Persistent Absence from School

Summary This paper reports the prevalence of persistent absence from schools in Sheffield LEA over three years. It is shown that neither illness nor truancy are adequate explanations for the absences of many pupils. Although persistent absence rates are strongly associated with poverty in the schools' catchment areas, there is also evidence indicating the probable importance of variables within some of the schools themselves. Although persistent absentees, irrespective of the explanations for their absence, are a high‐risk for delinquency, the majority are not known by the police to have offended.