Understanding Children Missing from Education
CME refers to children of compulsory school age who are not registered at a school and are not receiving a suitable education elsewhere, such as through home education.
CME encompasses children who may have never enrolled in school or those who, after being enrolled, have ceased to attend regularly or have been withdrawn without registering at another school.
The CME policy enables local authorities in England to implement their legal duty under section 436A of the Education Act 1996 identify children missing education and put in place actions to better support these children.
Risks of children missing education
When children miss out on education, the consequences can be severe. They are at risk of social isolation, exploitation, becoming NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training), and other forms of abuse. Education is not only a legal right but also a critical protective factor that safeguards children’s wellbeing and prospects.
Some of the main risks include:
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Underachievement
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Social isolation
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Increased vulnerability to exploitation
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Mental health issues
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Increases risk to exposure of abuse or neglect
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Difficulty reintegrating
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Poor long-term outcomes
How many children are missing from education?
As it is local authorities’ responsibility to identify children missing from education, all the reported data gets published year-on-year to identify the most at-risk areas to enable better support plans to be offered.
The figures are published as official statistics in development to provide national estimates of CME. This data quality collection is still relatively new and is expected to improve over time but as of last year, it was recorded that during the autumn term 2023/24, 33,000 children were missing from education with over 117,000 at any given time.
When identifying CME, local authorities must be proactive using various data sources and working in collaboration with schools and other agencies to identify and track these children.
Once a child has been identified as missing from education, it is your local authority’s responsibility to act swiftly. Delays in intervention can exacerbate the risks faced by these children. Prompt action is crucial in safeguarding them, and local authorities must follow a clear and structured approach in their response.
Best ways to respond to children who are missing from education
Effectively responding to children missing from education requires a multi-faceted approach involving collaboration, co-production, information sharing, and proactive measures. Local authorities, schools, and parents must work together to ensure that children receive the education they are entitled to. Below are some of the best strategies for responding to CME:
1. Collaboration with Schools
Schools play a crucial role in preventing CME, as they are often the first to notice when a child’s attendance becomes irregular or when a student stops attending altogether. Given their frontline position, schools are responsible for monitoring attendance closely and flagging any concerns to the local authority.
To ensure that CME cases are quickly identified and addressed, local authorities must establish strong working relationships with schools. This collaboration should include regular communication and the sharing of attendance data so that any potential cases of CME can be investigated promptly. Schools should also have clear processes for following up on unexplained absences and for engaging with parents to resolve attendance issues before they escalate.
2. Information Sharing
One of the most critical components of preventing CME is effective information sharing between local authorities, schools, and other relevant agencies. Local authorities must ensure that there are clear and efficient processes in place for sharing information, both within and between agencies.
This may involve the use of centralised databases that can track the movement of children between schools and other educational settings. Regular communication channels and inter-agency meetings are also vital for discussing at-risk children and ensuring that all parties are aware of their responsibilities and the actions that need to be taken.
By fostering a culture of open communication and cooperation, local authorities can ensure that no child falls through the cracks.
3. Preventative Measures
Prevention is always better than cure, and this is especially true when it comes to CME. Local authorities need to implement a range of preventative measures that are both proactive and reactive to ensure that children remain engaged in their education.
4. Tracking and Monitoring Systems
A comprehensive tracking system is essential for monitoring the movement of children between schools and other educational settings. These systems should be able to track children who move into or out of the local authority’s jurisdiction, as well as those who are home-educated.
To ensure accuracy and efficiency, these systems must be regularly updated and maintained. By keeping a close eye on children’s whereabouts, local authorities can quickly identify any potential CME cases and take the necessary steps to address them.
5. Early Intervention
Early intervention is key to preventing CME. Local authorities should prioritise identifying early signs that a child might be at risk of missing education, such as irregular attendance or unexplained absences.
By intervening early, your local authority can provide the necessary support to the child and their family to prevent the situation from escalating.
This might involve offering additional resources or support services to the family, working with the school to develop a plan to improve attendance, or even making referrals to other agencies if there are safeguarding concerns.
The earlier these issues are addressed, the less likely it is that a child will miss significant amounts of education.
6. Safeguarding and Welfare Integration
The responsibilities of CME should not be seen in isolation from broader safeguarding duties. Local authorities must integrate their CME strategies with wider safeguarding measures to provide a holistic approach to child welfare.
This means ensuring that all professionals involved with children—such as social workers, health visitors, and youth workers—are aware of the risks associated with CME and are trained to recognise the signs.
By integrating CME prevention with safeguarding practices, local authorities can protect children from a range of risks and ensure their wellbeing.
7. Local Policies and Procedures
Having clear policies and procedures in place is essential for effectively managing CME. Local authorities should develop and implement policies that outline the roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders, including local authority staff, schools, and parents.
These policies should provide a clear framework for action when a child is identified as missing from education, ensuring that there is a consistent and coordinated response. Regular reviews and updates of these policies are necessary to reflect any changes in legislation or best practices.
Challenges of responding to children missing from education
Despite the best efforts of local authorities across the UK, there are several challenges that local authorities like yours can experience when preventing CME. However, with the right strategies, these challenges can be addressed, avoided, prevented, and overcome.
Highly Mobile Populations: Children from highly mobile families are at a greater risk of CME. These children often move frequently, making it difficult for local authorities to track their educational status.
2. Resource Constraints: Many local authorities face challenges related to limited resources, including funding and staffing. This can impact their ability to effectively monitor and support children at risk of CME.
Data Sharing Difficulties: Effective data sharing between agencies can be challenging due to issues related to data protection, confidentiality, and the compatibility of different systems.
Ways to prevent children missing from education
As well as being able to respond proactively to children identified as missing from education, local authorities also need to have strategies in place to prevent children at risk from missing out on their right to be educated.
Investing in advanced technological tools offers unprecedented capabilities for monitoring, tracking, and managing data, enabling local authorities to address complex issues like children missing from education (CME) with greater efficiency and effectiveness.
By harnessing the power of technology, local authorities can enhance their ability to identify at-risk children, respond promptly to emerging issues, and implement preventative measures that keep children engaged in their education.
Our Access Synergy solution is a comprehensive education management solution designed to help local authorities fulfill their education responsibilities for children and young people including CME.
Here our solution excels in centralising data management, offering local authorities a robust platform where they can store, access, and analyse all relevant information regarding student attendance, enrolment, admissions, and movement between schools. This centralised approach eliminates the inefficiencies associated with scattered data sources, providing a clear and comprehensive overview of all students within the local authority's jurisdiction.
With this centralised data, local authorities can more easily identify patterns that may indicate a risk of CME, ensuring that early intervention can be implemented to keep children in education.
The platform’s real-time attendance monitoring capabilities allow local authorities to track student attendance as it happens. Schools input attendance data directly into the system, which is then immediately available for review by local authorities. This real-time data is crucial for identifying irregular attendance patterns or prolonged absences that could indicate a child is at risk of becoming CME.
By having access to up-to-the-minute attendance information, local authorities can respond more quickly to potential issues, contacting parents or deploying support services before the situation escalates.
A key feature of Access Synergy is its ability to send automated alerts and notifications when attendance issues arise. For instance, if a child’s attendance falls below a predefined threshold or if there is an unexplained absence, the system automatically notifies the appropriate local authority personnel. These alerts enable local authorities to act swiftly, contacting the family, investigating the situation, and taking necessary steps to prevent the child from missing out on education. This proactive approach is essential in minimising the risk of CME.
Access Synergy not only improves data collection but is also designed to facilitate seamless communication between schools, local authorities, and other relevant agencies. The platform allows stakeholders to securely share information, ensuring that everyone involved in a child's education has the data they need to make informed decisions. This interconnected approach is vital for comprehensive case management, allowing different agencies to collaborate effectively in monitoring and supporting at-risk children.
Derbyshire County Council, for example, invested in Access Synergy as part of their Access Local Government Software ecosystem to digitally transform their children and family services including delivering their responsibilities for CME.
Through digitising their processes, they have also been able to demonstrate they are following some of the main principles from the Putting at the heart of the Care white paper and the children’s social care reform. Now, with Access Synergy, they have stronger co-production approaches to improve the quality and continuity of the children’s services they provide.
Summarising the importance of responding to children missing from education
This article has explained the pivotal role local authorities have in ensuring children do not go missing from education to safeguard both their futures and their wellbeing.
By evaluating the risks of children missing from education, this article highlights the responsibilities local authorities have to both identify children missing and children at risk of missing education to create proactive responses and preventative strategies.
Through discussing the challenges local authorities can face in addressing the challenges of missing from education, this article has explained the importance of investing in advanced technological solutions like Access Synergy, so local authorities can more effectively fulfil their responsibilities.
At Access, we empower local authorities by centralising data management, enabling real-time monitoring, and facilitating seamless communication between schools, agencies, and other stakeholders. This integrated approach allows for prompt identification and intervention when a child is at risk, ensuring that every child receives the education they are entitled to.
As demonstrated by Derbyshire County Council’s successful implementation, investing in such technology not only streamlines operations but also enhances the quality and continuity of services provided to children and families.
By leveraging tools like Access Synergy, local authorities can better prevent and respond to instances of children missing from education, ultimately contributing to a more robust and supportive educational system for all.
For more information on how we can help you effectively manage children missing from education and streamline your school admissions process for seamless collaboration between schools and your team, contact us today and discover how our solutions can make a difference.
