A child missing from education is defined as:
“Any child of compulsory school age (5-16) who is not registered at any formally approved education activity (e.g. school, alternative curriculum, home education), and has been out of any education provision for a substantial period of time (usually agreed as four weeks)”
How do children go missing?
Children fall out of the education system and are at risk of ‘going missing’ because they:
- fail to start appropriate provision and so never enter the system (e.g. pre-school to Year 1, new to the town and no application made to the local authority for a school place, or were electively home educated in another area or travelling);
- cease to attend, due to exclusion (e.g. illegal and unofficial exclusions) or withdrawal, removal from roll with no named destination; or
- fail to complete a transition between schools (e.g. are unable to find a suitable school place after moving to a new local authority or within Warrington).
Some children who experience certain life events are more at risk of going missing from education. These include:
- young people who have committed offences
- children living in women’s refuges (domestic violence)
- young runaways
- children of homeless families, perhaps living in temporary accommodation, house of multiple occupancy or Bed and Breakfast
- children with long term medical or emotional problems
- unaccompanied asylum seekers
- children of refugees and asylum seeking families
- children in new immigrant families, who are not yet established in the UK and may not have fixed addresses
- children in care
- children with a gypsy, Roma and traveller background
- children who are privately fostered
- young carers
- children from transient families
- teenage mothers
- children who are permanently excluded from school (particularly those excluded illegally)
How we identify children missing education
Officers in children and young people’s services co-ordinate, through multi-agency work, the identification, referral, tracking and engagement of children missing education. This is monitored through a monthly, multi agency meeting for tracking pupils out of school.
The council works with key partners including schools, housing, health, social care, Connexions, youth offending team, the police, alternative education providers and voluntary organizations. All agencies work together and manage the risk of pupils who may be missing education
If you have information to share about a child missing education please contact Chris Shaw, education safeguarding officer on 443179 for support and guidance.