26th September 2024 • My Family Our Needs

An analysis from the Children’s Commissioner, Dame Rachel De Souza, states that 2,900 children are not enrolled at a school or being suitably educated elsewhere. Of these 2,900 children, 22% are reportedly children with SEND.

This is disproportionally high when compared to the 16% of children in state education that are SEND students.

Dame Rachel de Souza said that the number one priority schools are concerned with is attendance and ensuring children can attend school. The Department for Education stated that too many children are falling through the cracks of the education system.

For the 12-month period between the spring terms of 2022 and 2023, data from the Children’s Commissioner’s office suggests that 11,600 children were missing from education at some point during that period. It is suggested that most of these children had worked their way back into education within that 12-month period. However, 2,900 were still missing; they were not registered at any school or known to be homeschooled or in another educational establishment.

These 2,900 children are different to those who persistently miss school. Whilst this group of children may miss at least 10% of school time, they are registered to an educational establishment or homeschooled, unlike the 2,900 ‘missing’ children.

It has been suggested by many in the educational system that this is the fallout of underfunding. According to a BBC Radio 5 Live survey, 28% of schoolteachers across the sector said SEND funding was their top priority. This figure rose to 44% among primary school teachers.

This has led to many parents removing their SEND children from formal education, with unmet conditions of EHCPs also playing a part. The data from the Children’s Commissioner states that 13,100 children between the spring term of 2022 and 2023 had left mainstream education to be taught at home. It also states that nearly one in three of these children have SEND.

A Department of Education have acknowledged the impact of the report and says that they are urging the Government to bring in a new law so that councils have to produce and maintain a register of children not in school to ensure that fewer go unrecognised.

In other news, Think Local Act Personal (TLAP) is launching an innovative project to understand and improve the transition process for young people moving from children’s social care to adult social care in England and wants to hear from YOU.