Children Missing Education – new requirement for schools around changes in notification
Children who are not in receipt of full-time education may be described as children missing education (CME).
Such children are at significant risk of underachieving, being victims of harm, exploitation or radicalisation, and becoming NEET (not in education, employment or training) later in life.
In response to recent Ofsted concerns around the need to improve the local authorities’ ability to ensure children are safe and receiving a suitable education, the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2016 came into force on 1 September 2016. The changes apply to all schools, academies and independent schools and local authorities in England.
The law requires all schools to notify the local authority of the following:
- When they are about to remove a child from the school admissions register under any of the fifteen grounds listed in Regulation 8 of the Education ( Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006;
- Work jointly with the local authority to establish the whereabouts of the child before deleting from the school admissions register if under regulation 8(1), f and h;
- Notify the local authority within 5 days of adding a pupil’s name to the admission register at a non-standard transition point.
The local authority will be writing to all Warwickshire schools to ensure they are aware about how to meet their statutory duties.
Since 2011 Warwickshire has seen an overall increase of 25% in referrals for children missing education for 10 or more days from school. On average the service receives 450 referrals per year, of which 40% are Warwickshire children. Since September 16, 189 referrals have come into the service, 61% are Warwickshire children. The rise in numbers appears to correlate with the revision of pupil regulations and CME guidance.
The majority of children missing in education are found but increasing numbers are presenting as vulnerable – these children are continually monitored until they are engaging with education. The children we are unable to locate are posted as missing on a national DfE database which is checked on a regular basis for updates.
Since 2014, the local authority has tracked and monitored those children not in receipt of a full time education; this work is overseen by the Lead Professional for Vulnerable Groups. During this time, 179 referrals have been made of which 113 have been returned successfully to appropriate education. 100 children are currently being monitored and tracked; some of these children had in the first instance been missing education for 10 or more days.
Most cases are complex with a number of factors contributing to poor or no school attendance. These can include mental health problems, ineffective parenting and sometimes the perception that schools are not doing enough to meet children’s needs. The Lead Professional for Vulnerable Groups identifies next steps to enable these children to return to school, this includes multi-professional meetings to move forward the most “stuck” cases identifying barriers and agreeing solutions.
Where there is a safeguarding concern the local authority will carry out a home visit for any child missing in education or not in receipt of their entitlement.
Full integration with the MASH has resulted in support for over 500 cases (including triage meetings) via the Access to Education Service.
For further advice or guidance on children missing education or to make a referral please contact the Access to Education Team:
T: 01926 736323
E: cme@warwickshire.gcsx.gov.uk
or visit our webpage at: http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/childrenmissingeducation
Further guidance and useful links: