All children, regardless of age, ability or special educational needs, are entitled to an appropriate and full-time education. However, there are many factors in the life of a child or that of their family that can affect school attendance.
Children Missing Education (CME) defined as those who are of a compulsory school age. A child reaches compulsory school age on 31 December, 31 March or 31 August following their fifth birthday. A child ceases to be of statutory (should this say compulsory in line with the other description) school age on the last Friday in June if they have turned sixteen by 31st August in the same year.
If a child is of compulsory school age and is not registered at a school or educated otherwise and is not receiving suitable education in place of a school setting, they are missing education.
Children missing education may be at significant risk of:
- not meeting their academic potential and underachieving
- becoming NEET (not in employment, education or training) in later life
- being victims of harm, abuse or exploitation, neglect and not getting health care
- involvement in criminal or gang-related activity
There may be many reasons for children to miss education including.
- Failure to start appropriate provision at 'reception' age and therefore never entering the educational system.
- After any form of exclusion from education
- Failure to complete the transition from primary to secondary school.
- Delays in applying for a new school when a family arrive in the local authority.
- Children removed from school by family who leave the area with no forwarding address.
- Failing to take up a place when transferring education provision e.g. being unable to find a suitable school place after moving to a new local authority area
- children of families experiencing homelessness, perhaps living in temporary accommodation, houses of multiple occupancy or Bed and Breakfast accommodation
- Children from new immigrant families, who are not yet established in the UK and may not have a fixed address.
- Children whose parents withdraw them from school to home educate them but then fail to provide a suitable education.
These 'missing' children are amongst the most vulnerable children. It is essential that practitioners in all services work together to identify and re-engage these children back into appropriate educational provision as quickly as possible.
The guidance (Children Missing Education August 2024) advises the need for local authorities to monitor groups of pupils who are likely to go missing from education. Some children who experience certain life events are more at risk of going missing from education. It is important for professionals to consider the circumstances of individual cases. However, some factors may place a child at higher risk and should be considered by all working with children and their families. These include:
- children and young people under the supervision of the youth justice system.
- children at risk of harm and neglect
- children of refugees and asylum-seeking families
- children who cease to attend school
- children from families who can be highly mobile,
The local authority has certain additional duties and responsibilities to support with and ensure children receive a suitable full-time education.
These include:
- cooperating with other agencies to improve well-being and protect from harm and neglect.
- undertake joint investigations into a child’s whereabouts with schools and academies.
- requiring parents to provide evidence that a child is receiving a suitable education, where it is suspected that they are not and issuing School Attendance Orders (SAOs) to parents who fail to provide this assurance.
- prosecuting or issuing penalty notices and fines to parents who fail to ensure good school attendance.
- applying for an Education Supervision Order for a child to support them to go to school.
- arranging full-time education for children who are permanently excluded from school after the sixth day of exclusion.
Children not attending school may be invisible to services, putting them at risk of potential harm and making them more likely to have unmet health and educational needs. It is this level of invisibility – of children being ‘off the radar’ – which makes it vitality important that every effort is made to identify children missing education, engage them back into learning and other necessary services, and prevent children from disengaging from the school system in the first place.
All children must receive education provisions they are entitled to this:
- helps them achieve their potential.
- provides an environment and context for identifying when a child may be experiencing difficulties and an arena for seeing the child regularly and for assessing the impact of services provided when the child has needs.
- Provides a safe place for a child to be with access to a hot meal and time with peers.
We ask that during your contact with families; you consider that a child may be missing from education and consider the following:
- Children present in the home during school time.
- More children than you were expecting are in the family home.
- Children who are out and about within the local community during school hours
- Children attend medical appointments with their siblings during school time.
- Parents tell schools or agencies they are sending their children to live with relatives in a different area or country.
- A child of school age working during school hours.
- A child in a house where they do not live when they should be in school.
If you know or suspect a child is missing from education, please contact your Local Authority straight away. The CME officer will always carry out several checks before contacting parents or carers, so it is always better to advise us if you are in any doubt. All information will be held confidentially and securely.
Useful Links / Guidance
Working together to improve school attendance (applies from 19 August 2024)