Children Missing in Education

Quality Assurance - Safeguarding - Department For Education: Children Missing Education

At St. Michael’s CE School we have a due regard to ensure that we are aware of when children are not attending school and are potentially deemed ‘missing from education’.

The school adhere’s to the Department for Education statutory guidance “Children Missing Education 2016” where it is stated: “This statutory guidance sets out key principles to enable local authorities in England to implement their legal duty under section 436A of the Education Act 1996 to make arrangements to identify, as far as it is possible to do so, children missing education (CME). Local authorities should be able to demonstrate that they have considered this statutory guidance and where it is not followed, the local authority should have reasonable grounds for not doing so. This advice is not exhaustive and local authorities will need to take into account the circumstances of individual cases.”

• Children Missing Education

Knowing where children are during school hours is an extremely important aspect of safeguarding. Missing school can be an indicator of abuse and neglect and may also raise concerns about others safeguarding issues, including the criminal exploitation of children.

We monitor attendance carefully and address poor or irregular attendance without delay.

We will always follow up with parents/carers when pupils are not at school. This means we need to have a least two up to date contacts numbers for parents/carers as well as two additional non parent/carers points of contacts. We ask that parents remember to update the school as soon as possible if the numbers change.

In response to the guidance in Keeping Children Safe in Education the school has:

1. Staff who understand what to do when children do not attend regularly

2. Appropriate policies, procedures and responses for pupils who go missing from education (especially on repeat occasions).

3. Staff who know the signs and triggers for travelling to conflict zones, FGM and forced marriage.

4. Procedures to inform the Local Authority when we plan to take pupils off-roll when they:

• leave school to be home educated

• move away from the school’s location

• remain medically unfit beyond compulsory school age

• are in custody for four months or more (and will not return to school afterwards); or

• are permanently excluded.

We will ensure that pupils who are expected to attend the school, but fail to take up the place will be referred to the Local Authority.

When a pupil leaves the school, we will  record the name of the pupil’s new school and their expected start date and ensure that the off-roll form is completed and details of the new educational establishment is given. This is followed up by the School Office on the expected start date and the necessary records sent on .

• St. Michael’s CE School Statement About Children Missing Education

• School Absence Procedures (Following the DfE Guidance)

Staff Procedures for Daily Absence

Our staff follow the following procedures if a child is absent:

• Check the reason for why they are absent.

• If the nominated contact cannot be contacted, we contact other nominated contacts to check why the child is absent.

• If we cannot reach anyone, we go to the residence to check.

• If we cannot find the child at their residence, we contact the police / MASH (Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub).

• Please click on the Parent Mail App to record any absence. 

• Download Parent Mail on Google Play for Android or on the Apple Store for iPhones.