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:
Virtual School news
The Virtual School has been tracking and monitoring the education of all Warwickshire children looked after (CLA) wherever they are educated through its online systems and also by visits to all schools where Warwickshire CLA attend.
In 2016 there were some successes with GCSE attainment for Warwickshire CLA being higher than CLA nationally including one young person with 8 A* grades. Also a record number of 21 care leavers have started university. However there is still work to do because the majority of CLA do less well than their peers. This is often due to the legacy of the neglect and abuse they have suffered.
The Virtual School is very keen to encourage CLA to aspire to going to university and recognises that the main barrier to progressing to Higher Education (HE) is poor GCSE performance. Hence we are offering two schemes which enable younger CLA to visit HE institutions and experience some of the wide range of learning opportunities that they could have as an undergraduate. The UniversityGO! programme is for year 7 pupils and involves the University of Warwick and Coventry University and University Explorers is for children in year 6 and takes place on Saturdays at the University of Warwick. Designated teachers of eligible CLA for both programmes will be contacted in the next few days.
Those of you working with CLA will be aware of the need for all of these children to have a Personal Education Plan (PEP) which describes how they will be helped to make better progress. This needs to be reviewed each term together with the child’s foster parents and social worker. Having introduced the electronic ePEP system we are delighted that well over 80% of CLA had a PEP review last term. Where a review has taken place the Virtual School has sent schools £600 Pupil Premium Plus for each child.
Since the new arrangements were established in 2014, the Virtual School has allocated £600 per CLA per term because we believe that schools are best placed to give children the extra support they need. This is set out in the Virtual School Pupil Premium Policy. We are now reviewing this policy and would be happy to receive any feedback from headteachers about this. Please send comments to virtualschool@warwickshire.gov.uk
Further information about the work of the Virtual School is available here.
Elective Home Education
Over the last 4 years the number of Warwickshire children registered with the local authority as home educated has seen a steep increase from 172 in 2011/12 to 539 in 2015/16. Current registrations for 2016/17 are at 399 with enquiries and registrations continuing to grow.
This increase includes a significant rise in the numbers children who present as vulnerable; children with complex emotional and behavioural needs, children (and often parents) with mental health issues, children with poor attendance whose parents are at risk of prosecution, children who are at risk of permanent exclusion from school, parents choosing to home educate while waiting for a school of their choice, and parents who report dissatisfaction with school.
In April 2016 following a Serious Case Review, the local authority implemented a more robust service delivery model which prioritises the safety of home-educated children. Schools are asked to share detailed information about the child via the School Exit Form before the child is taken off roll. Schools are asked to encourage parents to have a 2 week cooling off period. During this time the local authority will talk to parents to understand the reasons for the decision to home educate.
Home visits are always offered and in many cases parents are happy to welcome us into their home and work with us. Priority is given to ensuring that all children are seen to be safe, especially those known to be at risk. Home visits and registration with the local authority are entirely voluntary, we cannot insist unless there is a concern for the child’s well-being and safety.
Parents of children not receiving adequate education will be supported by the local authority to make improvements within agreed timescales. Legal action via a school attendance order (SAO) is an option for the local authority should the parent fail to provide a suitable full time education to their child. Warwickshire is now looking to pursue this option with the legal team although local authorities appear to have limited success with pursuing the SAO route.
Information for parents wanting to home educate can be found on our website; professionals working in education will find it informative and helpful. www.warwickshire.gov.uk/homeeducation
We expect schools to signpost parents to the following services before electing to home educate so that they can make an informed decision:
SEND Information, Advice & Support Service (SENDIAS)- email: wias@family-action.org.uk , or phone 0247676366054 during normal office hours.
Family Information Service (FIS) - http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/fis
For further advice or guidance about home education please contact the Access to Education Team on
T: 01926 736323
E: ehe@warwickshire.gov.uk
Further information and key documents:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/elective-home-education
Warwickshire School Exit Form
Warwickshire Family Information Form