Children missing education referral and joint enquiries procedure

1. Scope and application

This procedure applies conditionally to maintained and academy primary and secondary schools in England where a pupil is suspected or identified to be missing education, fails to attend on the agreed admission date, or falls within the prolonged-absence grounds for deletion from the admission register.

Actions must reflect the evidence and circumstances of the individual case, the child’s welfare and the arrangements of the relevant local authority. The school should use this procedure alongside its local attendance and child protection procedures.

2. Roles and coordination

The [cme lead role] coordinates the school’s actions under this procedure, including liaison with the relevant local authority and maintaining the case record.

The [safeguarding lead role] must be involved where the circumstances indicate possible abuse, neglect, exploitation or other harm.

3. Initial identification and assessment

Monitor attendance and admission information proactively and consider whether the available information indicates that a pupil may be at risk of becoming, or may already be, a child missing education.

The school should undertake initial proactive work to locate a pupil at risk of becoming a child missing education. Decisions about the necessary, relevant and appropriate actions must be based on the circumstances and evidence in the individual case.

Where the case is identified as a child missing education, the school and the relevant local authority should jointly conduct reasonable enquiries immediately. Enquiries should be thorough and collaborative where possible, and action should be taken without delay with the child’s welfare as the paramount concern.

4. Referral to the home local authority

Where the school reasonably believes that a pupil will no longer attend and the parent has not provided written notice that the pupil will attend another school or receive education otherwise than at school, refer the case to the child’s home local authority CME team as soon as possible.

The referral should identify the circumstances known to the school and the actions already taken. The school should continue reasonable enquiries about the pupil’s whereabouts and maintain regular communication with the local authority carrying out the enquiries.

Continue the school’s role in joint reasonable enquiries after making the referral. Enquiries and communication may conclude only when the school and local authority mutually agree that enquiries have concluded or that there are no further actions the school can take.

5. Pupil failing to attend on the agreed admission date

If an admitted pupil fails to attend on the agreed admission date, undertake reasonable enquiries to establish the child’s whereabouts.

Record the missed attendance, the enquiries undertaken, the information received and any resulting decision or escalation. Where the circumstances indicate a child missing education case, apply the identification and referral provisions in this procedure.

6. Pupil not returning from leave or continuously absent

Where a pupil has not returned from a period of leave or has had a continuous period of absence, consider with the School Local Authority whether joint reasonable enquiries are needed to try to establish where the pupil is.

Where the pupil has not returned within 10 school days following a leave of absence, or has been continuously absent for 20 unauthorised school days, joint reasonable enquiries with the local authority to locate the pupil and establish the pupil’s circumstances must be completed before the pupil’s name is deleted.

Before deletion on these grounds, the pupil must have been located and the circumstances established, and the school and local authority must agree that there are no reasonable grounds to believe that the pupil will attend the school again.

7. Safeguarding concerns

Children may be missing education because of abuse, neglect or exploitation. Where this is suspected, follow the school’s local child protection procedure.

If the child is in immediate danger or at risk of harm, make an immediate referral to children’s social care through [children social care route]. Contact the police where appropriate.

8. Case management and closure

The school should maintain a clear record of the referral, enquiries, communications, information considered, decisions and any agreed next action. The record should reflect the individual circumstances and evidence of the case.

Work collaboratively with the relevant local authority, including the child’s home local authority where different, to support the child’s return to education where appropriate. Close or cease the school’s actions only when the applicable local-authority arrangements and the conditions in this procedure have been met.