Guidance 2017
Children Missing from Education
Definition of CME
"All Children of compulsory school age who are not on a school roll, nor being educated otherwise
(e.g. at home, privately or in alternative provision) or who have been out of any educational
provision for a substantial period of time (usually agreed as four weeks or more) and whereabouts is
unknown."
This is NOT a persistent absence procedure - please refer to your school’s procedure for persistent
absence.
For further guidance please refer to:
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Locating Missing Pupils And The Removal Of Pupils From The School Roll -Quick reference
guide:
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https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/downloads/file/7081/locating_missing_pupils_and_the_r
emoval_of_pupils_from_the_school_roll_-_quick_reference_guide
Advice on school attendance: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/schoolattendance
Children Missing Education, Statutory guidance for local authorities, Department for
Education, November 2013. https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/education-andlearning/schools/children-missing-education
The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 – Deletions from the
admissions register. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2006/1751/regulation/8/made
PREVENT guidance https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/protecting-children-fromradicalisation-the-prevent-duty
CSE Risk assessment: https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/downloads/file/7078/cse_prechecklist
See Appendix C for links to other relevant websites
Acting to safeguard a child who is missing from an
educational establishment
School procedure if a child goes missing from education
If there are any safeguarding concerns or this child is known to social services a referral to
Herefordshire Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) should be made straight away – refer to
guidelines for reporting missing persons. http://hscb.herefordshire.gov.uk/
If any pupil in your school is absent for 10 consecutive school days (two weeks) and no reasonable
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explanation has been provided a referral should be made identifying them as a child missing from
education.
Schools are expected, within those 10 school days, to carry out:
WEEK 1
 A vulnerability assessment using the CME safeguarding Checklist:
https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/downloads/file/8107/cme_safeguarding_checklist
 Reasonable checks to ascertain the whereabouts of the child and/or their family. That
means that you should:
a. Check all listed contact and emergency contact numbers linked to the child
b. Check whether school records or staff members have any information regarding the
possible whereabouts of the child and follow up, where appropriate
c. Check with friends, siblings and relatives of the child attending your school
d. Check with any schools known to have siblings or relatives on their roll
e. Contact any other agencies known to be involved with the child or their family
WEEK 2
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Inform the parent/carer of the child in writing that you are concerned about their
unexplained absence from school and that a referral to CME may be required if no contact is
made.
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You are advised to conduct a home visit if any of the above has not successfully located the
child’s whereabouts.
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Submit the following documents to the CME officer at Herefordshire Council:
a. a completed referral form https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/cme
b. the registration certificate
c. Any other relevant documentation
Please note: a referral will not be accepted without all of the above documents.
This time scale should be treated as a maximum amount of time (10 school days) before a referral is
made.
If at any time during your investigations there is cause for concern, action should be taken sooner
and a referral to MASH submitted, or if there is information indicating that a child or their family
have moved from the area then contact the CME Officer.
Following a CME referral being made, schools should remain vigilant and contact the named CME
Officer should any further information come to light, including contact from another school or Local
Authority.*
* The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 – Deletions from the admissions register
Regulation 4 amends regulation 8(1)(f)(iii) and (h)(iii) of those Regulations to require the enquiries made by a school and
local authority to ascertain where a pupil is to be made jointly (Sept. 2016).
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Procedure following a CME referral
Once a CME referral has been received an officer will carry out further checks in order to establish
the whereabouts of the child and/or their family. These checks will be conducted within ten working
days. During this time, the missing pupil must remain on the school’s roll.
The CME Officer will advise the referrer, after 10 days of receipt of the referral, if the child can, or
cannot, be removed from the school roll. This will be followed by written confirmation to the Head
Teacher in the form of a letter.
When removing a child from roll, the school MUST comply with DfE Registration Regulations.
Please refer to The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006, regulation 8.h.
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2006/1751/regulation/8/made
A Common Transfer File (CTF) must also be uploaded to the Lost Pupil Database using the School 2
School (S2S) website1.
Checks to be conducted following a CME referral
The CME Officer will conduct a number of checks to establish the whereabouts and safety of a child.
These will include, but are not limited to:
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Herefordshire School Admissions Team
Social Care
Other local schools
Other Local Authorities (where applicable)
Third sector partners (e.g. housing associations, Women’s Aid, Health, where applicable)
The Police
When a child’s whereabouts is confirmed or discovered, appropriate measures will be taken to
ensure that they are safe and receiving appropriate educational provision.
If, however, we are not able to ascertain the whereabouts of a child missing from education, the
child’s details will be submitted to a national network for children missing from education (S2S) with
regular checks made or a referral will be made to the Herefordshire Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub
(MASH).
For details on these procedures, please refer to Appendices A and B.
1
All schools should have an account with the School2School website, which acts a means by which to securely transfer
pupil files (CTFs) between schools. You can login at: https://securedatatransfer.teachernet.gov.uk/sdtlive/asp/Login.asp
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Appendix A
Procedures – Whereabouts Known
Referral received
Information stored on CME database/Social care database
Checks conducted with Social Care and information recorded
Child is within the UK
Child is outside the UK
Child is in Herefordshire
Contact made with the
relevant county’s CME
Officer
Contact with known family
members attempted
Admissions & EHE checks
Are the child’s
whereabouts confirmed?
Are there any
safeguarding concerns?
Y
Y
Further checks:
 Telephone contact
 Home visit
 Neighbourhood check
 Agency checks & MAG
N
N
School notified of outcome
Details and concerns
shared with MASH and
Police Family Protection
Unit
Are the child’s
whereabouts confirmed?
Y
N
Case closed
School notified of outcome
Case closed
School informed and if not
accessing appropriate
provision referral made to
IYFA
Case closed
Jump to Whereabouts Unknown procedure
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Appendix B
Procedures – Whereabouts Unknown
Referral received
Information stored on database
Checks conducted with Social Care databases and information recorded
Has the referral come from within Herefordshire?
Y
N
Admissions & EHE checks
Admissions & EHE checks
Are the child’s
whereabouts confirmed?
Further checks:
 Telephone contact
 Home visit
 Neighbourhood checks
 Agency checks & MAG
Y
Is the child located?
Y
N
Is the child located within
Herefordshire?
Child’s details uploaded to
S2S website.
N
If not accessing
appropriate provision refer
to IYFA for placing
Case closed
Insert case note on Social
care database
Y
N
School notified of outcome
Jump to Whereabouts
Known procedure
Referred to CME of
relevant LA
Regular checks completed
by CME officer until Child
located or referral to
MASH
Return to referring
authority as no further
action possible
Case closed
School notified by letter.
Child taken off roll
Case closed
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Appendix C
Further sources of information
Associated resources (external links)
Child abduction
http://www.actionagainstabduction.org/
International child abduction
http://www.reunite.org/
Forced marriages (FCO)
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/forced-marriage
HM Customs and Revenue
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs
Home Office
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office
Working together to safeguard children:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children--2
Missing Children/People:
http://www.missingpeople.org.uk/
UK Border Agency
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-visas-and-immigration
Behaviour and attendance (including exclusions, bullying and alternative provision)
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/behaviour-and-discipline-in-schools
Child sexual exploitation
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/what-to-do-if-you-suspect-a-child-is-being-sexuallyexploited
Child trafficking
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/safeguarding-children-who-may-have-beentrafficked-practice-guidance
School Admissions Code
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-admissions-code--2
Elective Home Education guidelines
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/elective-home-education
Young runaways
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/children-who-run-away-or-go-missing-from-homeor-care
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Related legislation
School Attendance:
Education Act 2002 (section 21)
Education and Inspections Act 2006 (section 4 & 38)
The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006
Child protection:
Children Act 1989 (section 17 & 47)
Children Act 2004 (section 10, 11, 12 & 17)
Education Act 2002
Herefordshire CME Officer
Diane Woodbridge,
CME Referrals,
Nelson House
Whitecross Road
HR4 0DG
Contact Tel No. 01432 261831
Email: [email protected]
Secure email: [email protected]
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