Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that all local authorities make arrangements to identify children missing education, including children of new migrant families.

Local Authorities have a duty under section 436A of the Education Act 1996 to identify children missing education in their area. This duty applies to all compulsory school age children, for example those who have recently moved to the local area, including children of new migrant families, who are not registered pupils at a school and are not receiving suitable education otherwise.

The Department has issued statutory guidance for Local Authorities, setting out key principles to enable them to implement this duty, which can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/550416/Children_Missing_Education_-_statutory_guidance.pdf. These principles include implementing robust policies and procedures, and putting in place arrangements for joint working and information sharing with other agencies, including those who interact with migrant families.

This duty should be viewed alongside a Local Authority’s wider safeguarding duties, including their duty under section 10 of the Children Act 2004, to cooperate with other agencies in improving children’s well-being, including protection from harm and neglect. The Department’s Working Together to Safeguard Children statutory guidance outlines what Local Authorities must and should do to keep children safe.

Ofsted is responsible for inspecting Local Authority children’s services to determine the effectiveness of services and arrangements to help and protect all children, including children missing education new to the area, and the experiences and progress of children in care. This includes unaccompanied child migrants and asylum seekers, but does not apply to migrant or asylum seeking children accompanied by a parent or adult with legal responsibility.