More than 10,000 pupils have “fallen through the cracks” after leaving state education in England, a report from the children’s commissioner has found.
Dame Rachel de Souza said local authorities had no idea what has happened to 10,181 children who left state schools between spring 2022 and last spring. And 2,868 were known or suspected to be missing education completely.
A further 13,120 children left the education system to learn at home, and these were “disproportionately more likely to have special educational needs or to come from disadvantaged areas”.
The research has prompted a list of wide-ranging recommendations aimed at making the school system more inclusive, including better training for teachers on SEND and mental health, putting councils in charge of all schools’ admissions and a register of alternative provision.
