Children Missing Education and Children in Education other than in Registered Schools

The statutory guidance Children Missing Education (August 2024) sets out the key principles to help local authorities in England implement their legal duty under section 436A of the Education Act 1996 to make arrangements to identify, as far as possible, children missing education (CME). Local authorities should be able to demonstrate that they have considered this statutory guidance and, where it is not followed, should have reasonable grounds for not doing so.

1. All children, regardless of their circumstances, are entitled to an efficient, full time education which is suitable to their age, ability, aptitude and any special educational needs they may have;
2. Children missing education are children of compulsory school age who are not registered pupils at a school and are not receiving suitable education otherwise than at a school. Children missing education are at significant risk of underachieving, being victims of harm, exploitation or radicalisation (including travel to conflict zones), and becoming NEET (not in education, employment or training) later in life;
3. Effective information sharing between parents, schools and local authorities is critical to ensuring that all children of compulsory school age are safe and receiving suitable education. Local authorities should allocate resources effectively to intervene early in the lives of vulnerable children to help prevent poor outcomes.
   
   Statutory guidance for local authorities: Children missing education (August 2024).

These 'missing' children can be vulnerable; it is essential that all services work together to identify and re-engage them in appropriate education provision as quickly as possible. It is important to establish the reasons for the child being missing at the earliest possible stage.

Possible reasons why a child is missing education include:

• Failure to start appropriate provision and never enter the system;
• Stopped attending, due to illegal exclusion or withdrawal by parent/carers;
• Failure to complete a transition between schools;
• Children from refugee and asylum seeking families;
• Children from families who are highly mobile;
• Children experiencing mental health problems;
• Children at risk of a forced marriage;
• Children at risk of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM);
• Children experiencing abuse and neglect.

Children who remain disengaged from education are potentially at greater risk.

Children who are missing out on education are at increased risk of being criminally exploited or being groomed and exploited by gangs.

Children who go missing or run away from home or care may be in serious danger and are vulnerable to crime, sexual exploitation or abduction as well as missing education. See Children Missing from Care, Home and Education Procedure.

When families move between local authority areas, this can sometimes lead to a child becoming 'lost' in the system and, consequently, missing education. Where a child has moved, local authorities should check with other local authorities – either regionally or nationally – and share information to ascertain the child's new location. Once the child's location is established, the relevant local authority must ensure that the child is receiving an education, either by attending a school or by receiving electronic or distance learning packages, where these are available.

Research has shown that many children from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) families can become disengaged from education, particularly during the secondary school phase. It is therefore important that schools inform the local authority when a GRT pupil leaves the school without identifying a new destination school, particularly during the transition from primary to secondary, so that the local authority can facilitate continuity of the child's education. Although many are settled, some GRT families move regularly, and their children can be at increased risk of missing education. Local authority Traveller Education Support Services (TESS), where available, or the named CME officer within the local authority can advise schools on the best strategies to minimise disruption to GRT pupils' education.

Families of members of the Armed Forces are likely to move frequently, both in the UK and overseas, and often at short notice. Schools and local authorities should contact the MoD Children's Education Advisory Service (CEAS) for advice on arranging continuity of education for children when the family moves.

Children who have offended or are at risk of doing so are also at risk of disengaging from education. Local authority Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) work with young people (aged 10 to 18 years) who are involved with the Criminal Justice System. YOTs should work with the local authority CME officer to ensure that the children they work with are receiving, or returning to, appropriate full-time education.

Head teachers should inform the Pupil Tracking Officer and the child's social worker immediately if a child who is Looked After or subject to a Child Protection Plan is missing.

In the following circumstances, a referral to Children's Social Care and/or the Police should always be made promptly:

• The child may be the victim of a crime;
• The child is the subject of a Child Protection Plan;
• The child is the subject of Section 47 enquiries;
• The child is Looked After;
• A known person is posing a risk to children in the household or in contact with the household;
• There is a history of the family moving frequently;
• There are serious issues of attendance.

Where a pupil has not returned to school for ten consecutive school days after a leave of absence or is absent from school for reasons statistically recorded as unauthorised absence for twenty consecutive school days, the pupil’s name can be removed from the admission register when the school and the local authority have failed, after jointly making reasonable enquiries, to find out the location and circumstances of the child or have succeeded but agree there are no reasonable grounds to believe that they will attend the school again. In deciding there are no reasonable grounds to believe the pupil will attend the school again, both the school and the local authority must agree, including that there are no reasonable steps that could be taken (either jointly or separately) to secure the pupil’s attendance. Neither ground for deletion applies if there are reasonable grounds to believe that the pupil is unable to attend because of sickness or an unavoidable cause.

In these circumstances the child's name is kept on a centrally held register, and should be clearly identified as missing from education.

The term ‘reasonable’ also makes clear that there is a limit to what the school and local authority are expected to do.

In line with the duty under section 10 of the Children Act 2004, the expectation is that the school and the local authority will have procedures in place to conduct reasonable enquiries. The procedures may include the appropriate person checking with relatives, neighbours, landlords, private or social housing providers, and other local stakeholders. They should also document completion of these procedures. If there is reason to believe a child is in immediate danger or at risk of harm, a referral should be made to children’s social care (and the police if appropriate).

Where the child's name has been removed from the school roll, but they have not been located, the Head Teacher should arrange for the pupil's records to be retained until the child is located. They may be held centrally according to local arrangements.

Where a Head Teacher has been notified by a parent that a pupil is receiving education other than at school, and has removed the child's name from the school roll, notification must be given to the education service within 10 school days; the pupil's records should then be transferred to the education service to be stored in accordance with local arrangements.

If a school receives a new pupil without receiving information from the pupil's previous school, the school should contact the Pupil Tracking Officer.

If the Pupil Tracking Officer becomes aware that the child has moved to another school, they should ensure that all relevant agencies are informed and that arrangements are made to forward the child's records from the previous school.

A child missing from education is not, in itself, a child protection matter, and there may be a reasonable explanation. However, regular school attendance is an important safeguard, and unexplained non-attendance can be an early indicator of problems, risks and vulnerabilities.

Schools should endeavour to deal with this problem in three ways:

• By preventing poor school attendance and truancy;
• By acting once absence has occurred to establish children's safety and try to get them back to school;
• By taking action to trace children whose whereabouts are not known.

The number of home-educated children in England is increasing. Most parents who home educate do so in their children’s best interests, and many home-educated children receive a suitable education that supports their ability to thrive. However, there are concerns that not all children educated at home are receiving proper education and that some are at risk of, or are suffering, harm. Increasingly, parents of children with complex needs are choosing to home educate and may not be well prepared or equipped to provide a suitable education. As there is currently no duty on parents to notify local authorities when they are home educating, local authorities are unlikely to be aware of all children not in school in their areas, including those who are not receiving a suitable education or are at risk of harm. Therefore, some children may be spending long periods of time receiving unsuitable education or, in some cases, no education at all, without intervention; and some children may be in unsafe home environments and under the radar of practitioners who are there to protect them. There is an urgent need for local authorities to identify these children better and, if a child is not receiving a suitable education or is at risk of harm, to take action to help them return to school or take other necessary steps to safeguard them.

There is no suggestion or evidence that home-educated children are at any greater risk of abuse or neglect than other children. However, it is possible that where abuse or neglect is already taking place, it can be easier to hide if the child is home-educated and is not necessarily being seen regularly by professionals such as teachers. This may increase the likelihood that parents who choose home education to avoid their child's contact with agencies are more successful.

Safeguarding concerns may not simply arise in relation to the family. Some parents who educate at home believe that doing so safeguards their child from risks in the school environment (e.g., because their child was being bullied or their emotional well-being was adversely affected by the school system).

Local authorities should approach all cases where they have concerns about the suitability of home education using their powers under the Education Act 1996. However, they should also be ready to act if a lack of suitable education appears likely to impair a child's development, and to carry out their safeguarding responsibilities to protect the child's well-being, including their right to a suitable education.

These duties are set out in Elective Home Education - Guidance for Local Authorities and Schools About Children Educated At Home (GOV.UK).

NOTE: There is also a growing trend toward Flexi Schooling, in which the child is in school for part of the time and at home for the rest.

EOTAS is education that meets the specified needs of children or young people who, for whatever reason, cannot attend a mainstream or special school because it is deemed ‘inappropriate’. The term has been considered in the case of TM v London Borough of Hounslow, which clarified that it would have to take into account:

• The child’s background and medical history;
• The particular educational needs of the child;
• The facilities that a school can provide;
• The facilities that could be provided other than in a school;
• The comparative cost of the possible alternatives to the child’s educational provisions;
• The child’s reaction to education provisions, either at a school or elsewhere;
• The parents’ wishes.

In addition to medical issues, serious exclusion matters or significant mental health issues that make attendance extremely difficult will also have to be considered. Generally, this type of provision is likely to include among the options offered:

• Online Education;
• Home Tuition;
• Specialist Tuition Centres;
• Hospital schooling.

Any of these options can take place in non-educational settings, such as a library. They should all be treated as special education provision and funded accordingly by the Local Authority.

An unregistered school operates as an independent school without registration. The Secretary of State must register Independent schools in England with the Education and Skills Funding Agency before they can operate. It is a criminal offence to operate an unregistered independent school.

An 'independent school' is defined as a school that is not maintained by a local authority or is not a non-maintained special school, and at which full-time education is provided for:

1. Five or more pupils of compulsory school age; or
2. For at least one pupil of that age who is looked after by a local authority or has an education, health and care plan.

The term "full-time" is not defined in legislation, but Department for Education guidance states that an institution providing education for more than 18 hours per week is considered to be providing full-time education. Therefore ‘schools’ operating for less than 18 hours are not providing a full time education but are also not subject to OFSTED inspection.

Unregistered schools may operate for a variety of reasons, of which the most common are alternative provision (for pupils who do not attend mainstream school due to school exclusion, behaviour issues, school refusal, or short- or long-term illness), general education providers (including for home educated children) or religious instruction.

Where unregistered schools are found to have been operating illegally, it may simply be because of a lack of awareness of legislation or an administrative oversight; however, children in these settings are potentially at risk because there is no formal, external scrutiny of the arrangements for safeguarding, health and safety or the quality of education provided.

See: Regulating independent schools (GOV.UK) for more information.

This guidance should be read in the context of the statutory duties upon local authorities and parents as set out in the following:

• The Education Act 1996 Section 436A;
• The Education Act 2002;
• The Children Act 1989;
• The Children Act 2004;
• Statutory guidance for local authorities: Children missing education (August 2024);
• Elective Home Education Guidelines;
• Unregistered independent schools and out of school settings - non-statutory guidance for local authorities;
• School Admissions Code;
• School to school service: how to transfer information;
• The Working Together to Improve School Attendance: Statutory Guidance for maintained schools, academies, independent schools and local authorities (August 2024) emphasises the safeguarding duties placed on maintained schools by Section 175 of the Education Act 2002.

It also seeks to ensure that the duty to co-operate to improve the well-being of children under Section 10 of the Children Act 2004 is discharged. All schools will have a Designated Teacher for Looked After and Previously Looked After Children. These teachers are ideally placed to help identify children currently in school who may be at greater risk of missing out on education.