What is persistent absence in schools?
A pupil is classed as persistently absent when they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions. Because schools normally take a register twice a day, one school day usually counts as two sessions.
In short
Persistent absence means missing at least 10% of the school sessions that were available to a pupil.
It does not mean that every persistently absent pupil has missed the same number of days. The threshold depends on how many sessions were possible for that individual pupil, and on the period being measured.
What does 10% absence mean?
Over a complete school year of approximately 190 days, 10% absence is roughly equivalent to missing 19 school days — about one day in every ten.
That is an illustration rather than a rule. Official statistics calculate persistent absence from the actual number of possible sessions recorded for each pupil, rather than assuming every pupil has 190 possible days. Earlier in the school year the number of sessions needed to cross the threshold is smaller, simply because fewer sessions have taken place.
Does persistent absence include authorised absence?
Yes. Persistent absence is based on the total proportion of possible sessions missed, so both authorised and unauthorised absence count towards it.
The measure tells you how much school has been missed, not why it was missed. A pupil with significant illness may become persistently absent even though every absence has been authorised.
What is the latest persistent-absence rate?
Persistent absence rose by 0.31 percentage points compared with the same term a year earlier, and remains a long way above its pre-pandemic level: in autumn 2018/19 the rate was 10.94%.
Is persistent absence equally common in all schools?
No. In autumn term 2025/26 the persistent-absence rate was:
| School type | Persistent absence |
|---|---|
| State-funded primary | 14.39% |
| State-funded secondary | 21.53% |
| Special | 35.09% |
There are also substantial differences by pupil characteristics and by geography. Pupils eligible for free school meals (30.46%) and pupils with an education, health and care plan (33.80%) have considerably higher persistent-absence rates than other pupils.
These differences are useful for understanding the national picture. They should not be treated as explanations for any individual pupil's attendance.
Does persistent absence mean a pupil is refusing to attend?
No. Persistent absence is a statistical measure, not a description of why a pupil is absent.
A pupil may become persistently absent because of illness, medical needs, family circumstances, anxiety, unauthorised absence, or a combination of reasons. Understanding what lies behind absence requires looking beyond the headline percentage.
Why does persistent absence matter?
Missing a substantial proportion of school reduces the teaching, learning and wider school experience available to a pupil.
DfE statutory guidance, Working together to improve school attendance, expects schools and local authorities to identify pupils who are approaching or have reached persistent absence and, where appropriate, to work with pupils and families to understand and remove the barriers to attendance. The purpose is to understand what is happening and provide suitable support, rather than to treat every persistently absent pupil as having the same circumstances.
Explore persistent absence
The School Attendance Explorer lets you compare persistent absence over time, between primary, secondary and special schools, across every region and local authority, and by pupil characteristics including free-school-meal eligibility, SEN provision, year group and ethnicity.
Explore the data yourself
Compare persistent absence over time, between school phases, across every local authority and by pupil group.
Explore persistent absence →About this guidance
This page explains publicly available school attendance statistics and guidance for England. tutor2u uses Department for Education data and primary government guidance wherever possible. Every figure shown is calculated directly from the published DfE data files rather than transcribed by hand.
Attendance statistics describe patterns across pupils and schools. They should be interpreted with appropriate context and should not be used to make assumptions about the circumstances of an individual pupil.