Department for Education · 11 May 20108 May 2015

Pupils persistently absent during the Coalition 2010–2015 government

2008/09 academic year2013/14 academic year · 5 periods

41.0%485,143 pupils

Pupils persistently absent fell by 41.0% over the period, from 1,184,704 pupils (2008/09 academic year, the level when the government took office) to 699,561 (2013/14 academic year, the last complete period before it left office).

  1. Inherited level 2008/09 academic year: 1,184,704
  2. Level when it left 2013/14 academic year: 699,561
  3. method: latest complete period before start / before end

Changes during this period do not by themselves show what the government caused. Statistics reflect many influences, including earlier decisions, the economy and how the data is collected.

Pupils persistently absent: 2006/07 academic year to 2024/25 academic yearLabourLabourCoalitionCoalitionConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeLabour0500k1m1.5m20102015202020252006/07 academic year: 1,272,613 pupils · published 4 August 20262007/08 academic year: 1,197,110 pupils · published 4 August 20262008/09 academic year: 1,184,704 pupils · published 4 August 20262009/10 academic year: 1,113,456 pupils · published 4 August 20262010/11 academic year: 1,037,527 pupils · published 4 August 20262011/12 academic year: 866,000 pupils · published 4 August 20262012/13 academic year: 883,313 pupils · published 4 August 20262013/14 academic year: 699,561 pupils · published 4 August 20262014/15 academic year: 728,081 pupils · published 4 August 20262015/16 academic year: 707,390 pupils · published 4 August 20262016/17 academic year: 744,276 pupils · published 4 August 20262017/18 academic year: 783,424 pupils · published 4 August 20262018/19 academic year: 771,863 pupils · published 4 August 20262020/21 academic year: 872,438 pupils · published 4 August 20262021/22 academic year: 1,643,876 pupils · published 4 August 20262022/23 academic year: 1,569,303 pupils · published 4 August 20262023/24 academic year: 1,487,022 pupils · published 4 August 20262024/25 academic year: 1,340,437 pupils · published 4 August 2026

Published valueProvisional or revisedLatestShaded bands: governments (see labels)Hover or use arrow keys to read a value

Definition and caveats

The number of pupil enrolments in state-funded schools in England that missed 10% or more of their possible sessions in the academic year.

Doesn’t measure: The same child counted once if they were enrolled at two schools in the year: the unit is the enrolment.