Children Missing From Education
We are committed to ensuring that we are aware of all children who are missing from education, as potentially their safety and welfare may also be at risk. This page gives more information about our work and explains how you can help us to track these children.
Who are Children Missing Education (CME)?
Children of compulsory school age (5-16) who are:
- not on a school roll;
- not being educated other than at school e.g. home educated, privately or in alternative provision;
- identified as having been out of any educational provision for a substantial period of time (as agreed).
Why do children go missing from education?
There are a number of ways in which a child can fall out of educational provision and hence become missing. These include if a child:
- moves to Sheffield from another part of the UK or another country, and is unable to find a suitable school place
- fails to start appropriate provision and hence never enters the system;
- ceases to attend. This could be due to an exclusion, bullying, social and family difficulties, or withdrawal.
There are also a number of other more serious circumstances by which a child could go also missing from education, and as a result all children and young people who go missing from education in Sheffield are deemed to be at risk. A child missing from education could be a missing child.
Identifying Children Missing from Education
To limit the opportunity of children and young people becoming lost to the education system, Sheffield CYPS has established a ‘Children Missing from Education Team’ in order to:
- identify, monitor and locate all school aged children who are not on a school roll;
- act as a link with other statutory bodies and universal services to ensure that all children missing from education are promptly identified and re-engaged with educational provision;
- implement a range of systematic processes and procedures to locate potentially vulnerable children who leave the city with an unknown destination.
How can you help?
Statutory and voluntary agencies in Sheffield, schools, and members of the public, are asked to complete the CME notification form should they become aware of the arrival or existence of a child living in Sheffield but not in education. This will help to ensure that vulnerable children and young people in Sheffield do not ‘slip through the net’.
If you are a parent or carer of a child who is currently living in Sheffield and have not secured a school place please contact the team on the number below.
Who to contact
All local authorities now have a designated person responsible for receiving details of children found missing from education, and for brokering support for them through the most appropriate agencies. In Sheffield this person is :
Shaklil Zaman
Children Missing Education Team
Floor 3, Howden House
1 Union Street, Sheffield
S1 2SH
Children Missing from Education:
Tel: 0114 2736462
Fax: 0114 2735470
Exclusions:
0114 2735470
Fax: 0114 2735470
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