absence Reason

Dimension · 6 rows

Absence codes grouped into readable reasons.

  • Reason (text)

Weekly Attendance

Fact · 220 rows

Possible and attended sessions per week, year group and pupil group.

  • Week (date)
  • Year Group (text)
  • Pupil Group (text)
  • Sessions Possible (whole number)
  • Sessions Attended (whole number)

Pupil Attendance

Fact · 100 rows

Year-to-date sessions for each sampled pupil.

  • Pupil ID (text)
  • Sessions Possible (whole number)
  • Sessions Attended (whole number)

Assessment

Fact · 300 rows

Latest scaled score per pupil and subject (100 = expected standard).

  • Pupil ID (text)
  • Subject (text)
  • Scaled Score (whole number)
  • At Expected (whole number)

Absence Sessions

Fact · 30 rows

Absence sessions year to date by year group and reason.

  • Year Group (text)
  • Reason (text)
  • Sessions (whole number)

Relationships

Many-to-one, single direction. Inactive relationships are switched on inside a measure with USERELATIONSHIP.

  • 'Weekly Attendance'[Week] → 'Calendar'[Date]
  • 'Weekly Attendance'[Year Group] → 'Year Group'[Year Group]
  • 'Weekly Attendance'[Pupil Group] → 'Pupil Group'[Pupil Group]
  • Pupil[Year Group] → 'Year Group'[Year Group]
  • Pupil[Pupil Group] → 'Pupil Group'[Pupil Group]
  • 'Pupil Attendance'[Pupil ID] → Pupil[Pupil ID]
  • Assessment[Pupil ID] → Pupil[Pupil ID]
  • 'Absence Sessions'[Year Group] → 'Year Group'[Year Group]
  • 'Absence Sessions'[Reason] → 'Absence Reason'[Reason]

DAX measures

All measures live in a dedicated Key Measures table. Copy any of them into your own model; rename the table and column references to match.

Attendance %Sessions attended over sessions possible.
Attendance % =
DIVIDE ( SUM ( 'Weekly Attendance'[Sessions Attended] ), SUM ( 'Weekly Attendance'[Sessions Possible] ) )

Format string: 0.0%

Attendance TargetSchool attendance target (95%).
Attendance Target =
0.95

Format string: 0%

Pupil Attendance %Year-to-date attendance for the pupils in context.
Pupil Attendance % =
DIVIDE ( SUM ( 'Pupil Attendance'[Sessions Attended] ), SUM ( 'Pupil Attendance'[Sessions Possible] ) )

Format string: 0.0%

Persistent Absence %Pupils below 90% attendance (persistently absent).
Persistent Absence % =
DIVIDE (
    COUNTROWS ( FILTER ( VALUES ( Pupil[Pupil ID] ), [Pupil Attendance %] < 0.9 ) ),
    COUNTROWS ( VALUES ( Pupil[Pupil ID] ) )
)

Format string: 0.0%

Below 90% AttendanceA pupil's attendance only when below 90% (drives the follow-up list).
Below 90% Attendance =
IF ( [Pupil Attendance %] < 0.9, [Pupil Attendance %] )

Format string: 0.0%

At Expected Standard %Results at or above the expected standard.
At Expected Standard % =
DIVIDE ( SUM ( Assessment[At Expected] ), COUNTROWS ( Assessment ) )

Format string: 0%

Absence SessionsSessions missed.
Absence Sessions =
SUM ( 'Absence Sessions'[Sessions] )

Format string: #,0

What each visual is bound to

The PBIP opens with these fields already on each visual.

Field bindings per visual
VisualFields
Attendance by weekLine chartCalendar[Week Start], [Attendance %], 'Pupil Group'[Pupil Group]
Absence by reasonDonut chart'Absence Reason'[Reason], [Absence Sessions]
Attendance vs 95% targetGauge[Attendance %], [Attendance Target]
AttendanceCard[Attendance %]
Attendance by year groupColumn chart'Year Group'[Year Group], [Attendance %]
Results by subjectBar chartAssessment[Subject], [At Expected Standard %]
Pupils below 90%TablePupil[Pupil ID], Pupil[Year Group], Pupil[Pupil Group], [Below 90% Attendance]
Persistent absenceCard[Persistent Absence %]
At expected standardCard[At Expected Standard %]
Year groupSlicer'Year Group'[Year Group]
Pupil groupSlicer'Pupil Group'[Pupil Group]

Questions this dashboard answers

Each one is answered by a visual on the page, from the sample model's own tables and measures.

About this dashboard layout

School attendance is reviewed weekly against a whole-school target, and this page is built for that meeting. The side panel holds the gauge (attendance against 95%), three cards for attendance, persistent absence (pupils below 90%) and the share of results at the expected standard, and the year-group and pupil-group slicers.

Attendance by week splits pupil-premium pupils from the rest, so the gap between the two lines is visible every week rather than once a term. Absence by reason (illness, medical appointments, unauthorised, term-time holiday, late after registers closed and exclusions) shows where the sessions are lost.

The bottom row links attendance and attainment: attendance by year group, the share of results at the expected standard in English, maths and science, and the follow-up list of pupils below 90%. That list is bound to a measure that is blank for anyone at or above 90%, so it only ever shows the pupils who need a call home, lowest attendance first.

Pupils appear as anonymous IDs. Keep it that way if you publish anything outside the school's tenant: names belong in the management information system, not in a shared report. The sample school, its pupils and its results are fictional.

Visuals on the page

Positions are Power BI page pixels. Enter them in Format → General → Properties → Size and position, or use the PBIP download where they are already set.

Visual positions in the School Attendance & Attainment template
VisualTypeXYWidthHeight
Attendance by weekLine chart35240512264
Absence by reasonDonut chart91240328264
Attendance vs 95% targetGauge48112248136
AttendanceCard5627223256
Attendance by year groupColumn chart352352264328
Results by subjectBar chart664352264328
Pupils below 90%Table976352264328
Persistent absenceCard5636023256
At expected standardCard5644823256
Year groupSlicer4856024840
Pupil groupSlicer4860824840

Custom visuals for this layout

Built-in Power BI visuals cover most slots above. These slots also suit a custom visual; each page covers the data shape, DAX and a prompt to generate it as a .pbiviz.

Already have a report?

Brand Makeover tries School Attendance & Attainment first on every page of your Power BI project (.pbip zip) where it fits: the page's visuals have to go into its 9 data slots without overlaps. Pages it can't seat get another catalog layout or a brand grid. Queries, filters and bookmarks are left as they are. Free, in your browser.

Opens with the Analyst / Dense preset, because the Executive preset doesn't use this layout (9 data slots; this preset uses templates with at most 7).

Restyle my report into this

Swap a slot for a custom visual

Pick any slot and VizForge AI writes a custom visual (.pbiviz, with TypeScript source) sized to it, in this template's colours and shaped for the fields it is bound to.

Generate one that fits this layout.

Gauge · 248×136 px · bound to [Attendance %], [Attendance Target]

1, 2 or 5 credits depending on the brief · 5 free on signup. Sign in or create a free account on the next screen; the brief is saved for 30 minutes.

Brief sent to the generator (you can edit it there)

A Power BI gauge visual titled "Attendance vs 95% target". It sits in a 248×136 px slot on a designed report page. Match the report's brand: data colours #B23A32, #3B4A8C, #A97E27, #6F8F6A, #7C5C8A, #C1734F; background #FFFFFF; text #27211B; font Segoe UI. Transparent visual background so the page design shows through; no visual border. In the sample model it is bound to [Attendance %], [Attendance Target]; keep the same data roles so the fields drop straight in.

Not sure what to build? Browse the visual catalog or open the template in the design studio and hand off any slot from there. Or start in the AI generator with a blank brief.

Colours and theme

Paper & Clay

Warm beige Power BI theme with clay red, indigo and ochre data colours; a softer alternative to grey corporate themes for consulting decks and client reports.

See the Paper & Clay palette and contrast checks →

Use the background in an existing report

Prefer to keep your own report? Apply the design to it instead of opening the PBIP.

  1. 1

    Download the background

    Take the 1920×1080 PNG for a new page in a Fluent 2 report (the default size for new pages), or the 2× PNG (2560×1440) for sharp text on a 1280×720 Classic page. Power BI scales the image to the canvas.

  2. 2

    Set the canvas background

    Format page → Canvas background → Browse. Set Image fit to Fill and transparency to 0%.

  3. 3

    Import the theme

    Design ribbon → Import theme (in the Power BI service: View → Theme pane), then pick the downloaded JSON. Data colours and fonts now match the design. Older Desktop builds: View → Themes → Browse for themes.

  4. 4

    Place your visuals

    Size each visual to the positions above with background and border off, or open the PBIP project where they are already placed.

Questions about this template

Does the School Attendance & Attainment template come with sample data?

Yes. The “PBIP with sample data” download contains a semantic model with 9 tables and 7 DAX measures, and every visual on the page is already bound to it. The sample: A fictional secondary school (Years 7–11): weekly attendance sessions by year group and pupil-premium status for the last 30 school weeks, year-to-date attendance for a sample of 100 pupils (anonymous IDs), absence sessions by reason, and those pupils' latest assessment scores in English, maths and science (100 = expected standard). The data is written into each table's Power Query step, so there is no data source or sign-in.

Is it a .pbix file?

It is a Power BI project (PBIP): a folder of text files that Power BI Desktop opens like a .pbix. Open the .pbip file, select Refresh once to load the sample rows, then use File → Save as if you want a single .pbix.

What visuals are in the School Attendance & Attainment template?

The page has 11 visual areas: 1 line chart, 1 donut chart, 1 gauge, 3 cards, 1 column chart, 1 bar chart, 1 table, 2 slicers. Their exact positions are listed on this page so you can match them in Power BI's Format → General → Properties panel, or skip that step by downloading the PBIP project.

Which theme does the School Attendance & Attainment template use?

It ships with the Paper & Clay theme (light tone). Download the theme JSON here, or open the template in the design studio and switch to any other theme or your own brand colours.

Is there a dark version of the School Attendance & Attainment template?

Yes. Switch the preview to Dark and every download (background, theme JSON and PBIP) comes in that version. The layout is identical; the page, card and text colours are re-solved for a dark page, and the accent, status and data colours keep their hues but are adjusted until text meets WCAG AA (4.5:1) and chart colours reach 3:1 against the cards.

How do I use the background image in Power BI Desktop?

Select the page, open Format page → Canvas background, choose Browse and pick the PNG, then set Image fit to Fill and transparency to 0%. Give your visuals a transparent background and no border so the designed panels show through.

Can I open the PBIP project in Power BI Desktop?

Yes. PBIR is the default report format in Power BI Desktop since September 2026, and the download is a PBIP project: unzip it and open the .pbip file, select Refresh once and the sample data loads into visuals that are already bound (the empty PBIP leaves the containers unbound for your own data). Microsoft still lists projects and TMDL as preview features (as of Nov 2026), so if Desktop won't open it, enable them under File → Options and settings → Options → Preview features.

Dashboard guides that use these visuals

Guides to the same dashboard job: which custom visuals it needs, the DAX behind them and prompts to generate them.

KPI cards for this layout

Headline numbers drawn by one DAX SVG measure each, for the Card visual or a table row.

Want the headline numbers to look like cards rather than plain values? Browse the KPI card gallery or build your own in the SVG measure builder.

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Make the School Attendance & Attainment template yours

Swap in your brand colours and logo, move panels, add icons and generate missing visuals with AI, then export the background, theme JSON and PBIP project.

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