Children who are absent from education

Children being absent from education for prolonged periods and/or on repeat occasions can act as a vital warning sign to a range of safeguarding issues including neglect, child sexual and child criminal exploitation - particularly county lines. It may also indicate mental health problems, concerns about substance abuse, risk of travelling to conflict zones, so-called ‘honour’-based abuse, including risk of female genital mutilation or forced marriage.

Children Missing Education

‘Children Missing Education’ refers to all children who are of compulsory school age (on or after their 5th birthday), who are not on a school/college roll, or being educated otherwise (for example privately or in alternative provision) and who have been out of any educational provision for a substantial period of time.

There are various reasons why children go missing from education:

• they do not start school at the appropriate time and so they do not enter the educational system
• they are removed from school by their parents due to problems at school, disinterest or poor attendance
• they stop their education due to exclusion, illness or bullying
• they fail to find a suitable school place after moving to a new area
• they have difficult personal circumstances, for example, if family was made homeless and are living in temporary accommodation or refuge, or a child may experience long term health/medical or mental health problems.

Repeatedly going missing from home or education may be a warning sign of a range of significant safeguarding concerns and early intervention is key to identifying any underlying risk.

It is important education settings response to persistently absent children and children missing education supports identifying potential abuse, and in the case of absent children, helps prevent the risk of them becoming a child missing education in the future. This includes when problems are first emerging but also where children are already known to local authority children’s social care or have a social worker, where being absent from education may increase known safeguarding risks within the family or in the community.

Guidance and resources about children who run away or go missing from home or care can be found at:

• Statutory guidance on children who run away or go missing from home or care
• ‘Working together to improve school attendance’
• KSCMP  - Children missing from home and care procedures.

If you are aware that a child in your child in your care is missing education, you should follow your safeguarding procedures and notify the local authority. Click here for more information on Kent's procedures and notification form.

Child abduction is the unauthorised removal or retention of a minor from a parent or anyone with legal responsibility for the child. Child abduction can be committed by parents or other family members, by people known but not related to the victim (such as neighbours, friends and acquaintances) and by strangers. Other community safety incidents in the vicinity of a school can raise concerns amongst children and parents, for example, people loitering nearby or unknown adults engaging children in conversation.

As children get older and are granted more independence, for example, as they start walking to school on their own, it is important they are given practical advice on how to keep themselves safe. Many schools provide outdoor-safety lessons run by teachers or by local police staff. It is important that lessons focus on building children’s confidence and abilities rather than simply warning them about all strangers.

Where Kent schools and settings are concerned about a specific incident, advice should be sought from the police and/or the Education Safeguarding Service when sharing information with the wider school/setting community.  More general information is available at www.actionagainstabduction.org and www.clevernevergoes.org.