Herefordshire Council CME guidance

Guidance
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) and who have been out of any educational provision for a
substantial period of time (usually agreed as four weeks or more)"
Please refer to:
 Children Missing Education, Statutory guidance for local authorities, Department for Education,
November 2013.
 The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 – what schools can and cannot,
legally, do (see appendix F).
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.
If any pupil in your school is absent for 10 consecutive school days (two weeks) and no reasonable
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 reasonable checks to ascertain the
whereabouts of the child and/or their family. That means that you should:
WEEK 1
1. Check all listed contact and emergency contact numbers linked to the child
2. Check whether school records or staff members have any information regarding the possible
whereabouts of the child and follow up, where appropriate
3. Check with friends, siblings and relatives of the child attending your school
4. Check with any schools known to have siblings or relatives on their roll
5. Contact any other agencies, including Social Care, school nurse, etc. known to be involved with the
child or their family
WEEK 2
6. 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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7. You are advised to conduct a home visit if any of the above has not successfully located the child’s
whereabouts.
8. Submit the following documents to the CME officer at Herefordshire Council:
a. a completed referral form (appendix D)
b. a copy of the pre-referral checklist (appendix C)
c. the registration certificate
d. [deleted]
Please note: a referral will not be accepted without all of the above documents.
These forms can now be submitted on line
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.
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.
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.
Please refer to The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006, regulation 8.h (see appendix F)
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.
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:






Herefordshire School Admissions Team
Social Care
Other local schools
Other Local Authorities (where applicable)
Third sector partners (e.g. housing associations, Women’s Aid, where applicable)
The Police
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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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When a child’s whereabouts are 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 and 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.
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Appendix A
Procedures – Whereabouts Known
Referral received
Information stored on CME database/Framework i
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
Further checks:
 Telephone contact
 Home visit
 Neighbourhood checks
 Agency checks & MAG
Are the child’s
whereabouts confirmed?
Y
Is the child located?
Y
N
Is the child located within
Herefordshire?
Referral to MASH
Child’s details uploaded to
S2S website.
N
If not accessing
appropriate provision refer
to IYFA for placing
Case closed
Insert case note on
Frameworki
Y
N
School notified of outcome
Return to referring
authority as no further
action possible
Jump to Whereabouts
Known procedure
Referred to CME of
relevant LA
Regular checks completed
by CME officer until Child
located
Case closed
School notified by letter.
Child taken off roll
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Case closed
Appendix C
School Action Checklist
This can be found on the next page of this document
Note
The Pre-referral checklist MUST be completed as fully as possible, signed by the Head teacher or
designated member of the school’s staff and submitted with the CME Referral.
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CME Pre-Referral Checklist
Child’ name________________________ D.O.B _____________ Last day at School_____________
Is this child known to social services? Do you have any safeguarding concerns?
Referral made to MASH. YES/NO
Attempt contact with all listed contacts in the child’s records
Date
Person Contacted
Response
Check with school records and staff members for any information that may be of significance and
follow up, where appropriate.
Response
Check with the child/family’s known friends and relatives for any information that may be of
importance and follow up, where appropriate.
Response
Check with any other schools known to have siblings of the child on their roll for any information
that may be of importance and follow up, where appropriate.
Response
Contact any services or agencies you know to be involved with the family for any information that
may be of importance and follow up, where appropriate.
Response
Home visit conducted.
Response
Informed the parent that there are concerns regarding the whereabouts of the child or
family?
Signed ....................................................................
Date .....................................
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Please complete this form as fully as possible and include it with your referral
Appendix D
Children Missing from Education Referral Form
This can be found on the next page of this document
Note
This form should be completed as fully as possible. Where the number of siblings exceeds the space
provided on the form please append their information on an additional sheet.
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Children Missing Education Referral Form
Please complete as much of this form as you are able to before sending it by typing into the grey shaded boxes.
CHILD’S DETAILS
Given name:
Family name:
Date of birth:
Also known as:
UPN:
Ethnicity:
First language:
Gender:
Please tick:
Social Care
LAC
SEN
CAF
PARENT/CARER DETAILS (1)
Given name:
Family Name:
Relationship:
Address:
Phone:
Mobile(s):
PARENT/CARER DETAILS (2)
Given name:
Family Name:
Relationship:
Address:
Phone:
Mobile(s):
OTHER CONTACT DETAILS (e.g. emergency contact, next of kin)
Given name:
Family Name:
Relationship:
Address:
Phone:
Mobile(s):
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CURRENT SCHOOL INFORMATION
School:
Leaving date:
Town:
Reason for
leaving:
Phone:
Email:
OTHER PREVIOUS SCHOOL INFORMATION (Please provide details of the child’s previous school, if applicable)
School:
Leaving date:
Town:
Reason for
leaving:
Phone:
Email:
NEW SCHOOL INFORMATION (where a transfer file has not been received, if applicable)
School:
Expected start
date:
Town:
Contact with
school
outcome:
Phone:
Email:
SCHOOL PASSPORT ATTACHED? yes/no.
OTHER USEFUL OR IMPORTANT INFORMATION (Please include as much information as possible)
REFERRER’S INFORMATION
Name:
Organisation:
Position:
Phone:
Email:
Signed:
Date
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Please return the completed form:
 on-line via Herefordshire Council website, or

via anycomms+ to ‘Children Missing Education’.
Alternatively, you can:
Post:
Diane Woodbridge,
Information and assessment co-ordinator
CME Referrals,
Business Support
Bath St
Hereford HR1 2GY
Email:
Phone:
[email protected] (password protected only)
01432 261831
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Appendix E
Notification of outcome (sample)
This can be found on the next page of this document
Note
While the CME officer conducts their checks, the child missing from education MUST remain on the school
roll for not less than 20 days ( see Appendix F)
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Childrens Wellbeing
Director: Jo Davidson
PRIVATE & CONFIDENTIAL
Headteacher
School Address
Post Code
Your Ref:
Our Ref:
CME/DISENROLL
Please ask for:
Diane Woodbridge
Direct Line / Extension:
01432 261831
Fax:
E-mail:
Children Missing Education
Notification of Outcome
Dear HEADTEACHER,
RE: CHILD (DOB)
Following your recent referral of CHILD as a Child Missing in Education, the necessary
investigations to ascertain their well-being and whereabouts have been conducted.
{On this occasion, we have successfully traced them to LOCATION DETAILS.
OR
Unfortunately, we have not been able to trace them, but they will remain under
investigation. A referral has been made to MASH and regular checks will continue to be
made within Herefordshire and with other local authorities. Should you receive any
further in formation in the future, please let us know as soon as possible.
And
The child has been located and is to remain on your school roll (refer to Appendix F)
OR
I am writing to advise you that CHILD may now be removed from your school’s roll, with
effect from their first day of continuous absence. We have this date recorded as
DD/MM/YY. You must also ensure that their Common Transfer File is uploaded to the
School2School website}.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Yours sincerely,
OFFICER NAME
CME Officer
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Appendix F
The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations
2006

2006 No. 1751

Regulation 8
Status:
This is the original version (as it was originally made). This item of legislation is currently only available in its
original format.
Deletions from Admission Register
8. (1) The following are prescribed as the grounds on which the name of a pupil of compulsory school age
shall be deleted from the admission register—
(a)where the pupil is registered at the school in accordance with the requirements of a school attendance order,
that another school is substituted by the local education authority for that named in the order or the order is
revoked by the local education authority on the ground that arrangements have been made for the child to
receive efficient full-time education suitable to his age, ability and aptitude otherwise than at school;
(b)except where it has been agreed by the proprietor that the pupil should be registered at more than one school,
in a case not falling within sub-paragraph (a) or regulation 9, that he has been registered as a pupil at another
school;
(c)where a pupil is registered at more than one school, and in a case not falling within sub-paragraph (j) or (m) or
regulation 9, that he has ceased to attend the school and the proprietor of any other school at which he is
registered has given consent to the deletion;
(d)in a case not falling within sub-paragraph (a) of this paragraph, that he has ceased to attend the school and
the proprietor has received written notification from the parent that the pupil is receiving education otherwise than
at school;
(e)except in the case of a boarder, that he has ceased to attend the school and no longer ordinarily resides at a
place which is a reasonable distance from the school at which he is registered;
(f)in the case of a pupil granted leave of absence exceeding ten school days for the purpose of a holiday in
accordance with regulation 7(3), that —
(i)the pupil has failed to attend the school within the ten school days immediately following the expiry of
the period for which such leave was granted;
(ii)the proprietor does not have reasonable grounds to believe that the pupil is unable to attend the
school by reason of sickness or any unavoidable cause; and
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(iii)both the proprietor and the local education authority have failed, after reasonable enquiry, to
ascertain where the pupil is;
(g)that he is certified by the school medical officer as unlikely to be in a fit state of health to attend school before
ceasing to be of compulsory school age, and neither he nor his parent has indicated to the school the intention to
continue to attend the school after ceasing to be of compulsory school age;
(h)that he has been continuously absent from the school for a period of not less than twenty school days and —
(i)at no time was his absence during that period authorised by the proprietor in accordance with
regulation 6(2);
(ii)the proprietor does not have reasonable grounds to believe that the pupil is unable to attend the
school by reason of sickness or any unavoidable cause; and
(iii)both the proprietor of the school and the local education authority have failed, after reasonable
enquiry, to ascertain where the pupil is;
(i)that he is detained in pursuance of a final order made by a court or of an order of recall made by a court or the
Secretary of State, that order being for a period of not less than four months, and the proprietor does not have
reasonable grounds to believe that the pupil will return to the school at the end of that period;
(j)that the pupil has died;
(k)that he will cease to be of compulsory school age before the school next meets and the relevant person has
indicated that he will cease to attend the school;
(l)in the case of a pupil at a school other than a maintained school, an Academy, a city technology college or a
city college for the technology of the arts, that he has ceased to be a pupil of the school;
(m)that he has been permanently excluded from the school; or
(n)where the pupil has been admitted to the school to receive nursery education, that he has not on completing
such education transferred to a reception, or higher, class at the school.
(2) In a case not covered by paragraph (1)(a), (j) or (m), the name of a child who has under arrangements
made by a local education authority become a registered pupil at a special school shall not be removed from the
admission register of that school without the consent of that authority, or if that authority refuse to give consent,
without a direction of the Secretary of State.
(3) The following are prescribed as the grounds on which the name of a pupil not of compulsory school age is
to be deleted from the admission register—
(a)that he has ceased to attend the school, or, in the case of a boarder, that he has ceased to be a pupil of the
school;
(b)that he has been continuously absent from the school for a period of not less than twenty school days and —
(i)at no time was his absence during that period agreed by the proprietor;
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(ii)the proprietor does not have reasonable grounds to believe that the pupil is unable to attend the
school by reason of sickness or any unavoidable cause; and
(iii)the proprietor of the school has failed, after reasonable enquiry, to ascertain where the pupil is;
(c)that the pupil has died;
(d)where the pupil has been admitted to the school to receive nursery education, he has not on completing such
education transferred to a reception, or higher, class at the school; or
(e)that he has been permanently excluded from the school.
(4) For the purposes of this regulation—
(a)a pupil shall be treated as ordinarily residing at a place where the pupil is habitually and normally resident
apart from temporary or occasional absences;
(b)“reception class” means a class in which education is provided which is suitable to the requirements of pupils
aged five and any pupils under or over that age whom it is expedient to educate together with pupils of that age;
(c)children are to be regarded as having been admitted to a school to receive nursery education if they were
placed on admission in a nursery class;
(d)the permanent exclusion of a pupil from a maintained school does not take effect until the proprietor has
discharged its duties under regulations made under section 52 of the Education Act 2002(1), and—
(i)the relevant person has stated in writing that he does not intend to bring an appeal under those
regulations;
(ii)the time for bringing an appeal has expired and no appeal has been brought within that time; or
(iii)an appeal brought within that time has been determined or abandoned;
(e)the permanent exclusion of a pupil from an Academy, a city technology college or a city college for the
technology of the arts does not take effect until the proprietor has discharged its duties in relation to a permanent
exclusion under the agreement entered into pursuant to section 482 of the Education Act 1996(2) and
(i)the relevant person has stated in writing that he does not intend to bring an appeal;
(ii)the time for bringing an appeal has expired and no appeal has been brought within that time; or
(iii)an appeal brought within that time has been determined or abandoned.
(1)
2002 c. 32.
(2)
1996 c. 56; section 482 was substituted by section 65 of the Education Act 2002 (c. 32).
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