When I became Children’s Commissioner, one of the first things I did was to conduct a nationwide inquiry into the educational experiences of children leaving state education. These children had fallen off the radar during the pandemic. Local authorities confided that they did not know where they had gone or how to support them to reengage in education.
Three years on and we have still not shifted the dial on this issue. Thousands of children, still of compulsory school age, continue to leave state schools each year. Many have started to disengage, and some have left the school system altogether.
This report shines new light on the vulnerabilities of children who left the state education system last year. For the first time ever, we have been able to examine the destinations, pupil characteristics and educational histories of children who left state education.
We have found that over 10,000 children left the state education system to destinations unknown to their local authorities. Despite questions from my office, local authorities were unable to confirm that they were safe and in education. These children’s whereabouts are unknown: they have fallen through the cracks of our education system.
