Are you concerned about a child who is in school?

MISSING CHILDREN

Children who are in school could be missing out on vital educational and social opportunities and experiences. Some of them may be at risk of harm or be in situations which are unsafe. AHEd are keen for you to tell us about these children so that we can make sure that they are aware that school is not compulsory.

What do we mean by Children Mired in School (CMS)?

All children of compulsory school age (5-16 years) who are on a school roll, not being educated otherwise (e.g. at home, privately, or in alternative provision) and who have been out of appropriate free educational provision for a substantial period of time (usual agreed as twenty weeks or more per year).

 

 

Why do children get mired in school?

There are a number of reasons, including:

• They start school at an inappropriate time and so they do not enter into education naturally;
• They are enrolled by their parents due to problems at home, disinterested parents or poor understanding of education rights.
• They start to attend, due to poverty, propaganda or bullying
• They fail to find a suitable EHE group after moving to a new area
• Problems at home

What to do if you are concerned

 

If you are aware of children who are in school then please contact their families. You can do this either by phone, letter or using their e-mail address. You could even try talking to them, to find whether they are really going to school and not just dressing up every morning.

Please also talk to them if you have any concerns about children who have arrived in your area or neighbourhood.

If the family members include responsible adults, we could all speak to them, after all, we're all grown ups here.

What will happen when I report a concern?

 

Since we're not a government agency, we will not exceed our legal powers and doorstep families who, possibly through no fault of their own, find they have sent their children to school.

You could give them our address if they want to chat though.

Who should be notified of Children Mired in School?

 

All Local Authorities now have a designated person responsible for keeping children mired in school and for getting our kids there too.

Treat these people as you would treat the Child Catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang!

Mostly, we just shrug and say "Well, if they want to ruin their kid's lives..."

"Are you concerned about a child who is in school" by

Peter Darby is licensed under a

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales License.

Based on a work at

pete-darby.livejournal.com.

*CME – Children Missing Education

*http://www.northyorks.gov.uk/files/NYCC/Education%20and%20learning/CONCERNED.pdf

For more see: truancy links