Written question WQ98688
- Asked by
- Llŷr PowellReform
- To be answered by
- Cabinet Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
- Tabled
- Due
- Answered
- Time to answer
- 7 days
Question
Will the Welsh Government set out the number of pupils regularly absent from school in each local authority area?
Answer
Answered by Cabinet Minister for Education and the Welsh Language (Anna Brychan)
The common definition of regular absence from school is known as ‘persistent absence’ and is defined as being absent for more than 10% of half day school sessions over an entire academic year. The latest available information for 2024/25 is in table 1 below:
Table 1: Persistent absence from maintained primary, middle and secondary schools, by local authority, 2024/25
LA code
Name
Number of pupils persistently absent
Total number of pupils
% of pupils persistently absent
660
Isle of Anglesey
2,141
7,813
27.4
661
Gwynedd
3,706
13,759
26.9
662
Conwy
3,415
12,336
27.7
663
Denbighshire
3,807
13,191
28.9
664
Flintshire
4,400
18,464
23.8
665
Wrexham
3,796
15,859
23.9
666
Powys
3,218
14,226
22.6
667
Ceredigion
1,901
7,568
25.1
668
Pembrokeshire
3,807
14,139
26.9
669
Carmarthenshire
7,049
22,263
31.7
670
Swansea
8,345
29,913
27.9
671
Neath Port Talbot
5,433
17,013
31.9
672
Bridgend
4,650
17,870
26.0
673
Vale of Glamorgan
4,469
18,569
24.1
674
Rhondda Cynon Taff
9,494
30,531
31.1
675
Merthyr Tydfil
2,332
7,480
31.2
676
Caerphilly
6,261
22,309
28.1
677
Blaenau Gwent
2,389
7,797
30.6
678
Torfaen
3,245
12,186
26.6
679
Monmouthshire
2,009
9,616
20.9
680
Newport
6,025
22,683
26.6
681
Cardiff
11,476
45,807
25.1
999
Wales
102,387
379,389
27.0
Source: Pupil Attendance Record, Welsh Government