Appendix A: Guidance on Removing a Child from School Roll and CME

Transcription

1 Appendix A: Guidance on Removing a Child from School Roll and CME Safeguarding concerns for a child override everything please follow your setting procedures Reason Criteria for removal from school roll (MASH contacts attached) School action Follow up action by other agencies 1. Pupil has transferred to an alternative school (other than normal KS2/3 transfer) 2. Pupil is known to have moved, but new school placement unknown. The Education Welfare Service should be consulted before removing a pupil from School roll at times other than normal transition. Notification has been received from parents/carers of new school and address. Notification of move from parents/carers. No information about new school placement has been received. Common Transfer File (CTF) uploaded to s2s using DFE number for new school if known. Complete destination field in EMS/ONE & CME Safeguarding form (only if there are safeguarding concerns) Independent schools and schools using SERCO recording system complete CME Referral form and pass to EMS/ONE Data Team. Forms available at: Common Transfer File (CTF) uploaded to s2s Complete destination field in EMS/ONE & CME Safeguarding form (only if there are safeguarding concerns) Independent schools and schools using SERCO recording system complete CME Referral form and pass to EMS/ONE Data Team. Forms available at: Admissions Team will track to ensure child has started at new school if they have made the original offer or pass details on to CME Team. If Admission Officer, Inclusion Officer or CME EWO has any concerns about the welfare of the child/children, then MASH enquiry/referral to Social Care should be made Pupil recorded as Child Missing from Education. Admissions Team will track pupil into new provision if they had made the placement offer or pass details on to the CME team. If Admission Officer has any concerns about the welfare of the child/children, then MASH enquiry/referral to Social Care should be made Appendix A/May

2 Appendix A: Guidance on Removing a Child from School Roll and CME Safeguarding concerns for a child override everything please follow your setting procedures (MASH contacts attached) 3. Pupil has been absent from school for 20 continuous days or more. Pupil s whereabouts is unknown 4. Pupil has failed to return from previously authorised extended leave 5. Pupil has been withdrawn from the roll by parent/carers and will be Electively Home Educated (EHE) School has informed EWS after ten continuous days of unauthorised absence Pupil was granted extended leave of absence and has failed to return with the agreed time (in excess of 10 days). No reasonable explanation has been received. Parents/carers have formally notified school in writing of their intention to educate their child at home. School has made all reasonable enquiries to ascertain pupil s whereabouts. Common Transfer File (CTF) uploaded to s2s Complete destination field in EMS/ONE & CME Safeguarding form (only if there are concerns) Independent schools and schools using SERCO recording system complete CME Referral form and pass to EMS/ONE Data Team. Forms available at: School has made all reasonable enquiries to ascertain pupil s whereabouts. Complete destination field in EMS/ONE & CME Safeguarding form (only if there are safeguarding concerns) Independent schools and schools using SERCO recording system complete CME Referral form and pass to EMS/ONE Data Team. Forms available at: School to notified the EHE team & complete the EHE Safeguarding form available at CTF uploaded to s2s (see contacts) Pupil recorded as CME and referred to CME EWO If CME EWO has concerns about the welfare of the child/children, then MASH enquiry/referral to Social Care should be made Pupil recorded as CME and referred to CME EWO If the EWO has any concerns about the welfare of the child/children, then refer to MASH or SW Pupil recorded as EHE and EHE process followed. If the EHE worker has any concerns about the welfare of the child/children, refer to MASH or SW Appendix A/May

3 Appendix A: Guidance on Removing a Child from School Roll and CME Safeguarding concerns for a child override everything please follow your setting procedures (MASH contacts attached) 6. Pupil has been given a custodial sentence greater than four months Formal notification received from Youth Offending Service Headteacher decides whether to keep pupil on roll following consultation with other agencies. Decision to remove from roll. CTF uploaded to s2s (Less than four months pupil either remains on roll or school conducts a risk assessment) Details noted on EMS with Youth Offending Service (YOS). No further action until YOS notified of planned release date. If pupil is still on school roll, arrangements made for re-integration. If not on school roll, admissions to identify new placement. If YOS have any concerns about the welfare of the child/children, refer to MASH or SW 7. Pupil has been permanently excluded Exclusion has been approved by governors and time period for appeal has expired or independent appeal not upheld. CTF uploaded to s2s using DFE number where known (usually Pupil Referral Unit). Devon Personalised Learning Service (DPLS) to complete CME Referral form if place not taken up. Form available at Inclusion Services work to ensure interim education whilst a permanent placement is identified. If IO has any concerns about the welfare of the child/children, refer to MASH or SW 8. Pupil is medically unfit for school and will remain so until after their official school leaving date School has received formal notification of diagnosis from an appropriate medical source. Alternative education provision identified. Pupil remains on school roll and is dual registered if receiving alternative education provision. If removed from roll ONE/CME to update records Appendix A/May

4 Appendix A: Guidance on Removing a Child from School Roll and CME Safeguarding concerns for a child override everything please follow your setting procedures (MASH contacts attached) 9. Pupil has died Formal notification received CTF uploaded to s2s 10. Pupil subject to a School Attendance Order and the designated school has been replaced on the order by another school Formal notification received. Notify Education Welfare Legal Proceedings Officer (See contacts) Admissions amend EMS ONE. EWO for school to monitor attendance. If EWO has any concerns about the welfare of the child/children, refer to MASH or SW 11. Pupils with an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP) All children with an EHCP who are out of county placement to be monitored by Casework Teams. Pupils placed in independent settings (in or out of LA) SEN 0-25 team to monitor attendance School has made all reasonable enquiries to ascertain pupil s whereabouts. Complete destination field in EMS/ONE & CME Safeguarding form (only if there are safeguarding concerns) Independent schools and schools using SERCO recording system complete CME Referral form and pass to EMS/ONE Data Team. Forms available at: SEN 0-25 Team informed Child recorded as CME and referred to CME EWO If CME EWO has any concerns about the welfare of the child/children, please refer to MASH or SW. Appendix A/May

5 Appendix A: Guidance on Removing a Child from School Roll and CME Safeguarding concerns for a child override everything please follow your setting procedures (MASH contacts attached) 12. Children in Care Children looked after by the LA have a priority in the admissions criteria for schools. A Senior Admissions Officer (see contact list) has responsibility for vulnerable children and young people and EWOs work closely with the Admissions Team and care managers to support access to a school place. School must contact the carers on the first day of absence and where they can t they must inform the Social Worker. Schools prioritise CiC for first day calling. Where an absence is unexplained or the reason given is unsatisfactory, the EWS must be notified as soon as possible. Where schools have concerns about the attendance of CiC they should seek advice from the EWS at the earliest opportunity. Specialist CiC EWO from Virtual School Team follows up immediately If CiC EWO has any concerns about the welfare of the child/children, refer to MASH or SW 13. Gypsy, Roma, Traveller Traveller children over the age of 6 years are expected to attend at least 200 sessions a year and the use of code T for more than 180 sessions could indicate that the pupil has failed to meet this requirement. Any concerns around this area should be addressed but may require specialist support from EMTAS. Traveller children cannot be deleted from the roll of the school which they normally attend when their parents are not travelling. This school is referred to as the school of ordinary attendance or, more commonly, as the base school and the pupil must have attended it in the last 18 months. If two schools meet the definition of the base school, the most recent school to do so is regarded as the school of ordinary attendance. Traveller children can be deleted from the roll of other schools if they are not currently attending that school. They cannot be deleted Child recorded as CME. EMTAS to investigate. If GRT Advisory Teacher has any concerns about the welfare of the child/children, refer to MASH or SW. Appendix A/May

6 Appendix A: Guidance on Removing a Child from School Roll and CME Safeguarding concerns for a child override everything please follow your setting procedures (MASH contacts attached) if they are simply absent, for example, due to illness. Any such deletion must be in accordance with the regulations on deleting pupils from the school roll. Traveller children who are only registered at one school can be deleted in the same way as other such pupils. For example, pupils cannot be deleted if the school has authorised the leave of absence for the purposes of travelling. But if they were an unauthorised absence for 4 weeks and neither the school nor the local authority managed to locate them then they could be deleted. 14. Guest Schools must record the details of every pupil at the school in the admissions register. This includes pupils who are attending the school on a temporary basis e.g. Traveller children, children who are accessing facilities not available at their normal school and guest pupils. Child recorded as CME If CME EWO has any concerns about the welfare of the child/children, refer to MASH or SW. Check with base school child has now returned and if not inform EWO. Appendix A/May

7 Appendix A: Guidance on Removing a Child from School Roll and CME Safeguarding concerns for a child override everything please follow your setting procedures (MASH contacts attached) Appendix A/May

8 Appendix B1 Children Missing Education Referral Form (to be completed by Independent Schools and schools using SERCO) The Education (Pupil Registration) Regulations 1995 Para 13 (1) Subject to Paragraph (2) requires that you should inform the LA before you remove a child from your schools roll except at normal transition. Child s Name Date of Birth Address of child Parent or carer s name Telephone contact details Name of school Your name Telephone number Name of school / area to which pupil has moved Date of move We will follow this up. Is there any other information that you can give us that will help us do this? For example - Known family links in other areas - Are they a Forces family? - Previous addresses / areas lived in - Contact numbers of other family members Please tick box if any safeguarding concerns A MASH enquiry should also be undertaken if appropriate (please see details below). If possible you should inform the parent / carer that you will be notifying the Local Authority of their child /young person. Parents are permitted to Home Educate their children but the LA would still need to be informed. Please send or fax ( ) this form to ONE Data Team, SCOMIS, Great Moor House, Bittern Road, Sowton Industrial Estate Exeter EX2 7NL, who will update records. If a pupil cannot be located by the EMS/ONE Data Team, the information will be passed to the CME EWO with the responsibility for making appropriate enquiries regarding the educational circumstances of the child (or children).

9

10 Appendix B2 NOTIFICATION TO THE CHILDREN MISSING EDUCATION LEAD TO REPORT SAFEGUARDING CONCERNS (Please also undertake MASH enquiry as required) Please note: This form is only to be completed by schools that use SIMS to share information with the LA when there are safeguarding concerns. (Notification of removal from school roll can be undertaken by completing the destination field of the student profile on SIMS) Child s Name Date of Birth Address of child Parent or carer s name Telephone contact details Name of school Your name Telephone number Name of school / area to which pupil has moved Date of move We will follow this up. Is there any other information that you can give us that will help us do this? For example - Known family links in other areas - Are they a Forces family? - Previous addresses / areas lived in - Contact numbers of other family members Please return this form to Children Missing Education Lead. emma.hitchins@babcockinternational.com Address: Babcock LDP, 2 nd Floor, Milford House, Pynes Hill, Exeter EX2 5GF

11 Making an enquiry to Mash For consultation and enquiries contact: Telephone: Fax: Referral Form available at: Post: Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub, P.O. Box 723, Exeter EX1 9QS Emergency Duty Team out of hours Police non emergency 101

12 Children missing education Statutory guidance for local authorities November 2013

13 Contents Summary 3 About this guidance 3 Expiry or review date 3 What legislation does this guidance refer to? 3 Who is this guidance for? 3 Introduction - overview 4 Parents responsibilities 4 Schools duties 5 Local authorities related duties and powers 6 Children at particular risk of missing education: 6 Working with others 8 Further sources of information 9 Associated resources (external links) 9 Other departmental advice and guidance you may be interested in 9 Related legislation 9 2

14 Summary About this guidance This statutory guidance sets key principles to enable local authorities in England to implement their legal duty to identify, as far as it is possible to do so, children missing education (CME) and get them back into education. Local authorities should be able to demonstrate that they have considered this statutory guidance and, where it is not followed, have reasonable grounds for deciding not to follow it. This advice is not exhaustive and local authorities judgements will need to take account of the circumstances of individual cases. This guidance replaces the 2009 version. Expiry or review date This guidance will next be reviewed in December What legislation does this guidance refer to? Section 436A of the Education Act 1996 (added by section 4 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006). Other related legislation is cited at the back of this document. Who is this guidance for? This guidance is for: Local authorities This guidance could be used as a non-statutory advice by: All school leaders, school staff and governing bodies in all maintained schools and academies, Youth Offending Teams, independent schools, health professionals and the police. 3

15 Introduction - overview All children, regardless of their circumstances, are entitled to a full time education which is suitable to their age, ability, aptitude and any special educational needs they may have. Children missing education (CME) are at significant risk of underachieving, being victims of abuse, and becoming NEET (not in education, employment or training) later on in life. Local authorities should have robust procedures and policies in place to enable them to meet their duty in relation to these children, including appointing a named person that schools and other agencies can make referrals. Local authorities should undertake regular reviews and evaluate their processes to ensure that these continue to be fit for purpose in identifying and dealing with CMEs in their area. The purpose of the section 436A of the Education Act 1996 is to ensure that local authorities arrangements enables them to establish the identities of children in their area who are not registered pupils at a school, and are not receiving suitable education otherwise than at a school. The LA should consult the parents of the child when establishing whether the child is receiving suitable education. Local authorities should have procedures in place to prevent children at risk of becoming CME. Those children identified as not receiving suitable 1 education should be returned to full time education either at a school or in alternative provision. This duty only relates to children of compulsory school age 2. From June 2013, Ofsted has been implementing a new joint inspection for multi-agency arrangements for the protection of children 3 which will include CMEs. Parents responsibilities Parents have a duty 4 to ensure that their children of compulsory school age are receiving efficient full-time education. Some parents may elect to educate their children at home 5 and may withdraw them from school at any time to do so, unless they are subject to a 1 Suitable education means efficient full-time education suitable to the child s age, ability and aptitude and to any special educational needs the child may have 2 A child reaches compulsory school age on or after their fifth birthday. If they turn 5 between 1 January and 31 March they are of compulsory school age on 31 March; if they turn 5 between 1 April and 31 August they are of compulsory school age on 31 August. If they turn 5 between 1 September and 31 December, then they are of compulsory school age on 31 December. A child continues to be of compulsory school age until the last Friday of June in the school year that they reach sixteen. 3 See the Ofsted website. 4 Section 7 of the Education Act Elective Home Education advice: 4

16 School Attendance Order. Where a parent notifies the school in writing of their intention to home educate, the school must delete the child from its admission register and then inform the local authority. Children with special educational needs statements 6 can be home educated. Where the statement sets out special educational provision that the child should receive at home, the local authority is under a duty to arrange that provision. Where the statement names a school as the place where the child should receive his or her education but the parent chooses to home educate their child, the local authority must assure itself that the provision being made by the parent is suitable to the child s special educational needs. In such case the local authority must review the statement annually. Schools duties Schools, including Academies and Free Schools, must monitor pupils attendance through their daily register. Schools should agree with their local authority the intervals in which they will inform local authorities of the details of pupils who are regularly absent from school or have missed 10 school days or more without permission. Schools must also notify the authority if a pupil is to be deleted from the admission register in certain circumstances 7. Pupils who remain on a school roll are not necessarily missing education but schools should monitor attendance and address it when it is poor. It is also important that pupils irregular attendance is referred to the authority. Schools also have safeguarding duties under section 175 of the Education Act 2002 in respect of their pupils, and as part of this should investigate any unexplained absences. Academies and independent schools have a similar safeguarding duty for their pupils 8. Schools must also arrange full-time education for excluded pupils from the sixth school day of a fixed period exclusion. This information can be found in the school attendance and exclusions advice. 6 Special Education Needs : Code of Practice 7 Regulation 12(3) Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations Part 3 of Schedule 1 to the Independent School Standards (England) Regulations 2010 (SI 2010/1997) 5

17 Local authorities related duties and powers Local authorities can use other duties and powers to support their work on CME. These include: Providing suitable full-time 9 education to permanently excluded pupils from the sixth school day of exclusion; Safeguarding children s welfare, and their duty to cooperate with other agencies in ensuring children s safety Serving notice on parents requiring them to satisfy the LA that there child is receiving suitable education when it comes to the local authority s attention that a child might not be receiving such education. 10 Issuing School Attendance Orders (SAOs) on parents who fail to satisfy the local authority that their child is receiving suitable education, and in the opinion of the authority it is appropriate that the child should attend school 11. Prosecuting parents that do not comply with an SAO 12 ; Prosecuting or fining parents who fail to ensure their school-registered child attends school regularly 13 ; Applying to court for an Education Supervision Order 14 for a child 15. Children at particular risk of missing education: There are many circumstances where a child may become missing from education so it is vital that local authorities make judgement on a case by case basis. The list (is not exhaustive) below presents some of the circumstances that local authorities should consider when establishing their CME practices and policies: 1. Pupils at risk of harm/neglect - Children may be missing from education because they are suffering from abuse or neglect. Where this is suspected schools should follow local child protection procedures. Local authority officers responsible for CME should check that a referral has been made and, if not, they should alert 9 The Education (Provision of Full-Time Education for Excluded Pupils) (England) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/1870) 10 Section 437(1) of the Education Act Section 437 (3)of the Education Act Section 443 of the Education Act Prosecution powers under section 444 of the Education Act 1996 and penalty notices under section 444A (as amended by section 23 of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003) 14 Section 447 of the Education Act Section 47 of the Children Act

18 children s social care. If there is reason to suspect that a crime has been committed or the child s safety is at risk, the police should also be involved. The Department s statutory guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children (2013) is available on the Department s website Children of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) Families Research 17 has shown that many children from these families can become disengaged from education, particularly during the secondary school phase. It is therefore vital that schools inform the LA when a GRT pupil leaves the school without identifying a new destination school, particularly in the transition from primary to secondary so that they can attempt to facilitate continuity of the child s education. Although many are settled, some GRT families move regularly and their children can be at increased risk of missing education. Local authority Traveller Education Support Services (TESS), where these exist, or named CME officer within the LA, can advise schools on the best strategies for ensuring the minimum disruption to GRT pupils education, for example dual registration with other schools or the provision of electronic or distance learning packages where these are available. 3. Families of Armed Forces - Families of members of the Armed Forces are likely to move frequently both in UK and overseas and often at short notice. Schools and local authorities should contact the MOD Children s Education Advisory Service (CEAS) on for advice on making arrangements to ensure continuity of education for those children when the family moves. 4. Missing children/runaways 18 - Children who go missing or run away from home or care may be in serious danger and are vulnerable to crime, sexual exploitation or abduction as well as missing education. Further sources of information about missing children are listed at the back of this document. 5. Children and young people supervised by the Youth Justice System - Children who have offended or are at risk of doing so are also at risk of disengaging from education. Local authority Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) are responsible for supervising those young people (aged 8 to 18). YOTs should work 16 Working together to safeguard children 17 Wilkins, A et al ( 2010)Improving the outcomes for Gypsy, Roma and Traveler pupils: final report DFE- RR043 pp See guidance. 7

19 with the local authority CME officer to ensure that children are receiving, or return to, appropriate full-time education. Where a young person was registered at a school prior to custody, the school may keep the place open for their return Children who cease to attend a school there are many reasons why a child stops attending a school. It could be because the parent chooses to home educate their child. However, where the reason for a child who has stopped attending a school in not known, the local authority must investigate the case and ensure the child is receiving suitable education. Working with others Families moving between local authority areas can sometimes lead to a child becoming lost in the system and consequently missing education. Where a child has moved, local authorities should check with other local authorities either regionally or nationally and share information in order to ascertain where a child has moved. Once the location of the child is established, the relevant local authority must ensure that the child is receiving an education either by attending a school or otherwise. Local authorities should regularly raise awareness of their procedures with local schools, partners and agencies working with children and families, for example, GPs and other health professionals, Primary Care Trusts, police, housing agencies, emergency services, children s homes, voluntary groups for youth and Youth Offending Teams. It may also be helpful for local authorities to have local contacts with the Department for Works and Pensions, the UK Border Agency and HMRC to assist them in tracing those children known to be missing education. We provide a secure internet system school2school 20 to allow schools to transfer pupil information to another school when the child moves 21. If the departure school agrees, the local authority may do this on the school s behalf. 19 See regulation 8(1)(i) and 12(3) of The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations School to School (s2s) advice 21 In line with The Education (Pupil Information) (England) Regulations

20 Further sources of information Associated resources (external links) Child abduction International child abduction Forced marriages (FCO) HM Customs and Revenue Home Office Local Safeguarding Children Boards Missing Children/People UK Border Agency Other departmental advice and guidance you may be interested in Behaviour and attendance (including exclusions, bullying and alternative provision) Child sexual exploitation Child trafficking School Admissions Code Elective Home Education guidelines Young runaways Related legislation School Attendance: Education Act 1996 (section 7, 8, 14 & 19) Education Act 2002 (section 21) Education and Inspections Act 2006 (section 4 & 38) The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 Child protection: Children Act 1989 (section 17 & 47) Children Act 2004 (section 10, 11, 12 & 17) Education Act 2002 (section 175) 9

21 Crown copyright 2013 You may re-use this document/publication (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence v2.0. To view this licence, visit or Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned. Any enquiries regarding this publication should be sent to us at: This document is available for download at Reference: DFE

22 Day 1 Appendix D: Children Missing Education Flowchart School Process Pupil missing from School (not truancy) Pupil fails to attend school Investigation of absence by the school in line with published attendance procedures, e.g. parent first day contact with enquiries extending to emergency contact numbers, friends, etc. If the pupil cannot be located, absence is recorded as unauthorised and the case referred to the EMS Data Team. This should not exceed 10 days. Pupil disappears suddenly from school and the school believe child could be at risk of significant harm. School should immediately refer to MASH and/or the police where appropriate. EMS Data Team should be informed. This does not replace safeguarding procedures for reporting of Child Protection concerns, which must be observed at all times. Day 10 School to inform EMS Data Team by either completing destination field in EMS/ONE & CME Safeguarding form (only if there are safeguarding concerns) or the CME Referral form (Independent schools and schools using SERCO) Forms available at: Action by CME Team which may involve work with School EWO if appropriate Pupil located Pupil not located Day 20+ Pupil on Devon school roll, (including dual registration) and there are attendance issues. Investigate in accordance with Education Act 1996 Section by EWO. Establish start date and notify previous school when the child can be removed from roll Legal action initiated if appropriate. Pupil located and receiving education other than at school i.e. Elective Home Education. Original school notified and pupil removed from roll. Elective Home Education Service informed. EHE Safeguarding form completed. Case closed to CME Pupil moved to another local authority, school to upload a Common Transfer File (CTF) on to national s2s database. EWS agrees the removal of the pupil from roll. CME team liaise with other local authority. Case remains open to CME team pending confirmation of school place in new locality. If pupil is not found after 20 school days and there are concerns about the risk of significant harm CME Team to alert MASH and police. School to upload CTF on to national s2s database. EWS agrees to removal of pupil from school roll. Case remains open on CME register pending regular check of national database or notification from another authority confirms pupil has been located.

23 Children Missing from Education (CME) Sources of Referral and CME Process Devon County Council Services, Statutory and Voluntary agencies, Police, Health, Schools, Education providers, members of the public and other local authorities. Refer to Devon Children Missing Education Team and/or EMS Data Team Referral details recorded on EMS Child moved out of county Where destination is known, CME team in that LA is alerted. Confirmed on a school roll No further action required case closed If the child is subject to a CIN, CP plan or there are other child protection concerns, contact allocated social worker or refer to MASH. Child moved out of County Destination not known CME Team to Contact parent/carer Give suitable advice and guidance regarding school admission or parent confirms intention to Electively Home Educate Case closed to CME. Child found in Devon but not on a school roll CME team to investigate and make agency checks as appropriate Parents/carers located in Devon but fail to engage School Attendance Order (SAO) process commenced - Education Act 1996 Section 437. Case remains open to CME Team until child registers at school or intent to EHE Child not found Parents/carers cannot be located at given address and all enquiries exhausted. Case remains open to CME team for regular local and national database checks.

24 Appendix E For consultation and all enquiries please contact: Telephone: mashsecure@devon.gcsx.gov.uk Fax: Referral Form available at: Post: Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub, P.O. Box 723, Exeter EX1 9QS Emergency Duty Team out of hours Police non emergency 101

25 Truancy - Guidance for schools What is Truancy? Truancy is a term that is often used to describe a situation when a pupil is missing from school without the proper authorisation. It has been known for some parents to condone the truancy of their child. All cases of known truancy will be recorded by the school as unauthorised absence. By law, all children who are registered at school must attend regularly. Elective Home- Educated children do not have to attend school. Truancy is not normally something that should be dealt with as a missing person investigation; reporting all such cases would put an impossible burden on the Police Service. Consideration should be given to the circumstances to determine if there are any indications that such an investigation is warranted. Police definitions: Missing Anyone whose whereabouts cannot be established and where the circumstances are out of character or the context suggests the person may be subject of crime or at risk of harm to themselves or another. Absent A person not at a place where they are expected or required to be. The absent category should comprise cases in which people are not presently where they are supposed to be and there is no apparent risk. Absent cases should not be ignored, and must be monitored over periods of time with consideration given to escalating to missing if there is a change to the circumstances that has increased the level of risk. The following set of questions can be used to help risk assess whether the person is missing or absent: 1. What is the specific concern in this instance? 2. What has been done so far to trace this individual? 3. Is this significantly out of character? 4. Are there any specific medical needs? 5. Are they likely to be subjected to crime? 6. Are they likely to be the victim of abuse? 7. Are they currently at risk of Sexual Exploitation? 8. Are they likely to attempt suicide? 9. Do they pose a danger to other people? 10. Is there any other information relevant to their absence? Note: This policy does not specifically cover incidents of abduction, which is a criminal offence and which should be reported immediately to the police. When this is suspected, a strategy meeting must be called immediately, to include legal representation, to decide whether an application should be made for a Recovery Order under Section 50 of the Children Act 1989.

26 Record incident Post registration Truancy Child believed to be in school but does not arrive at lesson. Teacher informs SLT/school office. Child runs out of school due to an altercation or emotional upset SLT/school office establishes if the child is still on the school site but just not where they should be or within the immediate vicinity. Talk to their friends and check all known bolt holes Staff follow child, locate and return to school Staff follow but cannot locate child Child not located Child located in school. Advise child of safety issues and apply school sanctions if appropriate Record incident Inform parents and arrange support or intervention if there are issues that need resolving. Record incident Risk Assess: Age, Family, History of truancy, other concerns, Vulnerability e.g. CiC, at risk of CSE, substance misuse or mental health concerns, is this incident out of character? At risk of immediate significant harm or danger Inform parents and Police 999 giving as many details as possible Record incident Not at risk of immediate significant harm but immediate welfare concerns Inform parents and Police 101 as appropriate, giving as many details as possible Not at risk Inform parents and arrange support or intervention if there are issues that need resolving. Implement school sanctions Record Incident What should you do if a child fails to register? Follow School Attendance Policy & conduct an initial risk assessment Ensure all reasonable steps have been taken to ascertain child s whereabouts. If still concerned contact Police on 101