Absence from school
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Contents
- 1. Navigate toMain facts and figures section
- 2. Navigate toThings you need to know section
- 3. Navigate to By ethnicity (overall absence) section
- 4. Navigate to By ethnicity and area (overall absence) section
- 5. Navigate to By ethnicity and type of school (overall absence) section
- 6. Navigate to By ethnicity (persistent absence) section
- 7. Navigate to By ethnicity and area (persistent absence) section
- 8. Navigate to By ethnicity and type of school (persistent absence) section
- 9. Navigate toData sources section
- 10. Navigate toDownload the data section
1. Main facts and figures
- in the 2021 to 2022 school year, the overall absence rate was 7.6%
- 22.5% of pupils missed 10% or more of their school sessions – this is known as ‘persistent absence’
- Traveller of Irish heritage and Gypsy or Roma pupils had the highest rates of overall and persistent absence
- pupils from the Chinese and black African ethnic groups had the lowest rates
Further Research:
Analysis by The Education Policy Institute highlighted that absence rates for Traveller of Irish heritage and Gypsy or Roma pupils were high before the COVID-19 pandemic but have increased further. This is mostly due to an increase in unauthorised absences. Research conducted by the Anti-Bullying Alliance (PDF) (PDF opens in a new window or tab) identified particular challenges that Gypsy, Roma and Irish Traveller pupils experience at school, such as racism, stereotyping and bullying. The Anti-Bullying Alliance’s All Together programme which supports schools to reduce bullying of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller and other pupils who are bullied, also improved pupils’ well-being and attendance.
In 2023, the UK government announced plans to address high absence rates through programmes such as ‘Attendance Hubs’. Hubs share practice and resources to improve attendance, such as automatic text messages to parents whose children do not attend school. They also use data to identify children at risk of persistent absence to help prevent it. There are plans for trained mentors to work with persistently absent pupils and their families to identify and overcome their barriers to attending school.
2. Things you need to know
What the data measures
The data shows absence rates from state-funded primary, secondary and special schools in England.
Data is based on pupil enrolment records rather than individual pupils. Some pupils may be counted more than once within the total enrolment figure, for example if they:
- moved schools during the school year
- are registered in more than one school
Rates have been rounded to 1 decimal place.
How absence rates are calculated
Overall absence rate:
The total number of absences as a percentage of the total number of possible sessions at school. There are usually 2 sessions in a school day, in the morning and afternoon.
The data includes authorised and unauthorised absences.
Persistent absence rate:
The total number of pupil enrolments who were persistently absent, as a percentage of all pupil enrolments. A pupil is persistently absent if they miss 10% or more of their possible sessions at school.
The ethnic groups used in the data
The data uses the ethnic groups from the 2001 Census with 2 exceptions:
- Traveller of Irish heritage, and Gypsy and Roma pupils are in 2 separate categories
- the Chinese ethnic group has its own category, rather than being part of the Asian ethnic group
For local authority data, percentages are shown for 6 ethnic groups as a whole:
- Asian
- black
- Chinese
- mixed
- white
- 'other'
This is to make sure that numbers are based on enough pupils to be reliable.
Methodology
Read the detailed methodology document for the data.
Some of this data is based on very small numbers of pupils. Find out more about how group size affects the reliability of data.
In the data file
See Download the data for the total number of pupil enrolments in each local authority.
3. By ethnicity (overall absence)
| Ethnicity | % | Sessions |
|---|---|---|
| All | 7.6 | 194,229,197 |
| Asian | 6.7 | 19,656,450 |
| Bangladeshi | 6.8 | 2,985,565 |
| Indian | 5.7 | 4,869,963 |
| Pakistani | 7.9 | 8,904,457 |
| Asian Other | 5.8 | 2,896,465 |
| Black | 5.1 | 7,308,949 |
| Black African | 4.4 | 4,356,143 |
| Black Caribbean | 7.4 | 1,837,228 |
| Black Other | 5.7 | 1,115,578 |
| Chinese | 3.6 | 534,252 |
| Mixed | 7.7 | 12,942,318 |
| Mixed White and Asian | 6.9 | 2,812,817 |
| Mixed White and Black African | 7.2 | 1,686,753 |
| Mixed White and Black Caribbean | 9.4 | 3,846,282 |
| Mixed Other | 7.3 | 4,596,466 |
| White | 7.9 | 146,154,047 |
| White British | 7.9 | 131,177,325 |
| White Irish | 8.8 | 562,441 |
| Gypsy, Roma | 17.8 | 1,512,991 |
| Irish Traveller | 22.1 | 454,117 |
| White Other | 7.1 | 12,447,173 |
| Other | 6.7 | 3,611,232 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity (overall absence)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity (overall absence)’ (CSV)
Summary of Absence from school By ethnicity (overall absence) Summary
The data shows that:
- in the 2021 to 2022 school year, the overall absence rate was 7.6%
- pupils from the Chinese ethnic group had the lowest overall absence rate, missing 3.6% of their total school sessions
- Traveller of Irish heritage (22.1%) and Gypsy and Roma (17.8%) pupils had the highest overall absence rates
- white British pupils missed 7.9% of their total school sessions
4. By ethnicity and area (overall absence)
| Local authority | All | Asian | Black | Chinese | Mixed | White | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % | % | % | % | |
| All - England | 7.6 | 6.7 | 5.1 | 3.6 | 7.7 | 7.9 | 6.7 |
| Barking and Dagenham | 6.6 | 6.5 | 4.1 | 2.7 | 7.6 | 8.3 | 6.5 |
| Barnet | 6.5 | 6.1 | 6.0 | 4.1 | 7.0 | 6.6 | 6.8 |
| Barnsley | 8.1 | 7.8 | 4.7 | 1.9 | 6.9 | 8.1 | 7.2 |
| Bath and North East Somerset | 7.7 | 6.7 | 6.8 | 3.7 | 8.4 | 7.6 | 9.5 |
| Bedford | 7.4 | 7.5 | 4.9 | 3.4 | 8.2 | 7.4 | 8.0 |
| Bexley | 6.8 | 5.6 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 7.1 | 8.0 | 6.3 |
| Birmingham | 7.8 | 7.6 | 5.7 | 3.3 | 8.5 | 8.9 | 6.5 |
| Blackburn with Darwen | 7.4 | 6.4 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 8.0 | 8.4 | 6.6 |
| Blackpool | 7.9 | 5.6 | 5.1 | 2.5 | 7.6 | 8.0 | 8.9 |
| Bolton | 6.9 | 5.6 | 3.9 | 3.1 | 7.5 | 7.8 | 6.0 |
| Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole | 7.7 | 6.3 | 4.7 | 3.9 | 7.7 | 7.8 | 6.7 |
| Bracknell Forest | 6.7 | 5.8 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 6.4 | 6.9 | 5.6 |
| Bradford | 9.0 | 8.6 | 5.1 | 3.3 | 10.0 | 9.4 | 8.0 |
| Brent | 6.3 | 5.7 | 6.1 | 3.6 | 6.8 | 6.8 | 6.5 |
| Brighton and Hove | 8.2 | 7.4 | 6.2 | 3.7 | 7.9 | 8.4 | 7.5 |
| Bristol, City of | 8.3 | 8.0 | 6.9 | 4.2 | 9.3 | 8.4 | 7.5 |
| Bromley | 6.8 | 6.2 | 5.4 | 4.0 | 7.2 | 7.1 | 6.7 |
| Buckinghamshire | 7.5 | 7.5 | 5.9 | 4.6 | 7.9 | 7.5 | 7.3 |
| Bury | 7.1 | 7.2 | 4.5 | 2.8 | 7.7 | 7.2 | 6.2 |
| Calderdale | 7.4 | 7.6 | 5.8 | 3.0 | 8.0 | 7.3 | 7.0 |
| Cambridgeshire | 7.6 | 6.7 | 5.8 | 4.1 | 7.2 | 7.7 | 6.3 |
| Camden | 7.7 | 8.4 | 6.6 | 5.0 | 8.2 | 7.8 | 6.7 |
| Central Bedfordshire | 7.6 | 7.0 | 5.6 | 3.8 | 8.1 | 7.7 | 6.9 |
| Cheshire East | 7.4 | 6.7 | 5.9 | 4.3 | 7.2 | 7.5 | 8.5 |
| Cheshire West and Chester | 7.8 | 6.5 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 7.1 | 7.8 | 6.7 |
| City of London | 4.3 | 5.0 | 7.1 | 2.1 | 2.8 | 3.5 | 4.1 |
| Cornwall | 8.3 | 8.1 | 7.8 | 5.4 | 8.1 | 8.3 | 8.2 |
| County Durham | 8.1 | 6.7 | 4.8 | 3.3 | 6.9 | 8.2 | 7.0 |
| Coventry | 7.6 | 6.2 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 8.5 | 8.9 | 6.4 |
| Croydon | 7.0 | 6.8 | 5.6 | 3.7 | 7.9 | 7.7 | 7.4 |
| Cumbria | 7.7 | 6.3 | 4.8 | 4.3 | 7.2 | 7.7 | 7.1 |
| Darlington | 7.7 | 6.3 | 3.6 | 2.3 | 7.2 | 7.8 | 6.1 |
| Derby | 7.6 | 6.5 | 4.5 | 3.4 | 8.2 | 8.1 | 6.0 |
| Derbyshire | 7.7 | 6.4 | 5.4 | 3.6 | 7.8 | 7.7 | 8.1 |
| Devon | 8.3 | 6.6 | 5.2 | 4.4 | 8.3 | 8.3 | 6.8 |
| Doncaster | 8.4 | 6.7 | 4.3 | 2.7 | 7.9 | 8.6 | 7.9 |
| Dorset | 8.2 | 5.8 | 5.6 | 4.3 | 7.5 | 8.2 | 8.4 |
| Dudley | 8.0 | 7.5 | 5.0 | 3.1 | 8.8 | 8.1 | 6.9 |
| Ealing | 6.5 | 6.1 | 6.3 | 3.7 | 7.0 | 6.8 | 6.5 |
| East Riding of Yorkshire | 7.4 | 7.1 | 5.3 | 4.5 | 7.1 | 7.4 | 6.6 |
| East Sussex | 8.0 | 6.0 | 5.4 | 3.4 | 7.8 | 8.0 | 7.8 |
| Enfield | 6.9 | 6.2 | 5.5 | 3.2 | 7.4 | 7.6 | 6.7 |
| Essex | 7.7 | 6.3 | 4.4 | 3.8 | 7.6 | 7.9 | 5.9 |
| Gateshead | 8.3 | 7.3 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 6.3 | 8.5 | 7.6 |
| Gloucestershire | 7.4 | 6.4 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 7.9 | 7.5 | 9.2 |
| Greenwich | 6.5 | 5.7 | 4.3 | 3.6 | 7.3 | 8.1 | 5.7 |
| Hackney | 6.4 | 6.6 | 5.3 | 2.2 | 7.3 | 7.1 | 6.3 |
| Halton | 8.1 | 6.1 | 4.8 | 3.8 | 7.5 | 8.2 | 5.7 |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | 6.9 | 6.5 | 6.4 | 3.6 | 7.5 | 6.9 | 6.9 |
| Hampshire | 7.2 | 6.0 | 4.6 | 3.7 | 7.0 | 7.3 | 6.7 |
| Haringey | 6.9 | 7.1 | 5.8 | 3.0 | 7.1 | 7.1 | 7.4 |
| Harrow | 6.2 | 5.6 | 6.5 | 3.6 | 7.1 | 6.8 | 7.4 |
| Hartlepool | 7.9 | 6.0 | 4.4 | 2.1 | 5.8 | 8.1 | 6.4 |
| Havering | 6.7 | 6.2 | 4.4 | 3.5 | 7.1 | 7.2 | 6.2 |
| Herefordshire, County of | 7.7 | 6.4 | 5.5 | 5.3 | 7.2 | 7.8 | 7.5 |
| Hertfordshire | 7.2 | 6.6 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 7.4 | 7.4 | 6.8 |
| Hillingdon | 6.9 | 6.1 | 5.8 | 3.9 | 6.9 | 8.1 | 6.3 |
| Hounslow | 6.9 | 6.4 | 5.7 | 3.8 | 7.7 | 7.6 | 6.5 |
| Isle of Wight | 7.7 | 6.3 | 6.6 | 3.5 | 8.1 | 7.7 | 5.1 |
| Isles of Scilly | 6.4 | NA | NA | NA | 6.5 | 6.4 | NA |
| Islington | 7.3 | 7.6 | 6.0 | 3.8 | 7.7 | 8.0 | 5.9 |
| Kensington and Chelsea | 7.0 | 6.9 | 5.8 | 4.7 | 7.5 | 7.3 | 6.9 |
| Kent | 7.9 | 5.9 | 4.1 | 3.6 | 7.2 | 8.3 | 6.6 |
| Kingston upon Hull, City of | 8.0 | 6.6 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 6.9 | 8.2 | 5.8 |
| Kingston upon Thames | 6.5 | 6.3 | 6.0 | 4.1 | 6.5 | 6.7 | 6.2 |
| Kirklees | 7.4 | 7.4 | 5.0 | 3.1 | 8.5 | 7.4 | 6.8 |
| Knowsley | 8.8 | 5.6 | 3.9 | 2.8 | 8.7 | 9.0 | 5.9 |
| Lambeth | 6.6 | 6.7 | 6.2 | 4.0 | 7.6 | 6.4 | 6.7 |
| Lancashire | 7.1 | 6.8 | 4.3 | 3.2 | 7.4 | 7.2 | 7.3 |
| Leeds | 7.5 | 7.4 | 4.0 | 3.2 | 8.0 | 7.9 | 6.4 |
| Leicester | 7.0 | 5.7 | 4.9 | 4.5 | 8.3 | 9.1 | 6.1 |
| Leicestershire | 7.2 | 5.6 | 4.5 | 3.1 | 7.3 | 7.4 | 6.7 |
| Lewisham | 6.1 | 5.8 | 5.3 | 3.1 | 6.8 | 6.7 | 5.9 |
| Lincolnshire | 8.0 | 6.2 | 4.9 | 3.4 | 7.8 | 8.1 | 7.2 |
| Liverpool | 8.1 | 5.7 | 4.5 | 2.9 | 8.1 | 8.7 | 6.5 |
| Luton | 7.6 | 7.6 | 5.1 | 3.6 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 6.9 |
| Manchester | 7.1 | 6.8 | 4.1 | 3.2 | 8.0 | 8.9 | 6.1 |
| Medway | 7.7 | 6.3 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 7.6 | 8.3 | 6.4 |
| Merton | 6.6 | 6.2 | 5.6 | 4.0 | 7.5 | 7.0 | 5.4 |
| Middlesbrough | 8.8 | 6.9 | 4.4 | 3.5 | 8.4 | 9.3 | 7.0 |
| Milton Keynes | 7.4 | 7.0 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 7.5 | 8.2 | 6.7 |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 8.7 | 7.0 | 4.1 | 3.1 | 6.9 | 9.7 | 6.7 |
| Newham | 6.6 | 6.4 | 5.0 | 2.9 | 7.9 | 8.4 | 5.9 |
| Norfolk | 8.4 | 6.8 | 5.3 | 3.8 | 8.3 | 8.4 | 7.2 |
| North East Lincolnshire | 7.9 | 7.5 | 4.2 | 2.7 | 6.6 | 8.0 | 6.7 |
| North Lincolnshire | 8.0 | 6.8 | 5.3 | 3.3 | 7.8 | 8.1 | 9.6 |
| North Northamptonshire | 7.9 | 6.2 | 4.6 | 3.7 | 8.1 | 8.1 | 7.2 |
| North Somerset | 8.0 | 7.6 | 6.6 | 4.4 | 8.4 | 8.0 | 8.6 |
| North Tyneside | 7.1 | 6.5 | 4.4 | 3.2 | 6.9 | 7.2 | 6.0 |
| North Yorkshire | 7.7 | 7.6 | 4.9 | 4.2 | 7.6 | 7.7 | 7.3 |
| Northumberland | 7.9 | 6.7 | 5.2 | 4.4 | 8.4 | 7.9 | 6.4 |
| Nottingham | 7.6 | 6.7 | 4.4 | 3.1 | 8.1 | 8.7 | 6.0 |
| Nottinghamshire | 7.4 | 6.1 | 4.6 | 3.4 | 7.4 | 7.5 | 6.8 |
| Oldham | 7.7 | 7.3 | 3.5 | 2.2 | 8.6 | 8.3 | 7.7 |
| Oxfordshire | 7.8 | 7.5 | 5.4 | 4.2 | 8.2 | 7.8 | 6.8 |
| Peterborough | 7.9 | 7.7 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 7.8 | 8.2 | 5.6 |
| Plymouth | 8.8 | 6.7 | 5.1 | 3.7 | 8.2 | 8.9 | 7.4 |
| Portsmouth | 8.3 | 6.3 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 7.4 | 8.8 | 6.3 |
| Reading | 7.6 | 7.3 | 5.3 | 4.0 | 8.7 | 8.0 | 7.2 |
| Redbridge | 6.5 | 6.4 | 5.5 | 4.0 | 6.9 | 6.9 | 6.1 |
| Redcar and Cleveland | 7.9 | 7.0 | 3.4 | 1.4 | 7.7 | 7.9 | 6.0 |
| Richmond upon Thames | 6.7 | 6.6 | 7.2 | 4.0 | 7.1 | 6.6 | 6.8 |
| Rochdale | 7.9 | 7.5 | 3.7 | 2.7 | 8.0 | 8.5 | 7.0 |
| Rotherham | 8.2 | 7.5 | 4.3 | 3.1 | 8.6 | 8.3 | 6.8 |
| Rutland | 6.5 | 3.9 | 5.4 | 3.5 | 5.8 | 6.6 | 8.0 |
| Salford | 8.3 | 6.4 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 6.6 | 9.1 | 6.3 |
| Sandwell | 7.4 | 6.1 | 5.3 | 3.1 | 8.4 | 8.6 | 6.4 |
| Sefton | 8.0 | 5.6 | 4.2 | 3.1 | 7.8 | 8.1 | 8.4 |
| Sheffield | 7.9 | 7.4 | 4.9 | 3.1 | 8.9 | 8.3 | 7.1 |
| Shropshire | 7.9 | 6.7 | 6.6 | 3.8 | 8.6 | 7.9 | 5.9 |
| Slough | 7.3 | 6.9 | 5.6 | 4.6 | 7.4 | 8.8 | 6.5 |
| Solihull | 7.9 | 6.9 | 5.7 | 3.8 | 8.8 | 8.1 | 6.7 |
| Somerset | 8.3 | 7.0 | 4.9 | 4.5 | 8.4 | 8.3 | 9.2 |
| South Gloucestershire | 7.4 | 6.8 | 5.3 | 4.6 | 7.9 | 7.5 | 7.8 |
| South Tyneside | 7.5 | 6.7 | 4.4 | 3.2 | 6.6 | 7.6 | 6.3 |
| Southampton | 8.1 | 6.3 | 4.2 | 3.5 | 7.7 | 8.7 | 6.6 |
| Southend-on-Sea | 7.2 | 6.2 | 4.2 | 3.0 | 7.1 | 7.6 | 6.7 |
| Southwark | 6.3 | 7.0 | 4.9 | 3.5 | 7.6 | 7.5 | 6.2 |
| St. Helens | 8.4 | 5.4 | 5.9 | 4.4 | 7.0 | 8.5 | 6.7 |
| Staffordshire | 7.6 | 7.3 | 5.6 | 3.7 | 8.1 | 7.6 | 7.0 |
| Stockport | 7.2 | 7.1 | 5.2 | 3.6 | 7.4 | 7.2 | 6.8 |
| Stockton-on-Tees | 7.7 | 7.1 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 8.1 | 7.8 | 7.2 |
| Stoke-on-Trent | 8.2 | 7.4 | 4.6 | 3.1 | 9.1 | 8.6 | 7.7 |
| Suffolk | 8.1 | 6.8 | 5.7 | 4.3 | 7.7 | 8.1 | 6.3 |
| Sunderland | 8.4 | 7.1 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 7.8 | 8.5 | 6.3 |
| Surrey | 7.1 | 6.8 | 5.2 | 4.1 | 6.9 | 7.2 | 6.7 |
| Sutton | 6.9 | 6.2 | 5.4 | 3.8 | 7.1 | 7.6 | 6.3 |
| Swindon | 7.6 | 6.3 | 4.8 | 4.4 | 8.3 | 7.9 | 7.0 |
| Tameside | 7.2 | 6.0 | 3.6 | 2.6 | 7.2 | 7.6 | 6.3 |
| Telford and Wrekin | 7.8 | 6.8 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 7.8 | 8.1 | 6.7 |
| Thurrock | 6.9 | 6.5 | 3.7 | 3.2 | 6.7 | 7.7 | 5.4 |
| Torbay | 9.2 | 6.5 | 7.1 | 5.2 | 9.2 | 9.2 | 6.6 |
| Tower Hamlets | 6.2 | 5.8 | 4.9 | 3.7 | 7.7 | 8.2 | 5.4 |
| Trafford | 6.4 | 6.9 | 4.8 | 3.6 | 6.6 | 6.5 | 6.6 |
| Wakefield | 7.8 | 7.6 | 4.7 | 3.0 | 7.8 | 7.9 | 5.8 |
| Walsall | 7.9 | 6.7 | 4.8 | 3.7 | 8.5 | 8.6 | 8.2 |
| Waltham Forest | 6.8 | 6.9 | 6.0 | 2.5 | 7.1 | 7.0 | 6.1 |
| Wandsworth | 6.5 | 6.1 | 6.2 | 3.0 | 7.5 | 6.4 | 6.8 |
| Warrington | 7.1 | 6.6 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 7.1 | 7.2 | 6.9 |
| Warwickshire | 8.1 | 6.2 | 5.3 | 4.0 | 8.3 | 8.3 | 7.1 |
| West Berkshire | 7.1 | 6.7 | 5.1 | 3.6 | 7.2 | 7.2 | 6.7 |
| West Northamptonshire | 7.3 | 6.8 | 4.5 | 3.6 | 7.6 | 7.5 | 6.6 |
| West Sussex | 7.3 | 6.5 | 5.3 | 3.6 | 7.4 | 7.4 | 7.2 |
| Westminster | 7.3 | 7.3 | 6.5 | 4.0 | 8.1 | 7.3 | 7.8 |
| Wigan | 7.7 | 6.7 | 4.2 | 2.7 | 7.1 | 7.8 | 7.5 |
| Wiltshire | 7.5 | 6.2 | 4.8 | 4.5 | 7.7 | 7.6 | 6.8 |
| Windsor and Maidenhead | 7.3 | 7.2 | 5.6 | 4.1 | 7.0 | 7.4 | 7.0 |
| Wirral | 8.2 | 6.9 | 6.2 | 3.7 | 7.4 | 8.3 | 7.5 |
| Wokingham | 6.9 | 7.2 | 4.9 | 3.9 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.6 |
| Wolverhampton | 7.0 | 5.6 | 4.5 | 3.0 | 8.3 | 8.1 | 6.3 |
| Worcestershire | 8.1 | 7.5 | 5.5 | 4.4 | 8.1 | 8.2 | 6.6 |
| York | 7.6 | 5.7 | 4.2 | 3.2 | 7.2 | 7.7 | 7.0 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity and area (overall absence)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity and area (overall absence)’ (CSV)
Summary of Absence from school By ethnicity and area (overall absence) Summary
The data shows that, out of all local authorities where data was available:
- Bradford had the highest overall absence rate for pupils of mixed ethnicity (10.0%) and Asian pupils (8.6%)
- Cornwall had the highest rate for black pupils (7.8%) and pupils from the Chinese ethnic group (5.4%)
- Newcastle upon Tyne had the highest rate for white pupils (9.7%)
5. By ethnicity and type of school (overall absence)
| State-funded primary | State-funded secondary | Special | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethnicity | State-funded primary % | State-funded primary Sessions | State-funded secondary % | State-funded secondary Sessions | Special % | Special Sessions | Total % | Total Sessions |
| All | 6.3 | 88,884,850 | 9.0 | 99,561,186 | 13.2 | 5,783,161 | 7.6 | 194,229,197 |
| Asian | 6.4 | 10,334,950 | 6.9 | 8,718,900 | 13.8 | 602,600 | 6.7 | 19,656,450 |
| Bangladeshi | 6.6 | 1,563,129 | 6.8 | 1,315,018 | 14.1 | 107,418 | 6.8 | 2,985,565 |
| Indian | 5.7 | 2,773,162 | 5.6 | 1,999,511 | 11.5 | 97,290 | 5.7 | 4,869,963 |
| Pakistani | 7.3 | 4,467,703 | 8.3 | 4,143,259 | 15.5 | 293,495 | 7.9 | 8,904,457 |
| Asian Other | 5.6 | 1,530,956 | 5.9 | 1,261,112 | 12.2 | 104,397 | 5.8 | 2,896,465 |
| Black | 4.5 | 3,382,861 | 5.5 | 3,613,702 | 10.4 | 312,386 | 5.1 | 7,308,949 |
| Black African | 3.9 | 2,065,714 | 4.7 | 2,092,619 | 9.9 | 197,810 | 4.4 | 4,356,143 |
| Black Caribbean | 6.4 | 783,466 | 8.2 | 989,421 | 12.6 | 64,341 | 7.4 | 1,837,228 |
| Black Other | 4.9 | 533,681 | 6.3 | 531,662 | 10.5 | 50,235 | 5.7 | 1,115,578 |
| Chinese | 3.6 | 320,147 | 3.6 | 201,509 | 8.1 | 12,596 | 3.6 | 534,252 |
| Mixed | 6.5 | 6,169,946 | 9.2 | 6,373,382 | 13.5 | 398,990 | 7.7 | 12,942,318 |
| Mixed White and Asian | 5.9 | 1,385,300 | 8.2 | 1,360,615 | 12.5 | 66,902 | 6.9 | 2,812,817 |
| Mixed White and Black African | 5.9 | 776,055 | 8.8 | 857,257 | 12.3 | 53,441 | 7.2 | 1,686,753 |
| Mixed White and Black Caribbean | 7.6 | 1,719,278 | 11.5 | 1,995,295 | 15.3 | 131,709 | 9.4 | 3,846,282 |
| Mixed Other | 6.3 | 2,289,313 | 8.4 | 2,160,215 | 13.0 | 146,938 | 7.3 | 4,596,466 |
| White | 6.4 | 65,395,790 | 9.6 | 76,542,289 | 13.3 | 4,215,968 | 7.9 | 146,154,047 |
| White British | 6.3 | 57,514,050 | 9.7 | 69,750,356 | 13.2 | 3,912,919 | 7.9 | 131,177,325 |
| White Irish | 7.5 | 249,133 | 10.0 | 294,284 | 17.5 | 19,024 | 8.8 | 562,441 |
| Gypsy, Roma | 15.7 | 855,271 | 21.3 | 623,123 | 21.9 | 34,597 | 17.8 | 1,512,991 |
| Irish Traveller | 22.2 | 339,596 | 21.3 | 101,695 | 28.8 | 12,826 | 22.1 | 454,117 |
| White Other | 6.3 | 6,437,740 | 8.1 | 5,772,831 | 12.5 | 236,602 | 7.1 | 12,447,173 |
| Other | 6.1 | 1,853,014 | 7.3 | 1,656,194 | 12.6 | 102,024 | 6.7 | 3,611,232 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity and type of school (overall absence)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity and type of school (overall absence)’ (CSV)
Summary of Absence from school By ethnicity and type of school (overall absence) Summary
The data shows that:
- in most ethnic groups, the overall absence rate was highest in special schools and lowest in primary schools
- for pupils in the Chinese ethnic group, primary schools and secondary schools had the same overall absence rate (3.6%)
- for pupils in the Traveller of Irish heritage ethnic groups, the overall absence rate was higher in primary schools (22.2%) than in secondary schools (21.3%)
6. By ethnicity (persistent absence)
| Ethnicity | % | Pupil enrolments |
|---|---|---|
| All | 22.5 | 1,643,876 |
| Asian | 21.0 | 174,708 |
| Bangladeshi | 21.4 | 26,542 |
| Indian | 15.7 | 38,067 |
| Pakistani | 27.1 | 87,152 |
| Asian Other | 16.1 | 22,947 |
| Black | 13.5 | 56,382 |
| Black African | 10.4 | 29,988 |
| Black Caribbean | 23.9 | 17,191 |
| Black Other | 16.2 | 9,203 |
| Chinese | 6.2 | 2,672 |
| Mixed | 23.9 | 114,241 |
| Mixed White and Asian | 20.1 | 22,974 |
| Mixed White and Black African | 21.8 | 14,492 |
| Mixed White and Black Caribbean | 31.4 | 36,714 |
| Mixed Other | 22.1 | 40,061 |
| White | 23.4 | 1,217,765 |
| White British | 23.3 | 1,084,267 |
| White Irish | 26.9 | 4,874 |
| Gypsy, Roma | 64.9 | 16,895 |
| Irish Traveller | 71.7 | 4,676 |
| White Other | 21.4 | 107,053 |
| Other | 20.0 | 31,828 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity (persistent absence)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity (persistent absence)’ (CSV)
Summary of Absence from school By ethnicity (persistent absence) Summary
The data shows that:
- in the 2021 to 2022 school year, 22.5% of pupils were 'persistently absent' – they missed 10% or more of their school sessions
- 6.2% of pupils in the Chinese ethnic group were persistently absent – the lowest percentage out of all ethnic groups
- 71.7% of pupils from the Traveller of Irish heritage ethnic group were persistently absent – the highest percentage
- 23.3% of white British pupils were persistently absent
7. By ethnicity and area (persistent absence)
| Local Authority | All | Asian | Black | Chinese | Mixed | White | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % | % | % | % | |
| All - England | 22.5 | 21.0 | 13.5 | 6.2 | 23.9 | 23.4 | 20.0 |
| Barking and Dagenham | 20.7 | 19.8 | 9.8 | 1.4 | 24.2 | 28.0 | 21.9 |
| Barnet | 18.4 | 16.7 | 16.8 | 7.8 | 20.8 | 18.2 | 21.0 |
| Barnsley | 24.6 | 28.6 | 12.2 | 0.0 | 21.7 | 24.8 | 26.2 |
| Bath and North East Somerset | 21.5 | 20.0 | 18.8 | 4.5 | 27.4 | 20.8 | 30.5 |
| Bedford | 22.4 | 25.1 | 12.1 | 5.4 | 26.7 | 21.7 | 25.2 |
| Bexley | 20.1 | 14.4 | 8.6 | 7.3 | 21.3 | 24.6 | 19.3 |
| Birmingham | 24.9 | 25.4 | 16.3 | 5.5 | 27.9 | 28.1 | 18.8 |
| Blackburn with Darwen | 23.6 | 19.9 | 7.6 | 9.5 | 28.3 | 26.8 | 22.8 |
| Blackpool | 25.6 | 16.0 | 13.0 | 3.4 | 24.2 | 25.9 | 25.2 |
| Bolton | 20.3 | 16.0 | 8.0 | 5.9 | 23.3 | 23.4 | 17.6 |
| Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole | 22.3 | 18.8 | 11.7 | 7.5 | 22.5 | 22.5 | 17.8 |
| Bracknell Forest | 18.8 | 16.8 | 9.2 | 4.1 | 18.5 | 19.7 | 10.7 |
| Bradford | 28.6 | 29.3 | 13.9 | 7.6 | 31.5 | 27.9 | 25.2 |
| Brent | 18.4 | 15.5 | 18.1 | 5.3 | 19.5 | 20.6 | 18.7 |
| Brighton and Hove | 24.1 | 22.4 | 18.7 | 6.5 | 23.7 | 24.5 | 24.2 |
| Bristol, City of | 25.7 | 27.6 | 22.0 | 7.2 | 29.5 | 25.3 | 23.0 |
| Bromley | 19.1 | 17.6 | 14.5 | 5.8 | 21.4 | 19.7 | 18.4 |
| Buckinghamshire | 22.9 | 25.5 | 17.7 | 10.5 | 25.2 | 21.9 | 23.2 |
| Bury | 20.8 | 23.7 | 10.8 | 2.9 | 25.0 | 20.3 | 17.9 |
| Calderdale | 22.3 | 26.0 | 19.1 | 6.2 | 24.5 | 21.3 | 23.0 |
| Cambridgeshire | 21.2 | 20.3 | 15.9 | 5.6 | 20.5 | 21.5 | 16.8 |
| Camden | 24.1 | 30.1 | 20.0 | 10.7 | 26.9 | 23.1 | 18.9 |
| Central Bedfordshire | 22.0 | 21.0 | 14.7 | 8.8 | 25.6 | 21.9 | 21.1 |
| Cheshire East | 21.1 | 22.2 | 18.8 | 8.7 | 21.2 | 20.9 | 26.7 |
| Cheshire West and Chester | 23.0 | 21.9 | 10.0 | 7.3 | 22.4 | 23.1 | 18.3 |
| City of London | 10.0 | 12.4 | 14.3 | 0.0 | 4.2 | 7.7 | 13.6 |
| Cornwall | 26.0 | 30.0 | 25.6 | 10.6 | 26.1 | 26.0 | 27.9 |
| County Durham | 25.7 | 19.9 | 13.0 | 5.2 | 22.0 | 26.0 | 21.9 |
| Coventry | 23.5 | 18.5 | 8.7 | 6.2 | 25.9 | 28.7 | 17.8 |
| Croydon | 21.2 | 20.4 | 16.2 | 6.4 | 25.0 | 23.2 | 23.1 |
| Cumbria | 22.9 | 18.9 | 13.1 | 8.0 | 22.7 | 22.7 | 23.3 |
| Darlington | 24.5 | 21.1 | 6.8 | 3.2 | 19.5 | 24.9 | 16.8 |
| Derby | 23.7 | 19.7 | 10.2 | 7.0 | 27.9 | 25.5 | 17.0 |
| Derbyshire | 22.1 | 18.5 | 13.0 | 5.9 | 23.8 | 22.0 | 25.5 |
| Devon | 24.1 | 19.9 | 13.3 | 5.1 | 24.6 | 24.1 | 20.3 |
| Doncaster | 26.1 | 23.0 | 10.7 | 3.6 | 23.3 | 26.6 | 25.3 |
| Dorset | 24.1 | 13.7 | 13.8 | 10.2 | 22.5 | 24.0 | 27.5 |
| Dudley | 26.0 | 26.3 | 13.7 | 3.4 | 30.8 | 25.9 | 21.3 |
| Ealing | 18.9 | 18.0 | 18.5 | 5.7 | 21.5 | 18.9 | 19.1 |
| East Riding of Yorkshire | 22.1 | 23.7 | 12.9 | 20.7 | 22.3 | 22.0 | 20.5 |
| East Sussex | 23.0 | 17.3 | 13.8 | 7.8 | 23.0 | 23.1 | 23.6 |
| Enfield | 21.0 | 18.1 | 14.8 | 4.5 | 22.7 | 23.7 | 19.6 |
| Essex | 22.7 | 18.8 | 10.1 | 7.2 | 23.3 | 23.4 | 16.3 |
| Gateshead | 24.3 | 22.7 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 18.0 | 24.8 | 25.5 |
| Gloucestershire | 21.4 | 18.8 | 12.8 | 5.1 | 24.8 | 21.5 | 28.3 |
| Greenwich | 18.9 | 15.1 | 10.1 | 5.6 | 22.5 | 25.4 | 15.4 |
| Hackney | 18.6 | 20.2 | 14.6 | 2.1 | 22.8 | 20.4 | 18.2 |
| Halton | 25.8 | 18.6 | 13.6 | 0.0 | 25.7 | 25.9 | 21.6 |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | 20.0 | 18.7 | 18.2 | 5.8 | 24.4 | 18.8 | 20.7 |
| Hampshire | 20.0 | 17.2 | 10.0 | 6.2 | 19.4 | 20.3 | 19.1 |
| Haringey | 20.8 | 21.7 | 17.1 | 3.8 | 21.5 | 21.2 | 23.0 |
| Harrow | 17.8 | 14.9 | 20.3 | 4.9 | 21.6 | 19.4 | 24.7 |
| Hartlepool | 23.9 | 17.6 | 10.5 | 1.9 | 15.6 | 24.3 | 16.5 |
| Havering | 19.7 | 18.2 | 10.8 | 4.3 | 22.4 | 21.0 | 17.8 |
| Herefordshire, County of | 22.6 | 17.4 | 16.5 | 7.7 | 20.4 | 22.7 | 22.8 |
| Hertfordshire | 20.8 | 19.5 | 12.9 | 7.0 | 22.5 | 21.3 | 19.1 |
| Hillingdon | 20.4 | 16.8 | 16.5 | 7.1 | 21.0 | 24.5 | 17.9 |
| Hounslow | 20.5 | 18.8 | 15.3 | 5.4 | 24.8 | 23.4 | 17.8 |
| Isle of Wight | 23.4 | 23.0 | 18.3 | 6.7 | 23.0 | 23.4 | 14.5 |
| Isles Of Scilly | 12.2 | NA | NA | NA | 14.3 | 11.9 | NA |
| Islington | 22.2 | 23.0 | 17.1 | 6.6 | 24.7 | 24.8 | 16.7 |
| Kensington and Chelsea | 21.0 | 20.4 | 16.6 | 9.2 | 23.4 | 20.8 | 21.7 |
| Kent | 24.1 | 16.8 | 9.3 | 5.2 | 21.1 | 25.4 | 19.5 |
| Kingston upon Hull, City of | 25.6 | 22.6 | 8.9 | 9.3 | 22.0 | 26.4 | 15.8 |
| Kingston upon Thames | 17.8 | 18.1 | 19.6 | 8.1 | 17.8 | 17.7 | 17.5 |
| Kirklees | 22.4 | 24.8 | 12.9 | 3.5 | 27.3 | 21.1 | 19.7 |
| Knowsley | 28.7 | 15.7 | 10.8 | 4.7 | 28.4 | 29.2 | 17.6 |
| Lambeth | 19.6 | 21.8 | 18.6 | 7.2 | 24.0 | 17.4 | 19.6 |
| Lancashire | 21.2 | 21.5 | 9.9 | 6.6 | 22.4 | 20.9 | 23.8 |
| Leeds | 21.8 | 23.6 | 9.7 | 4.6 | 24.4 | 22.6 | 18.4 |
| Leicester | 20.5 | 15.6 | 12.4 | 5.7 | 26.3 | 28.8 | 17.3 |
| Leicestershire | 19.6 | 14.3 | 10.3 | 4.0 | 20.9 | 20.2 | 17.6 |
| Lewisham | 17.4 | 16.7 | 14.5 | 4.8 | 20.7 | 18.8 | 16.4 |
| Lincolnshire | 24.5 | 18.2 | 13.6 | 2.6 | 25.0 | 24.6 | 21.8 |
| Liverpool | 24.6 | 16.8 | 11.3 | 4.3 | 25.1 | 26.6 | 19.5 |
| Luton | 24.7 | 25.9 | 12.5 | 5.4 | 27.0 | 26.1 | 20.0 |
| Manchester | 21.7 | 21.3 | 9.8 | 5.2 | 25.5 | 27.7 | 18.2 |
| Medway | 24.2 | 18.7 | 8.8 | 8.5 | 23.5 | 26.7 | 18.1 |
| Merton | 19.5 | 18.2 | 16.1 | 6.9 | 24.4 | 20.2 | 14.5 |
| Middlesbrough | 28.8 | 23.5 | 11.5 | 4.8 | 27.1 | 30.6 | 22.9 |
| Milton Keynes | 21.9 | 21.3 | 10.9 | 7.2 | 22.9 | 24.4 | 20.8 |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 26.0 | 22.3 | 9.6 | 4.4 | 20.1 | 29.2 | 19.3 |
| Newham | 20.4 | 19.9 | 14.0 | 5.6 | 24.9 | 27.2 | 16.8 |
| Norfolk | 25.5 | 20.0 | 12.7 | 7.5 | 26.0 | 25.6 | 22.3 |
| North East Lincolnshire | 24.9 | 29.9 | 14.9 | 2.7 | 19.3 | 24.9 | 22.5 |
| North Lincolnshire | 25.0 | 19.8 | 13.2 | 6.4 | 26.3 | 24.9 | 35.1 |
| North Northamptonshire | 23.7 | 17.4 | 10.7 | 7.4 | 25.4 | 24.4 | 22.3 |
| North Somerset | 23.8 | 26.3 | 20.6 | 9.1 | 27.2 | 23.5 | 31.5 |
| North Tyneside | 20.5 | 20.1 | 8.5 | 4.5 | 19.1 | 20.8 | 20.1 |
| North Yorkshire | 22.2 | 25.0 | 12.5 | 10.5 | 23.0 | 22.0 | 23.1 |
| Northumberland | 23.6 | 22.3 | 19.0 | 9.2 | 25.0 | 23.6 | 17.8 |
| Nottingham | 23.7 | 21.6 | 11.4 | 2.9 | 26.1 | 27.5 | 18.0 |
| Nottinghamshire | 21.3 | 17.0 | 11.6 | 5.4 | 21.8 | 21.5 | 20.3 |
| Oldham | 24.1 | 24.3 | 7.9 | 3.5 | 27.9 | 24.9 | 24.8 |
| Oxfordshire | 22.1 | 25.2 | 14.0 | 7.9 | 24.6 | 22.0 | 20.9 |
| Peterborough | 24.8 | 26.6 | 10.1 | 4.0 | 23.5 | 25.5 | 16.3 |
| Plymouth | 28.1 | 21.2 | 14.5 | 6.7 | 26.6 | 28.4 | 25.4 |
| Portsmouth | 24.1 | 18.1 | 8.1 | 6.6 | 21.3 | 25.9 | 17.3 |
| Reading | 24.5 | 25.8 | 15.3 | 8.4 | 29.9 | 24.9 | 24.1 |
| Redbridge | 19.4 | 19.4 | 16.3 | 5.2 | 20.7 | 20.1 | 18.7 |
| Redcar and Cleveland | 23.5 | 26.0 | 4.7 | 0.0 | 22.9 | 23.4 | 17.2 |
| Richmond upon Thames | 18.1 | 20.2 | 20.0 | 7.7 | 21.5 | 17.1 | 18.9 |
| Rochdale | 25.4 | 25.0 | 9.8 | 8.5 | 25.9 | 26.9 | 23.1 |
| Rotherham | 25.8 | 25.2 | 9.8 | 8.6 | 30.6 | 26.0 | 23.2 |
| Rutland | 17.2 | 6.8 | 22.7 | 0.0 | 13.3 | 17.1 | 32.0 |
| Salford | 26.0 | 21.1 | 9.0 | 6.5 | 20.0 | 28.9 | 19.8 |
| Sandwell | 23.3 | 18.1 | 14.7 | 4.8 | 28.2 | 27.8 | 18.8 |
| Sefton | 25.3 | 17.5 | 10.7 | 5.6 | 25.3 | 25.5 | 28.8 |
| Sheffield | 23.8 | 25.0 | 13.4 | 5.6 | 27.9 | 24.0 | 22.7 |
| Shropshire | 23.9 | 20.3 | 21.8 | 7.2 | 26.7 | 23.7 | 15.4 |
| Slough | 22.8 | 21.2 | 15.3 | 9.8 | 23.1 | 28.7 | 17.4 |
| Solihull | 23.5 | 21.2 | 16.3 | 6.7 | 28.2 | 23.8 | 20.1 |
| Somerset | 24.2 | 20.9 | 11.5 | 7.9 | 24.2 | 24.1 | 30.1 |
| South Gloucestershire | 21.2 | 23.0 | 13.7 | 7.6 | 24.5 | 21.1 | 23.9 |
| South Tyneside | 23.3 | 22.1 | 11.0 | 5.4 | 18.8 | 23.7 | 21.1 |
| Southampton | 24.1 | 17.6 | 9.5 | 9.4 | 24.0 | 26.3 | 22.4 |
| Southend-on-Sea | 21.6 | 18.5 | 8.9 | 4.9 | 21.9 | 22.9 | 23.1 |
| Southwark | 18.0 | 21.8 | 12.5 | 5.1 | 23.1 | 22.1 | 18.3 |
| St. Helens | 26.0 | 12.9 | 14.7 | 8.0 | 20.5 | 26.5 | 17.4 |
| Staffordshire | 22.4 | 23.8 | 17.0 | 6.5 | 26.4 | 22.2 | 21.0 |
| Stockport | 20.1 | 22.7 | 11.6 | 6.5 | 23.2 | 19.9 | 18.4 |
| Stockton-on-Tees | 23.4 | 23.0 | 6.8 | 8.3 | 27.1 | 23.6 | 19.7 |
| Stoke-on-Trent | 26.2 | 24.6 | 11.2 | 5.1 | 31.8 | 27.1 | 26.7 |
| Suffolk | 24.3 | 20.6 | 16.0 | 7.8 | 24.1 | 24.2 | 18.9 |
| Sunderland | 26.0 | 23.4 | 8.4 | 7.3 | 22.8 | 26.7 | 15.9 |
| Surrey | 19.6 | 20.9 | 13.8 | 7.4 | 19.2 | 19.6 | 19.9 |
| Sutton | 21.0 | 19.2 | 15.8 | 7.8 | 21.8 | 23.2 | 19.9 |
| Swindon | 22.2 | 18.6 | 11.5 | 7.6 | 26.1 | 23.0 | 23.5 |
| Tameside | 20.1 | 16.0 | 6.5 | 2.7 | 20.4 | 21.4 | 15.8 |
| Telford and Wrekin | 23.7 | 21.4 | 7.4 | 6.1 | 23.7 | 24.9 | 20.7 |
| Thurrock | 20.8 | 20.7 | 8.2 | 5.1 | 20.4 | 23.6 | 15.1 |
| Torbay | 28.8 | 17.5 | 25.0 | 11.8 | 32.0 | 28.9 | 22.5 |
| Tower Hamlets | 18.0 | 16.3 | 12.5 | 4.6 | 25.5 | 27.0 | 15.1 |
| Trafford | 17.6 | 21.2 | 12.9 | 6.2 | 20.1 | 17.2 | 19.5 |
| Wakefield | 23.8 | 26.1 | 11.2 | 3.7 | 24.8 | 23.9 | 15.8 |
| Walsall | 24.9 | 21.1 | 11.9 | 6.6 | 28.2 | 27.4 | 26.3 |
| Waltham Forest | 20.4 | 22.3 | 17.6 | 4.6 | 21.5 | 20.3 | 17.4 |
| Wandsworth | 18.2 | 17.9 | 17.3 | 4.4 | 23.7 | 16.6 | 18.6 |
| Warrington | 20.0 | 20.3 | 9.9 | 7.1 | 21.0 | 20.3 | 23.2 |
| Warwickshire | 23.7 | 17.6 | 15.2 | 6.4 | 26.0 | 24.1 | 22.8 |
| West Berkshire | 19.7 | 22.2 | 12.5 | 9.7 | 21.7 | 19.5 | 22.1 |
| West Northamptonshire | 20.6 | 20.7 | 10.1 | 2.7 | 22.5 | 21.2 | 19.2 |
| West Sussex | 21.1 | 19.1 | 13.9 | 3.8 | 22.4 | 21.2 | 23.9 |
| Westminster | 23.1 | 23.0 | 19.9 | 8.8 | 25.0 | 21.9 | 25.5 |
| Wigan | 22.9 | 22.2 | 9.0 | 3.6 | 23.0 | 23.2 | 22.1 |
| Wiltshire | 22.1 | 18.8 | 11.3 | 13.1 | 23.7 | 22.3 | 19.4 |
| Windsor and Maidenhead | 20.8 | 22.1 | 15.5 | 8.0 | 20.3 | 20.6 | 20.2 |
| Wirral | 24.4 | 19.5 | 18.3 | 6.9 | 20.7 | 24.8 | 27.1 |
| Wokingham | 18.8 | 22.8 | 12.7 | 6.4 | 19.7 | 18.2 | 25.2 |
| Wolverhampton | 21.3 | 15.6 | 11.3 | 5.7 | 26.2 | 25.7 | 19.9 |
| Worcestershire | 24.7 | 24.8 | 16.6 | 7.7 | 25.0 | 24.7 | 19.2 |
| York | 20.4 | 14.4 | 6.1 | 5.2 | 20.0 | 20.6 | 25.4 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity and area (persistent absence)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity and area (persistent absence)’ (CSV)
Summary of Absence from school By ethnicity and area (persistent absence) Summary
The data shows that, out of all local authorities where data was available:
- Camden had the highest persistent absence rates for Asian pupils (30.1%)
- Cornwall had the highest rate for black pupils (25.6%)
- East Riding of Yorkshire had the highest rate for pupils in the Chinese ethnic group (20.7%)
- Torbay had the highest rate for pupils with mixed ethnicity (32.0%)
- Middlesbrough had the highest rate for white pupils (30.6%)
8. By ethnicity and type of school (persistent absence)
| State-funded primary | State-funded secondary | Special | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethnicity | State-funded primary % | State-funded primary Pupil enrolments | State-funded secondary % | State-funded secondary Pupil enrolments | Special % | Special Pupil enrolments | Total % | Total Pupil enrolments |
| All | 17.7 | 699,877 | 27.7 | 893,492 | 40.4 | 50,507 | 22.5 | 1,643,876 |
| Asian | 19.9 | 90,365 | 21.5 | 78,730 | 45.8 | 5,613 | 21.0 | 174,708 |
| Bangladeshi | 21.0 | 13,918 | 20.8 | 11,591 | 48.2 | 1,033 | 21.4 | 26,542 |
| Indian | 15.9 | 21,933 | 14.8 | 15,253 | 37.0 | 881 | 15.7 | 38,067 |
| Pakistani | 25.0 | 42,811 | 28.7 | 41,617 | 51.0 | 2,724 | 27.1 | 87,152 |
| Asian Other | 14.9 | 11,703 | 16.6 | 10,269 | 40.5 | 975 | 16.1 | 22,947 |
| Black | 11.0 | 23,879 | 15.5 | 29,760 | 32.2 | 2,743 | 13.5 | 56,382 |
| Black African | 8.5 | 12,840 | 11.8 | 15,430 | 30.3 | 1,718 | 10.4 | 29,988 |
| Black Caribbean | 20.1 | 6,960 | 26.8 | 9,649 | 39.3 | 582 | 23.9 | 17,191 |
| Black Other | 13.3 | 4,079 | 19.0 | 4,681 | 32.6 | 443 | 16.2 | 9,203 |
| Chinese | 5.6 | 1,446 | 6.8 | 1,134 | 21.1 | 92 | 6.2 | 2,672 |
| Mixed | 19.3 | 51,654 | 29.1 | 59,072 | 41.7 | 3,515 | 23.9 | 114,241 |
| Mixed White and Asian | 16.2 | 10,462 | 24.9 | 11,925 | 39.0 | 587 | 20.1 | 22,974 |
| Mixed White and Black African | 16.8 | 6,151 | 27.5 | 7,860 | 39.2 | 481 | 21.8 | 14,492 |
| Mixed White and Black Caribbean | 25.3 | 16,013 | 38.4 | 19,555 | 46.2 | 1,146 | 31.4 | 36,714 |
| Mixed Other | 18.6 | 19,028 | 26.1 | 19,732 | 40.6 | 1,301 | 22.1 | 40,061 |
| White | 17.7 | 498,879 | 29.7 | 682,578 | 40.1 | 36,308 | 23.4 | 1,217,765 |
| White British | 17.2 | 431,465 | 29.9 | 619,171 | 39.9 | 33,631 | 23.3 | 1,084,267 |
| White Irish | 22.6 | 2,095 | 30.6 | 2,615 | 53.2 | 164 | 26.9 | 4,874 |
| Gypsy, Roma | 62.2 | 10,132 | 69.6 | 6,469 | 63.5 | 294 | 64.9 | 16,895 |
| Irish Traveller | 73.8 | 3,603 | 64.7 | 975 | 74.8 | 98 | 71.7 | 4,676 |
| White Other | 18.0 | 51,584 | 25.7 | 53,348 | 39.5 | 2,121 | 21.4 | 107,053 |
| Other | 17.6 | 15,640 | 22.4 | 15,248 | 41.4 | 940 | 20.0 | 31,828 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity and type of school (persistent absence)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity and type of school (persistent absence)’ (CSV)
Summary of Absence from school By ethnicity and type of school (persistent absence) Summary
The data shows that:
- in most ethnic groups, the persistent absence rate was highest in special schools and lowest in primary schools
- the persistent absence rate for all pupils ranged from 17.7% in primary schools to 40.4% in special schools
9. Data sources
Source
Pupil absence in schools in England, Academic Year 2022/23
Type of data
Administrative data
Type of statistic
National Statistics
Publisher
Department for Education
Publication frequency
Yearly
Purpose of data source
The data helps schools, local authorities and the government have a greater understanding of the level of absence and the reasons for it.
10. Download the data
Absences national 2021/22
- Spreadsheet
(csv)
26 KB
This file contains the following: measure, time, time_type, ethnicity, ethnicity_type, geography, geography_type, type_of_school, value, value_type, numerator, denominator
Absences local authority 2021/22
- Spreadsheet
(csv)
272 KB
This file contains the following: measure, time, time_type, ethnicity, ethnicity_type, geography, geography_type, value, value_type, numerator, denominator