Scottish Government

Appendix 7 Summary comparison of the Scottish and English systems and guidance

• both systems are for identifying, tracking and supporting children at risk of/or missing from education. The DfES and Safe and Well guidance support local authorities towards this;
• the Education and Inspections Act 2006 (England) places a duty on local authorities to make arrangements to enable them to establish (as far as it is possible to do so) the identities of children residing in their area who are not receiving a suitable education . There is no duty on Scottish local authorities;
• the Scottish definition for children missing from education includes a reference to vulnerability;
• the tracking systems are not comparable. When English local authorities have failed to trace a pupil they are encouraged to place the name on the Lost Pupil data base. In contrast the names of pupils who are not enrolled in a Scottish school will automatically be held in the School to School Clearing House while CME(S), a national support service to local authorities, will start a national search on their behalf;
• the School to School Clearing House will identify all Scottish pupils at a glance who have not been enrolled in school. In contrast the Lost Pupil data base is dependent on local authorities populating it;
• both systems do not address cross-border issues although the School to School system will hold details of children known/thought to have relocated to England;
• the DfES guidance outlines 5 areas where standards are required and provides guidance towards achievement. Working towards the Framework for Standards is implied within Safe and Well but does not provide specific standards or guidance for children missing from education;
• the Statutory guidance contains a self evaluation checklist on progress towards implementation of the 5 standard areas. Safe and Well guidance does not in any detail provide standard criteria for the areas involved with children missing from education;
• both sets of guidance give general advice on supporting policy development;
• the Statutory guidance places an equal duty on all services within local to ensure communication, exchange of information and routes to notify of a child who is missing. In contrast responsibility for referring a child as missing rests within education services;
• the Statutory guidance defines the roles and responsibilities of local authorities. when making contact with other local authorities. when a child is missing from their area. This is not defined in Safe and Well; and
• In contrast with Safe and Well the Statutory guidance is specific on plans which should be in place to support enrolment when a child has been located.