More than a thousand vulnerable children in the care system are missing from education and “at risk of becoming invisible” to support services, a new report from the children’s commissioner for England, the children's commissioner for England has warned.
Of the 50,846 school-aged children who had been in care for at least four weeks in March 2022, 1,363 were missing from education, data gathered from 149 of England’s 152 top-tier local authorities and analysed by the commissioner's office showed.
The report states that of these children, 541 were not enrolled in any school or education provider, and 673 were in unregistered settings such as private tuition, home education or other provision that is not subject to inspections.
The research also finds that 149 children were enrolled in a school but were missing from the setting without authorisation 100 per cent of the time.
