Children under compulsory school age and CME
Dear Department for Education,
I am aware from a recent FOI https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/e.... that;
'Children who are eligible for admission to Reception but have not yet reached compulsory school age are recorded and monitored by the Children Missing Education Panel. These children are not counted in CME statistics until they reach compulsory school age as they are not required to attend school at this time.'
Would you provide me with the specific piece of legislation that requires children under compulsory school age (CSA) to be;
i) Recorded and monitored by the 'Children Missing Education Panel.'
ii) Counted in Children Missing Education (CME) statistics when they reach compulsory school age.
Please list and quote the relevant paragraphs from the relevant statutes.
If Local Authorities do have a responsibility to record and monitor children under CSA and to add them to CME satatistics when they reach CSA, would you also provide copies of any communications between the DfE and Local Authorities, since January 2016, advising them of this.
Would you also provide any communications advising Local Authorities about their responsibilities to children under CSA in regards to the 2016 amendments to Pupil Registration Regulations 2006.
I would appreciate you advising me of the correct process for children under CSA and for when they do reach CSA. Also, what would be meant by 'counted in CME statistics' as CME guidance states that LAs 'should consult the parents of the child when establishing whether the child is receiving suitable education,' which should mean a child is not considered to be CME until the facts have been established?
Yours faithfully,
Jane Pointon
Thank you for contacting the Department for Education. We can confirm that
we have received the Freedom of Information request you submitted.
We will respond to you within 20 working days.
Dear Jane Pointon
Thank you for your recent enquiry. A reply will be sent to you as soon as possible. For information; the departmental standard for correspondence received is that responses should be sent within 20 working days as you are requesting information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Your correspondence has been allocated reference number 2017-0058251.
Thank you
Department for Education
Ministerial and Public Communications Division
Tel: 0370 000 2288
Dear Ms Pointon
Thank you for your request for information, which was received on 9
December 2017. You requested that the Department provide you with the
following information:
· The specific piece of legislation that requires children under
compulsory school age (CSA) to be recorded and monitored by the ‘Children
Missing Education Panel’
· Counted in Children Missing Education (CME) statistics when they
reach compulsory school age
· A request to list and quote the relevant paragraphs from the
relevant statutes
· If local authorities have a responsibility to record and monitor
children under compulsory school age and to add them to CME statistics
when they reach compulsory school age, provide any communications between
the Department for Education (DfE) and local authorities, since January
2016, advising them of this
· Any communications advising local authorities about their
responsibilities to children under CSA in regards to the 2016 amendments
to Pupil Registration Regulations 2006.
· The correct process for children under CSA and for when they
reach CSA.
· What is meant by ‘counted in CME statistics’ as CME guidance
states that local authorities ‘should consult the parents of the children
when establishing whether the child is receiving suitable education,’
which should mean a child is not considered to be CME until the facts have
been established?
I have dealt with your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000
(“the Act”).
The statutory guidance for local authorities on Children Missing Education
was published by the Department for Education in September 2016.
[1]https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...
In addition, the Department for Education published the Education (Pupil
Registration) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2016 which includes:
· A requirement that schools inform the relevant local authority
when they delete a pupil’s name from the admission register under all
circumstances, in order to allow effective sharing of information between
parents, schools and local authorities. This is critical to ensure that
children are safe and receiving suitable education.
· A requirement that schools inform the local authority on the
destination of the pupil where it is apparent they are moving schools, in
order to ensure that local authorities can carry out crucial enquiries as
to the whereabouts of children who are off-rolled from school registers
more effectively so that they can satisfy themselves the child is safe and
receiving suitable education.
If you have any queries about this letter, please contact me at
[email address]. Please remember to quote the reference
number 2017- 0058251 in any future communications. If you are unhappy with
the way your request has been handled, you should make a complaint to the
Department by writing to me within two calendar months of the date of this
letter. Your complaint will be considered by an independent review panel,
which were not involved in the original consideration of your request.
If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint to the
Department, you may then contact the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Yours sincerely
Elaine Ganner
Alternative Provision and Attendance Unit
Web: [2]https://www.education.gov.uk
Twitter: [3]https://www.twitter.com/educationgovuk
Facebook: [4]https://www.facebook.com/educationgovuk
References
Visible links
1. https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...
2. https://www.education.gov.uk/
3. https://www.twitter.com/educationgovuk
4. https://www.facebook.com/educationgovuk
Dear ACCOUNT, Unmonitored,
You state;
‘A requirement that schools inform the relevant local authority
when they delete a pupil’s name from the admission register under *all
circumstances, in order to allow effective sharing of information between
parents, schools and local authorities. This is critical to ensure that
children are safe and receiving suitable education.’
I understand that the above is incorrect for children under compulsory school age (CSA), and that the DfE has not provided me with the correct information in response to this request.
The duty to notify an LA of a deletion from the register of a child under compulsory school age does not apply as it is 8 (3) (d) that gives grounds to remove a child of below CSA from the register. It does not require anything more as 12 (1) (returns) only applies to pupils of CSA:
‘12.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the proprietor of every school shall make to the local education authority, at such intervals as may be agreed between the proprietor and the local education authority, or as may be determined by the Secretary of State in default of agreement, a return giving the full name and address of every registered pupil of compulsory school age who—‘
Please respond in full to my request for information as regards children under compulsory school age.
I am concerned that, if Local Authorities are being advised by the DfE to refer to Children Missing Education guidance in regards to children under CSA, as has happened here, the DfE has caused LAs to commit a breach of the Data Protection Act. If this is the case, I would like to know how the DfE intends to remedy this situation.
Yours sincerely,
Jane Pointon
Thank you for contacting the Department for Education. We can confirm that
we have received the Freedom of Information request you submitted.
We will respond to you within 20 working days.
Dear Ms Pointon
Thank you for your enquiry with regard to children missing education,
specifically in relation to children of non-compulsory school age.
In September 2016, we strengthened the law about what information schools
(including independent schools and academies) must share with their local
authority when a pupil is taken off the school roll. We also updated
statutory guidance for local authorities on children missing education, to
reinforce the roles and responsibilities of schools and local authorities
when it comes to working together to prevent children missing education.
Schools are required to inform the relevant local authority when they
delete a pupil’s name from the admission register under all circumstances.
Schools are also required to obtain information from parents when a child
leaves a school. Schools must share this with local authorities, who are
required to keep a record. This should include the destination of the
pupil where it is apparent they are moving schools. This is to enable
local authorities to carry out crucial enquiries as to the whereabouts of
children who are deleted from school registers more effectively, so that
they can satisfy themselves the child is safe and receiving suitable
education.
All schools are under an automatic duty to provide information to their
local authority for non-standard transitions. A non-standard transition is
at the point where pupils are removed from the admission register before
completing the final year of education normally provided by the school. It
also relates to pupils that are added to the admission register after the
start of the first year of education normally provided by the school.
Schools are only under a duty to provide information to their local
authority for standard transitions if the local authority requests that
schools make such returns.
Where primary, infant or first schools have nursery classes, the nursery
class is considered the first year of education normally provided by that
school, in respect of the regulations. Therefore, any child that is
registered in the school’s nursery class at the start of the school year
would be joining at a standard transition point. As such, the school would
not be under an automatic duty to notify their local authority about this
addition to the admission register, unless the local authority has
requested that such information be provided. However, if a child joins the
nursery after the start of the nursery class (including joining the school
at reception), then this is a non-standard transition, and the school
would be under an automatic duty to notify their local authority within
five days of this addition to the admission register.
A pupil that completes the nursery class but does not transitioned into
reception in that school can be deleted under regulation 8(1)(n) of the
Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 as amended. The
school must notify their local authority, as it is a deletion at a
non-standard transition point. They must make reasonable enquiries
together to ensure the whereabouts of the pupil are known.
Recording information about children joining or leaving a school who are
under compulsory school age enables local authorities to track a child’s
progress at an earlier point in time. If they are captured on the school
admissions register, it minimises the risk of losing children from the
system when they become of compulsory school age. Local authorities can
therefore carry out their duties effectively in identifying children who
are not receiving education.
I hope you have found this information helpful.
Your correspondence has been allocated reference number 2018-0002982. If
you need to respond to us, please visit:
[1]https://www.education.gov.uk/contactus and quote your reference number.
Yours sincerely
Elaine Ganner
Web: [2]https://www.education.gov.uk
Twitter: [3]https://www.twitter.com/educationgovuk
Facebook: [4]https://www.facebook.com/educationgovuk
References
Visible links
1. https://www.education.gov.uk/contactus
2. https://www.education.gov.uk/
3. https://www.twitter.com/educationgovuk
4. https://www.facebook.com/educationgovuk
We work to defend the right to FOI for everyone
Help us protect your right to hold public authorities to account. Donate and support our work.
Donate Now
Fiona Nicholson left an annotation ()
I am puzzled by DfE's response.
The guidance does not have a blanket prescription for non-standard transition points but only non-standard transition set out in regulation.
CME guidance says "Schools must notify the local authority when a pupil’s name is to be removed from the admission register at a non-standard transition point under any of the fifteen grounds set out in the regulations."
The footnote for regulations refers the reader to the Pupil Registration Regulations 2006 (as amended)
The Pupil Registration Regulations refer to a pupil who has reached compulsory school age.