What Is Persistent Absence?
The DfE threshold, how it differs from overall absence, and why it matters for school outcomes.
The definition
A pupil is classified as persistently absent if they miss 10% or more of their possible sessions. In a standard school year of 380 sessions (190 days, two sessions per day), this means missing 38 or more sessions — roughly 19 days. This is a DfE-defined threshold used across all state-funded schools in England.
Overall absence vs persistent absence
Overall absence rate is the total sessions missed as a percentage of total possible sessions across all pupils. Persistent absence rate is the percentage of pupils who are persistently absent. A school can have a low overall absence rate but a high persistent absence rate if a small number of pupils are missing large amounts of school. Both metrics matter but measure different things.
Why it matters
Research consistently shows a strong link between attendance and attainment. Persistently absent pupils are significantly less likely to achieve expected standards at KS2 and KS4. Post-COVID, persistent absence rates rose sharply across England and have not fully recovered. The DfE and Ofsted treat persistent absence as a key indicator of safeguarding and school effectiveness.
MATpulse thresholds
MATpulse uses DfE-aligned thresholds for attendance indicators. Overall absence below 6% is green, 6-8% is amber, above 8% is red. Persistent absence below 15% is green, 15-25% is amber, above 25% is red. These thresholds appear on school profile Attendance tabs and in trust-level aggregates.