Persistent pupil absence — Birmingham
20.96%, latest 2024.
The rate stood at 20.96% in 2024. That is 2.3 percentage points lower than a year earlier. The series peaked at 25.53% in 2022; the latest figure is 17.9% below that peak. Its low point was 11.34% in 2013; the latest reading is 85% above that.
What these terms mean
- Persistent absence
- A pupil who missed 10% or more of their own possible school sessions across the academic year, for any reason (authorised or unauthorised). Source
- Academic year
- 1 September to 31 August -- DfE's own reporting year for school statistics, different from the calendar year.
Before you use these figures
- England only: The Department for Education publishes this figure for state-funded schools in England only. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are not covered here.
- All state-funded school types combined: This figure combines state-funded primary, secondary and special schools. DfE also publishes a per-school-type breakdown, not loaded here.
- Persistent absence, not all absence: "Persistent absentees" are pupils who missed 10% or more of their possible school sessions across the academic year. This is narrower than overall absence, which DfE also publishes separately.
- Open Government Licence: Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Cite this figure:
Persistent pupil absence — Birmingham 20.96% for Birmingham, 2024 StatsMapped last confirmed this figure on 4 Sep 2026. Source: DfE -- Explore Education Statistics, via statsmapped.com https://statsmapped.com/united-kingdom/local-authority/birmingham/uk_pupil_absence_e08000025