Persistent and severe absence by council, England

The share of enrolments persistently and severely absent in each of England's 153 councils with education duties over the academic year, with the regions and England, from the DfE.

England

18.14%

2024/25 · Persistently absent

Verified against source, 31 October 2026, 11:22 UTC

Persistent and severe absence by council, England

Source: Department for Education. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In order

Ranked by the hub 2024/25

Every place, the highest figure first. The number before each is the hub's own position in the list, not the publisher's: equal figures share one, marked =.

Persistently absent

1Knowsley24.36%
2Camden23.23%
3Bradford23.14%
4Islington22.39%
5Isle of Wight22.24%
6Bristol, City of22.23%
7Westminster22.14%
8Middlesbrough22.08%
9Blackpool22.02%
10Halton21.71%
11Walsall21.59%
12Southampton21.40%
13Sheffield, its area before 1 April 202521.28%
14Brighton and Hove21.25%
15Sefton21.02%
16Birmingham20.96%
=17Liverpool20.94%
=17Sunderland20.94%
19Kensington and Chelsea20.81%
20Plymouth20.78%
21East Sussex20.77%
22Nottingham20.58%
23Salford20.57%
24Newcastle upon Tyne20.47%
25South Tyneside20.43%
26Wirral20.42%
27Coventry20.23%
28Rotherham20.09%
=29Darlington20.06%
=29Dudley20.06%
31Rochdale20.02%
32Kingston upon Hull, City of19.90%
33North East Lincolnshire19.80%
34Stoke-on-Trent19.75%
35Portsmouth19.74%
36Sandwell19.71%
37Hartlepool19.65%
38Newham19.57%
=39Redcar and Cleveland19.54%
=39Wakefield19.54%
41Derby19.53%
42Dorset19.51%
43Kent19.42%
44Leicester19.40%
45County Durham19.35%
46Stockton-on-Tees19.25%
47Hillingdon19.19%
48Hammersmith and Fulham19.11%
49Torbay19.10%
50Blackburn with Darwen19.07%
=51Leeds19.01%
=51Reading19.01%
53Enfield18.97%
=54Oldham18.93%
=54Peterborough18.93%
56Somerset18.92%
57Haringey18.88%
58Manchester18.81%
59Medway18.79%
60Cornwall18.77%
61Croydon18.75%
62Lambeth18.73%
63Bury18.66%
64Slough18.60%
65Barnsley, its area before 1 April 202518.55%
66St. Helens18.47%
67Waltham Forest18.46%
68Devon18.44%
69Tameside18.41%
70Doncaster18.35%
71Lincolnshire18.32%
72Solihull18.31%
73Bolton18.29%
74Tower Hamlets18.27%
75Worcestershire18.22%
76Ealing18.20%
77Bedford18.12%
78Suffolk18.11%
79Norfolk18.09%
80Essex18.08%
81Warwickshire18.04%
82North Lincolnshire17.95%
83Windsor and Maidenhead17.93%
84Barking and Dagenham17.92%
85North Somerset17.91%
86Hackney17.85%
=87Hounslow17.84%
=87Isles of Scilly17.84%
=87North Northamptonshire17.84%
90Buckinghamshire17.80%
91Northumberland17.79%
92Oxfordshire17.75%
=93Cheshire West and Chester17.74%
=93Southend-on-Sea17.74%
=95Luton17.69%
=95Wolverhampton17.69%
=97Milton Keynes17.68%
=97Redbridge17.68%
99Kirklees17.63%
100Lancashire17.59%
101West Sussex17.58%
=102Wigan17.53%
=102York17.53%
104Shropshire17.50%
=105North Yorkshire17.33%
=105South Gloucestershire17.33%
107Swindon17.21%
108Southwark17.19%
109Gloucestershire17.18%
110Gateshead17.14%
111Greenwich17.07%
112Calderdale17.05%
113Wandsworth17.02%
114Brent16.97%
115East Riding of Yorkshire16.94%
116Bath and North East Somerset16.79%
117Hertfordshire16.72%
=118Lewisham16.65%
=118Telford and Wrekin16.65%
120Nottinghamshire16.64%
=121Stockport16.58%
=121Thurrock16.58%
123Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole16.56%
124West Northamptonshire16.52%
125North Tyneside16.46%
126West Berkshire16.45%
127Central Bedfordshire16.35%
128Cumberland16.34%
129Cambridgeshire16.17%
130Wiltshire16.01%
131Harrow15.97%
132Herefordshire, County of15.94%
133Derbyshire15.78%
134Hampshire15.77%
135Staffordshire15.76%
136Bexley15.68%
137Barnet15.60%
138Westmorland and Furness15.57%
139Leicestershire15.39%
140Bromley15.23%
141Havering15.22%
142Surrey15.06%
143Kingston upon Thames15.01%
144Merton14.93%
145Cheshire East14.76%
146Sutton14.71%
147Warrington14.43%
148Wokingham14.30%
149Rutland14.20%
150Bracknell Forest14.10%
151Trafford12.60%
152Richmond upon Thames12.44%
153City of London5.98%

No figure published for Barnsley, Sheffield.

Severely absent

1Sheffield, its area before 1 April 20253.67%
2Portsmouth3.55%
3Bradford3.43%
4Southampton3.36%
5Isle of Wight3.35%
6Torbay3.31%
7Plymouth3.30%
8Bristol, City of3.29%
9York3.27%
10Middlesbrough3.26%
11Brighton and Hove3.23%
=12Devon3.21%
=12Wakefield3.21%
14East Sussex3.15%
15Dorset3.14%
=16Barnsley, its area before 1 April 20253.11%
=16Newcastle upon Tyne3.11%
18Somerset3.06%
19Coventry3.05%
=20Blackpool2.97%
=20Rotherham2.97%
=22Sefton2.96%
=22Sunderland2.96%
24Leeds2.95%
=25Oxfordshire2.92%
=25Redcar and Cleveland2.92%
27Warwickshire2.91%
28Salford2.89%
29Gateshead2.82%
30St. Helens2.81%
=31Hartlepool2.79%
=31Norfolk2.79%
=31Suffolk2.79%
34Nottingham2.77%
35North East Lincolnshire2.76%
=36Liverpool2.75%
=36Tameside2.75%
38Dudley2.74%
39Darlington2.73%
40South Gloucestershire2.72%
41Northumberland2.71%
42Walsall2.69%
=43Cornwall2.67%
=43Kingston upon Hull, City of2.67%
=43North Yorkshire2.67%
=43South Tyneside2.67%
47North Somerset2.66%
48Stockton-on-Tees2.65%
49Cambridgeshire2.63%
50North Northamptonshire2.62%
51Rutland2.61%
=52North Lincolnshire2.60%
=52Wiltshire2.60%
54Halton2.59%
55Wirral2.58%
56Knowsley2.57%
57Stoke-on-Trent2.56%
58West Northamptonshire2.53%
59Worcestershire2.52%
=60Essex2.51%
=60Milton Keynes2.51%
=62Islington2.50%
=62Manchester2.50%
=62Swindon2.50%
65Cheshire West and Chester2.49%
=66Bath and North East Somerset2.48%
=66Camden2.48%
=66Leicester2.48%
=66Stockport2.48%
=66West Berkshire2.48%
=71Bury2.47%
=71Solihull2.47%
=73County Durham2.45%
=73Lincolnshire2.45%
=73Reading2.45%
=76Birmingham2.44%
=76Hampshire2.44%
78Derbyshire2.40%
=79Kent2.39%
=79Rochdale2.39%
81Medway2.37%
82Gloucestershire2.35%
=83Derby2.32%
=83West Sussex2.32%
85Doncaster2.30%
86Nottinghamshire2.29%
87Lancashire2.26%
88Leicestershire2.24%
89Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole2.23%
90Windsor and Maidenhead2.20%
=91Kirklees2.19%
=91Sandwell2.19%
=91Wigan2.19%
=94Blackburn with Darwen2.18%
=94Cumberland2.18%
=94Kensington and Chelsea2.18%
=97Central Bedfordshire2.17%
=97Newham2.17%
99Telford and Wrekin2.16%
100North Tyneside2.15%
101Peterborough2.13%
=102Bedford2.10%
=102Buckinghamshire2.10%
=104Surrey2.09%
=104Westminster2.09%
106Southend-on-Sea2.07%
107Hertfordshire2.06%
108Shropshire2.05%
109Oldham2.02%
110Thurrock2.00%
111Cheshire East1.98%
112Croydon1.96%
113Bolton1.95%
114Calderdale1.93%
115Herefordshire, County of1.91%
116Westmorland and Furness1.89%
=117East Riding of Yorkshire1.87%
=117Haringey1.87%
119Lambeth1.86%
120Ealing1.82%
121Staffordshire1.81%
=122Bracknell Forest1.79%
=122Warrington1.79%
124Wolverhampton1.77%
125Enfield1.74%
126Bexley1.73%
127Greenwich1.72%
128Hillingdon1.67%
=129Isles of Scilly1.66%
=129Slough1.66%
131Southwark1.65%
=132Bromley1.63%
=132Hackney1.63%
134Hammersmith and Fulham1.61%
=135Havering1.53%
=135Lewisham1.53%
=135Wandsworth1.53%
138Kingston upon Thames1.49%
=139Barking and Dagenham1.48%
=139Luton1.48%
=139Sutton1.48%
=139Waltham Forest1.48%
143Wokingham1.46%
144Richmond upon Thames1.45%
145Hounslow1.38%
146Trafford1.35%
147Merton1.34%
148Harrow1.32%
149Barnet1.26%
150Brent1.23%
151Tower Hamlets1.21%
152Redbridge1.20%
153City of London0.0%

No figure published for Barnsley, Sheffield.

Data table

163 rows

Area	Persistently absent	Severely absent
Knowsley E08000011	24.36%	2.57%
Camden E09000007	23.23%	2.48%
Bradford E08000032	23.14%	3.43%
Islington E09000019	22.39%	2.50%
Isle of Wight E06000046	22.24%	3.35%
Bristol, City of E06000023	22.23%	3.29%
Westminster E09000033	22.14%	2.09%
Middlesbrough E06000002	22.08%	3.26%
Blackpool E06000009	22.02%	2.97%
Halton E06000006	21.71%	2.59%
Walsall E08000030	21.59%	2.69%
Southampton E06000045	21.40%	3.36%
Sheffield E08000019 its area before 1 April 2025	21.28%	3.67%
Brighton and Hove E06000043	21.25%	3.23%
Sefton E08000014	21.02%	2.96%
Birmingham E08000025	20.96%	2.44%
Liverpool E08000012	20.94%	2.75%
Sunderland E08000024	20.94%	2.96%
Kensington and Chelsea E09000020	20.81%	2.18%
Plymouth E06000026	20.78%	3.30%
East Sussex E10000011	20.77%	3.15%
Nottingham E06000018	20.58%	2.77%
Salford E08000006	20.57%	2.89%
Newcastle upon Tyne E08000021	20.47%	3.11%
South Tyneside E08000023	20.43%	2.67%
Wirral E08000015	20.42%	2.58%
Coventry E08000026	20.23%	3.05%
Rotherham E08000018	20.09%	2.97%
Dudley E08000027	20.06%	2.74%
Darlington E06000005	20.06%	2.73%
Rochdale E08000005	20.02%	2.39%
Kingston upon Hull, City of E06000010	19.90%	2.67%
North East Lincolnshire E06000012	19.80%	2.76%
Stoke-on-Trent E06000021	19.75%	2.56%
Portsmouth E06000044	19.74%	3.55%
Sandwell E08000028	19.71%	2.19%
Hartlepool E06000001	19.65%	2.79%
Newham E09000025	19.57%	2.17%
Wakefield E08000036	19.54%	3.21%
Redcar and Cleveland E06000003	19.54%	2.92%
Derby E06000015	19.53%	2.32%
Dorset E06000059	19.51%	3.14%
Kent E10000016	19.42%	2.39%
Leicester E06000016	19.40%	2.48%
County Durham E06000047	19.35%	2.45%
Stockton-on-Tees E06000004	19.25%	2.65%
Hillingdon E09000017	19.19%	1.67%
Hammersmith and Fulham E09000013	19.11%	1.61%
Torbay E06000027	19.10%	3.31%
Blackburn with Darwen E06000008	19.07%	2.18%
Reading E06000038	19.01%	2.45%
Leeds E08000035	19.01%	2.95%
Enfield E09000010	18.97%	1.74%
Oldham E08000004	18.93%	2.02%
Peterborough E06000031	18.93%	2.13%
Somerset E06000066	18.92%	3.06%
Haringey E09000014	18.88%	1.87%
Manchester E08000003	18.81%	2.50%
Medway E06000035	18.79%	2.37%
Cornwall E06000052	18.77%	2.67%
Croydon E09000008	18.75%	1.96%
Lambeth E09000022	18.73%	1.86%
Bury E08000002	18.66%	2.47%
Slough E06000039	18.60%	1.66%
Barnsley E08000016 its area before 1 April 2025	18.55%	3.11%
St. Helens E08000013	18.47%	2.81%
Waltham Forest E09000031	18.46%	1.48%
Devon E10000008	18.44%	3.21%
Tameside E08000008	18.41%	2.75%
Doncaster E08000017	18.35%	2.30%
Lincolnshire E10000019	18.32%	2.45%
Solihull E08000029	18.31%	2.47%
Bolton E08000001	18.29%	1.95%
Tower Hamlets E09000030	18.27%	1.21%
Worcestershire E10000034	18.22%	2.52%
Ealing E09000009	18.20%	1.82%
Bedford E06000055	18.12%	2.10%
Suffolk E10000029	18.11%	2.79%
Norfolk E10000020	18.09%	2.79%
Essex E10000012	18.08%	2.51%
Warwickshire E10000031	18.04%	2.91%
North Lincolnshire E06000013	17.95%	2.60%
Windsor and Maidenhead E06000040	17.93%	2.20%
Barking and Dagenham E09000002	17.92%	1.48%
North Somerset E06000024	17.91%	2.66%
Hackney E09000012	17.85%	1.63%
Isles of Scilly E06000053	17.84%	1.66%
North Northamptonshire E06000061	17.84%	2.62%
Hounslow E09000018	17.84%	1.38%
Buckinghamshire E06000060	17.80%	2.10%
Northumberland E06000057	17.79%	2.71%
Oxfordshire E10000025	17.75%	2.92%
Cheshire West and Chester E06000050	17.74%	2.49%
Southend-on-Sea E06000033	17.74%	2.07%
Luton E06000032	17.69%	1.48%
Wolverhampton E08000031	17.69%	1.77%
Redbridge E09000026	17.68%	1.20%
Milton Keynes E06000042	17.68%	2.51%
Kirklees E08000034	17.63%	2.19%
Lancashire E10000017	17.59%	2.26%
West Sussex E10000032	17.58%	2.32%
Wigan E08000010	17.53%	2.19%
York E06000014	17.53%	3.27%
Shropshire E06000051	17.50%	2.05%
North Yorkshire E06000065	17.33%	2.67%
South Gloucestershire E06000025	17.33%	2.72%
Swindon E06000030	17.21%	2.50%
Southwark E09000028	17.19%	1.65%
Gloucestershire E10000013	17.18%	2.35%
Gateshead E08000037	17.14%	2.82%
Greenwich E09000011	17.07%	1.72%
Calderdale E08000033	17.05%	1.93%
Wandsworth E09000032	17.02%	1.53%
Brent E09000005	16.97%	1.23%
East Riding of Yorkshire E06000011	16.94%	1.87%
Bath and North East Somerset E06000022	16.79%	2.48%
Hertfordshire E10000015	16.72%	2.06%
Telford and Wrekin E06000020	16.65%	2.16%
Lewisham E09000023	16.65%	1.53%
Nottinghamshire E10000024	16.64%	2.29%
Thurrock E06000034	16.58%	2.00%
Stockport E08000007	16.58%	2.48%
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole E06000058	16.56%	2.23%
West Northamptonshire E06000062	16.52%	2.53%
North Tyneside E08000022	16.46%	2.15%
West Berkshire E06000037	16.45%	2.48%
Central Bedfordshire E06000056	16.35%	2.17%
Cumberland E06000063	16.34%	2.18%
Cambridgeshire E10000003	16.17%	2.63%
Wiltshire E06000054	16.01%	2.60%
Harrow E09000015	15.97%	1.32%
Herefordshire, County of E06000019	15.94%	1.91%
Derbyshire E10000007	15.78%	2.40%
Hampshire E10000014	15.77%	2.44%
Staffordshire E10000028	15.76%	1.81%
Bexley E09000004	15.68%	1.73%
Barnet E09000003	15.60%	1.26%
Westmorland and Furness E06000064	15.57%	1.89%
Leicestershire E10000018	15.39%	2.24%
Bromley E09000006	15.23%	1.63%
Havering E09000016	15.22%	1.53%
Surrey E10000030	15.06%	2.09%
Kingston upon Thames E09000021	15.01%	1.49%
Merton E09000024	14.93%	1.34%
Cheshire East E06000049	14.76%	1.98%
Sutton E09000029	14.71%	1.48%
Warrington E06000007	14.43%	1.79%
Wokingham E06000041	14.30%	1.46%
Rutland E06000017	14.20%	2.61%
Bracknell Forest E06000036	14.10%	1.79%
Trafford E08000009	12.60%	1.35%
Richmond upon Thames E09000027	12.44%	1.45%
City of London E09000001	5.98%	0.0%
Barnsley E08000038	given for its area before 1 April 2025, under E08000016	given for its area before 1 April 2025, under E08000016
Sheffield E08000039	given for its area before 1 April 2025, under E08000019	given for its area before 1 April 2025, under E08000019
North East	19.37%	2.74%
North West	18.27%	2.35%
Yorkshire and The Humber	19.28%	2.86%
East Midlands	17.34%	2.43%
West Midlands	18.88%	2.39%
East of England	17.50%	2.37%
London	17.53%	1.63%
South East	17.81%	2.46%
South West	18.32%	2.82%
England	18.14%	2.39%

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Map

Persistently absent · 130 areas, each shaded by the fifth of the areas its figure falls in

5.98% to 16.58%
16.58% to 17.84%
17.84% to 18.93%
18.93% to 20.09%
20.09% to 24.36%

Boundaries: Council boundaries, May 2026, from the geography spine. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Source and licence

Publisher

Department for Education

Check it yourself

https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/pupil-absence-in-schools-in-england

Licence

Open Government Licence v3.0 – Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Retrieved

31 October 2026, 11:12 UTC

Raw files fetched

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https://api.education.gov.uk/statistics/v1/data-sets/019d209c-08dc-74b6-9edb-52d521406fcf/query?dataSetVersion=1.0&indicators=emgou,TuAuP&geographicLevels.in=LA,REG,NAT&timePeriods.eq=2024%2F2025%7CAY&filters.notIn=zPT9F,ksZ6h,uWLso&pageSize=10000SHA-256 0efc1edf117f4eeac018d119862a4d31676a085670b1e06069f17179fd9163b5 · 104,614 bytes

Verification

Verified against source, 31 October 2026, 11:22 UTC Run at 31 October 2026, 11:22 UTC; 326 of 326 figures matched the live source.

Result	Check	Detail
Pass	Provenance recorded	Department for Education; Open Government Licence v3.0; retrieved 2026-10-31T11:12:49Z; 2 raw file(s)
Pass	Raw files match recorded SHA-256	2 of 2 files intact
Pass	Re-parsing raw files reproduces figures	326 of 326 figures and the headline reproduced
Pass	Figures are finite numbers	326 figures, 0 invalid
Pass	Live source matches every figure	326 of 326 figures match exactly after downloading 2 source file(s) again (2 byte-identical); the headline matches
Pass	EES data set is current	latest period 2024/25 ended 426 days before retrieval (limit 600)
Pass	The data set's CSV agrees	978 of 978 cells of the stored query, figures and marks, equal version 1.0's CSV (https://api.education.gov.uk/statistics/v1/data-sets/019d209c-08dc-74b6-9edb-52d521406fcf/csv?dataSetVersion=1.0, 489 rows read)
Pass	The councils add up to their region and the regions to England	30 comparisons expected, each region's councils and England's regions in every count and combination: 30 within the rounding the DfE states (30 exactly)
Pass	Each share and average is its count over its whole	326 of 326 shares and averages by area and combination are their counts' ratio, within the rounding the DfE states; not made, 163 for a figure marked 'z'
Pass	Source page answers	https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/pupil-absence-in-schools-in-england – HTTP 200

Notes

Enrolments in the council's state-funded primary, secondary and special schools over the academic year: persistently absent where a pupil missed 10% or more of their possible sessions, severely absent 50% or more, as the DfE defines them.
The DfE gives these figures for England's 153 councils with education and children's services duties (its unitary, metropolitan and London councils and its 21 counties), not for districts.
The DfE gives Barnsley and Sheffield under the codes they had before part of Barnsley moved into Sheffield on the 1st of April 2025 (E08000016 and E08000019), and they are shown so.
The DfE's methodology: “Current published absence data has no rounding or suppression applied”