Persistent absences for pupils looked after by local authorities Education and skills
This indicator shows the percentage of pupils in state-funded primary, state-funded secondary, special schools and pupil referral units who have been looked after continuously for at least 12 months (as of 31 March of that year) by local authorities who were persistently absent (those absent for 10% of schooling sessions) during the academic year, in England (state-funded primary and secondary schools, special schools and pupil referral units), for financial years ending 2019 to 2025.
- Data source:
- Department for Education (opens in a new tab)
- Published on:
- 02 April 2026
Selected areas:
- England
Map
Persistent absences for pupils looked after by local authorities
Percentage of pupils looked after continuously by local authorities for at least 12 months that were absent for 10% of academic year, upper tier/unitary authorities, FY 2024-25
Line chart
Persistent absences for pupils looked after by local authorities
Percentage of pupils looked after continuously by local authorities for at least 12 months that were absent for 10% of academic year, upper tier/unitary authorities, FY 2018-19 to FY 2024-25
Bar chart
Persistent absences for pupils looked after by local authorities
Percentage of pupils looked after continuously by local authorities for at least 12 months that were absent for 10% of academic year, upper tier/unitary authorities, FY 2024-25
Table
Persistent absences for pupils looked after by local authorities
Percentage of pupils looked after continuously by local authorities for at least 12 months that were absent for 10% of academic year, upper tier/unitary authorities, FY 2018-19 to FY 2024-25
Interpretation
For the looked after children, absence data is matched to school census data for each school type, meaning that the pupils included are those on the school census with absence data. Persistent absence figures for all pupils and free school meals (FSM) are taken from the national absence figures and are produced using a different methodology based on enrolments and the school type is allocated in a different way so it is not appropriate to compare these figures with those for looked after children.
Due to the disruption caused by the impact of COVID during the 2020/21 and 2021/22 academic years, caution should be taken when comparing data to previous years. No absence data relating to the full 2019/20 academic year is available.
Get the data
You can download this dataset in an XLSX, CSV or CSVW format, or download all available datasets in an XLSX or JSON-Stat format.
The original source data for this indicator can be found on the following page: Department for Education(opens in a new tab).
Information on the strengths and limitations of the Explore Local Statistics service and methods used is available in the quality and methodology information (QMI) report.
Other indicators
Persistent absences for pupils looked after by local authorities is one of 104 local indicators on the Explore local statistics service. See the full list of local indicators.