Core indicator
Education
Children persistently absent from school
Last updated July 2023
(July 2023)
Latest figures are for the academic year ending July 2023. Last reviewed: July 2024
What is this sector and how are we measuring it?
Schools and other education settings aim to provide a safe and positive place to learn and help children realise their potential. Absence from school (missed attendance, as well as temporary suspension and permanent exclusion) not only impacts students’ attainment but is also associated with involvement in violence.
Learn more about YEF’s work within the education sector, and the evidence-based approaches for what works in reducing violence.
Research by the Department for Education shows children who are persistently absent without an authorised reason are more likely to commit a serious violent offence after accounting for a range of factors. For this reason, and due to the stark increase in school absence following the pandemic, we’re using the proportion of children persistently absent from school (primary, secondary and special schools) in England as our core indicator for this sector.
What does our core indicator show?
Overall, this measure shows a mixed picture. Rates of absence have spiked since the pandemic. In 2022/23, 21% of children in England’s schools were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of possible sessions) – equivalent to 1.6 million pupils or one in every five. This is up compared to 11% pre-Covid-19 (2018/19) and 14% a decade ago (2012/13). It’s down from 23% the year before (2021/22), but this is mainly due to fewer authorised absences (e.g. sickness). Unauthorised absences and pupils severely absent (missing 50% or more of sessions) continued to increase in the latest year. There is a similar picture in Wales.