Thousands of children missing from full-time schooling

Ofsted survey of pupils in England finds several local authorities are failing to meet statutory obligations

As many as 10,000 school-aged children in England may be "invisible" and missing out on full-time education, according to a survey by Ofsted that found many local authorities unable to track vulnerable children for whom they were responsible.

The survey found several local authorities were failing to meet statutory obligations to ensure that all children and young people in their area were receiving suitable education, including those excluded or with mental or physical disabilities.

Sir Michael Wilshaw, the head of the education standards regulator and the chief inspector of schools, said: "If no one in authority knows what education these children and young people receive each week, or whether they even attend, they not only miss out on education but can be vulnerable to abuse."

Wilshaw said it was unacceptable that four of the 15 local authorities interviewed by Ofsted were unable to tell inspectors how much education children and young people in their area were receiving or attending – even when given an opportunity to find the data.

"They did not have robust systems for tracking individuals for whom they are responsible and their aspiration for these children was low," Wilshaw said.

Of the 15 local authorities surveyed, only a third had detailed information about how and why many school-aged children were missing from fulltime education.

Sarah Lambert, head of policy at the National Autistic Society, said the report's findings were sobering. "Some parents of children with autism feel that they have no choice but to educate their child at home because no suitable provision is available, or because they feel the provision that is available is harming their child," Lambert said.

"Sadly, when parents take their child out of the school system they often find that their local authority refuses to provide any further educational support to educate their child."

The survey focused on children who had left full-time school, including those excluded, had become pregnant, or had physical, mental or other special education needs. It included children returning from a custodial sentence, those who had moved between local authorities as well as those from a Traveller, Gypsy or Roma background.

In the case of pupils permanently excluded, Ofsted inspectors found some of the schools they visited were excluding pupils without following formal procedures. "This disregard for procedures and legal requirements puts the child at risk of not being safe," the report noted.

The report recommended that all local authorities keep central records of children outside of full-time education, and appoint a named person to take responsibility.

Bron: The Guardian, 19 november 2013

Mening: Ik vind het enorm verontrustend dat er zoveel kinderen geen goede, voltijdse opleiding kunnen genieten. Zoals in het artikel te lezen valt houden sommige ouders hun kinderen met een beperking (lichamelijk, geestelijk of andere) bijvoorbeeld thuis omdat de scholen niet voorzien zijn op deze beperkingen. De leerlingen krijgen dus onvoldoende ondersteuning. De gemeentediensten zijn hiervan niet of onvoldoende op de hoogte waardoor ze geen accurate informatie kunnen geven over het aantal leerlingen dat werkelijk elke dag achter de schoolbanken zit.

Indien de gemeentediensten hier meer bij betrokken geraken zouden ze het aantal leerlingen dat geen voltijds onderwijs geniet kunnen beperken en een poging kunnen ondernemen om meer in de behoeften van de leerlingen te voorzien.