Schools failing 'missing pupils'

Ofsted says 10,000 children are "missing"

Vulnerable children suspended or expelled from schools are let down by an education system that allows them to go "missing", say inspectors.

A report on provision for such "out of school" children in England says schools and education authorities are failing to keep track of problem pupils.

Ofsted noted that 10,000 children were thought to be "missing" from education.

It said: "Too many children are in danger of being lost to the system, becoming disaffected and underachieving."

'Disturbing'

Ofsted said the overall provision for young people out of school, their low attainment, the targeting and monitoring of provision, and the tracking of their progress were "unsatisfactory".

It added: "Disturbingly, the lack of robust systems and support are doubly disadvantaging the very children and young people who are most in need."

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Between September 2003 and April 2004 the inspectorate visited 21 of England's 150 local education authorities (LEAs).

Ten of them participated in a detailed survey - a cross-section of rural and urban, small and large, advantaged and less advantaged areas.

The inspectors said they found "clear evidence that the most vulnerable children and young people are not benefiting from the best that might be offered".

Referral units

Four of the LEAs were not fully complying with the requirement that out-of-school children should have a full school week - some attending "for very few hours".

One in 10 of the children stopped in truancy sweeps claimed to have been expelled from school - but often this claim was not followed up.

Pupils who were being educated in referral units (PRUs) were "articulate and balanced" in their views of their previous experiences.

Most said they were happy in the units and saw staff as supportive - academically, emotionally and socially.

Before 1997 excluded children literally roamed the streets Schools minister, Stephen Twigg

Ofsted's report has recommended better sharing of information and planning, clearer accountability and targeting, and better evaluation and dissemination of good practice.

In response, the Department for Education and Skills said it shared the concerns and said the number of PRUs had been expanded from 309 to 452 since 1997.

Schools minister Stephen Twigg said: "Before 1997 excluded children literally roamed the streets, drifting into crime and anti-social behaviour.

"As Ofsted reports, there is excellent practice in some local education authorities.

"Our challenge now is to help all of them to improve the quality of provision for excluded pupils and to identify children who may be missing from school rolls. We will achieve this through a sustained strategy of prevention, quality assurance and tracking."

New register

The government is putting in £7m over three years to continue the Skill Force programme.

Sponsored by the education department and the Ministry of Defence, this uses former service personnel and others to offer teenagers team building and problem solving activities, including Duke of Edinburgh's Award projects.

A new register is being compiled so authorities can compare a list of all children of compulsory education age with their school rolls, to identify those who may be missing education.

'Give heads final say'

But the Conservatives said the Ofsted report painted "a damning picture of the failure to monitor, protect or even find children out of school".

Shadow education secretary Tim Collins said: "What is necessary is to provide head teachers with the absolute final say over exclusions, and to expand massively the provision of tough but high quality alternative schooling for those who are expelled."

Liberal Demoract spokesman Phil Willis said: "Children misbehave and play truant when they can't cope and aren't engaged in learning."

Simply "losing kids through the cracks" was a recipe for disaster.

"We need a 'managed transfer' system which keeps students outside regular schooling for the shortest possible time and doesn't alienate them from their communities."

Advocates of home education say many of those said to be "missing" from the system are simply being educated by their parents, as the law allows.

There is currently no requirement for them to be known to education authorities if they have never attended a school.