Attendance and children missing education staff training

No single person is likely to have the full picture of a child's needs and circumstances. Staff who come into contact with children or families and are involved in identifying or supporting children missing education have a role in noticing concerns, sharing relevant information and taking prompt action. This is a shared responsibility, not a requirement for every staff member to manage the whole process.

A child-centred approach keeps the child's safety, wellbeing, needs and circumstances at the centre of your response. Notice what may be affecting access to education, communicate respectfully, avoid assumptions and pass concerns through the arrangements that apply to your role. Your contribution may be one part of the fuller picture.

Hypothetical example: A pupil stops attending and someone says the family may have moved. A child-centred response is not to assume that the family has simply withdrawn the pupil. Notice and share the concern through the school's arrangements, then take prompt action appropriate to your role so that the school and relevant services can identify what support or follow-up may be needed.

When a possible CME concern arises, ask: What have I noticed? What relevant information do I hold? Who needs this information so the concern can be identified and supported? Information may be incomplete, but that is not a reason to wait for certainty. Share relevant information through the arrangements that apply to your role and act promptly.

Prompt action matters because different people and services may each hold part of the picture. It does not mean inventing a local route or bypassing the school's arrangements. It means raising the concern without avoidable delay with the appropriate person or team.

Hypothetical example: Attendance records show repeated absence, a pastoral colleague knows the child has stopped attending an activity, and a message from home suggests changed circumstances. Bring these relevant pieces together and share them promptly with the appropriate school contact or team. Do not turn incomplete information into an unsupported conclusion about the family.

A likely mistake is waiting until you can prove that a child is missing education. Correct this by sharing a reasonable concern and the information available, promptly and through the appropriate arrangements. Also distinguish what you know directly, what has been reported and what remains uncertain.

Schools need to know and follow the applicable local-authority processes for identifying CME, making referrals and supporting reintegration into suitable education. Routes, forms, contacts, responsibilities and communication arrangements can differ by area, so this course prepares you to confirm the correct local process rather than supplying a generic route.

Before consulting your school's local guidance or the appropriate provider, look for the current arrangements covering identification of suspected CME, referral, role responsibilities, communication with the relevant local-authority team and coordination of reintegration. Confirming these details matters because an outdated or assumed route can delay action or create gaps between services.

Hypothetical example: Staff are unsure whether a suspected CME referral should go directly to a local-authority team or through another agreed route. The correct next step is to check the applicable local process with the school's designated contact or appropriate provider before treating the referral as complete. Clarify how reintegration discussions will be coordinated.

A CME concern may also indicate that a child's safety or wellbeing is at risk. If you have a safeguarding concern, act without delay under the school's child protection policy and involve the designated safeguarding lead (DSL). The DSL or relevant staff should immediately consider whether a referral to local authority children's social care is needed and, where appropriate, whether the police should be contacted, particularly where significant harm is suspected.

The key decision is whether there is an indication that the child's safety or wellbeing may be at risk, not whether the CME process is complete. Routine coordination must not delay safeguarding action. Follow your school's child protection arrangements and use the DSL route that applies there. An early help assessment is not a prerequisite for a referral to children's social care where a referral is otherwise needed.

Safeguarding escalation for a CME concern Safety or wellbeing concern: A concern indicates that the child's safety or wellbeing may be at risk. Act without delay: Take immediate action under the school's child protection policy. Involve the designated safeguarding lead: Inform and involve the designated safeguarding lead in line with the school's child protection arrangements. Consider children's social care referral: Immediately consider whether a referral to local authority children's social care is needed. Consider police contact where appropriate: Consider contacting the police where appropriate, particularly if significant harm is suspected. Safety or wellbeing concern leads to Act without delay. Act without delay leads to Involve the designated safeguarding lead. Involve the designated safeguarding lead leads to Consider children's social care referral. Involve the designated safeguarding lead leads to Consider police contact where appropriate.

Hypothetical example: A child has stopped attending and information suggests the child may be unsafe at home. This is not only an attendance or CME coordination issue. Act without delay under the school's child protection policy and involve the DSL. The DSL and relevant staff should consider referral to children's social care and, where appropriate, police contact, particularly if significant harm is suspected.

A likely mistake is sending the concern into the routine CME process and waiting for the usual response. Correct this by treating a possible safety or wellbeing risk as requiring immediate safeguarding consideration, following the child protection policy and involving the DSL without delay. Site-specific emergency and referral arrangements must come from the school's policy and current provider guidance.

Continuing liaison helps schools, local authorities and other relevant services build a fuller picture and coordinate identification and support. Maintain communication through the applicable local arrangements, clarify who is doing what and pass on relevant new information promptly.

For liaison, organise the concern and when it arose, relevant attendance or contact information, information received from the child or family, actions already taken, uncertainties and any safeguarding concern. Confirm locally what should be shared, with whom and through which route. If a safeguarding risk is present, do not wait for routine liaison; follow the school's child protection arrangements and involve the DSL without delay.

Hypothetical example: Attendance has declined, family contact has been attempted and a possible move has been mentioned, but the child's current education arrangements are unclear. A useful handover separates known facts from uncertainty, records actions already taken, asks which local process applies and agrees how relevant teams will communicate. If new information indicates a safety risk, safeguarding escalation takes priority.