Executive summary
In 2003 Ministers in Scotland and England became concerned about systems of transferring information. This followed the case of Danielle Reid, who was found dead in Inverness after her parents informed a Highland school that she would be moving to England. It was acknowledged that there was a need for a system which not only identified children who were missing from the Scottish education system but one which would establish procedures for tracing them and re-engaging them with education.
In partnership with local authorities Children Missing from Education (Scotland) ( CME(S)) was established in 2005. At the same time a system for the managing of data files of children who had stopped attending school was being developed. Guidance relevant to children/young people missing from education was published in 2005 within Safe and well: Good practice in schools and education authorities for keeping children safe and well ( Safe and Well).
This review was commissioned to evaluate how the service had developed during its first two years and its interface with local authorities and other services involved with children who go missing from schools. The review findings are based on:
- discussions with Scottish Government staff;
- examination of case files;
- analysis of stakeholder views; and
- analysis of a small sample of local authority policies.
While the findings are not definitive they should provide a basis for further action.
The national service in partnership with local authorities has demonstrated success. A significant number of children have been traced and re-engaged with education often within very short periods of time. Many of the cases were complex and required considerable investigation.
Service objectives are ongoing; the provision of detailed guidance for local authorities,systems and procedures for inter-agency collaboration, agreements for information transfer and collaborative working on a UK-wide basis now require to be progressed. Progress towards appropriate service systems for monitoring of activity, planning, record-keeping and data collection wasto an extent limited by changes in staffing and staffing levels.
The review found that the guidance in Safe and Well was not being applied consistently across local authorities. One noticeable disparity was in the remits and responsibilities of the CME contacts, explaining perhaps the variations in practice and the quality of information received.
At times this contributed to delays and complications at national level in the tracing of children.
Local authority policy implementation is well underway but rates of progress differ across the country. Some authorities have developed comprehensive policies. Based on the small sample it was possible to identify policy elements which would lend themselves to effective practices and procedures such as statements on authority responsibility, procedures for pre-5 children or for child protection concerns. For the most part authorities did not have systems in place to monitor those children whom CME(S) had been unable to locate and for whom local authorities retain responsibility.
CME(S)'s success in locating children and their families was affected by the degree of interdisciplinary working in local authority areas. In some cases the lack of a co-ordinated approach did not allow for early identification and provision of support to vulnerable families, exchange of information between services, co-ordinated risk assessments, strategies to support re-engagement or the onward transference of quality information to the national service.
The contribution of health and the police to the national tracing service has been particularly valuable. However some practice issues require to be resolved at both local and national levels.
The review found that involvement with families who had particular social or lifestyle factors or who belonged to particular cultural groups was time-consuming and complex, but especially so when families had itinerant lifestyles or travelled across borders. The latter proved especially difficult for the national service and local authorities. While aspects of the UK Government Department for Children, Schools and Families ( DCSF) * statutory guidance for local authorities in England to identify children not receiving education might assist with aspects of practice development in Scotland, it does not address issues regarding cross-border working.
The review could not explain why currently the quantity of missing from education referrals varies significantly across authorities. The School to School (S2S) Transfer System and School Clearing House will support CME(S) in identifying children who are missing from school. Within the new Scottish Government's ScotXed Unit/ CME(S) structure the importance of CME(S)'s interface with local authorities cannot be underestimated.
The report makes 24 recommendations. A key recommendation is the setting up of a multi-disciplinary consultative or Steering Group to consider the contents of this report and to guide the development of national and local services for children missing from education, via the continuation of the CME(S) service.