Children Missing Education (CME) refers to ‘any child of compulsory school age who is not registered at any formally approved education activity, for example, school, alternative provision, or elective home education.

A child is considered missing education if all of the following apply:

• they are of compulsory school age
• they are not on a school roll
• they are not receiving a suitable education otherwise than being at school, for example, at home, privately, or in alternative provision

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
• 1 April and 31 August; they are of compulsory school age on 31 August
• 1 September and 31 December; 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.

CME also includes those children who are missing (family whereabouts unknown), and are usually children who are registered on a school roll or alternative provision.

This might be:

• A child who is not at their last known address

and either:

• has 10 or more days of continuous absence from school without explanation, or
• has not taken up an allocated school place as expected, or
• has left school suddenly and the destination is known or unknown, or
• is due to be deleted from a school’s roll according to the “20 day rule” (regulation 8 (l) (h) of the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006)

How to report Children Missing Education

The Local Authority identifies children who may be missing education by working with partners and other agencies. The LA:

• receives notification from an individual or agency of children who are missing education
• undertakes case work to ensure the parent of a child missing education is offered suitable full-time education

For more information or advice, please contact Sue Garner at 0203 045 4441 or susan.garner@bexley.gov.uk.

In every local authority area there are children and young people who do not, or cannot, attend full-time school education in the usual way. These children are on a school roll but are not attending school full time or are attending alternative provisions.

Since November 2013, Ofsted requires every LA to keep a centrally held register of all children who are missing out on education.

The London Borough of Bexley requests that every school in Bexley completes a termly data return to give details of the children on their school roll who are not receiving a full time education (25 hours a week), the reasons why and how these pupils are being tracked and monitored.

This might be:

• a child attending an alternative provision e.g. college, pupil referral unit part time or full time
• regular absence due to medical needs e.g. CAMHS appointments, chemotherapy, etc
• on a reintegration plan following school refusal, medical treatment or respite
• not attending school due to bail conditions
• a young person who is pregnant
• a child who is missing from home or care
• students from high mobility families e.g. Gypsy, Roma and Travellers (GRT)
• children of Families in the Armed Forces
• young Carers.
• a child whose attendance is below 85%

For more information or advice please contact Connie Kondia, Inclusion Officer, on 0203 045 4234 or email connie.kondia@bexley.gov.uk.