Almost 120,000 children were “missing” from education at some point last year, an increase of almost a quarter.
Children missing education is an official designation for those who are “not registered pupils at a school and are not receiving suitable education otherwise than at a school”.
Data published by the government today suggests 117,100 children were considered to be missing educaiton at some point in 2022-23, up from 94,900 the year before.
Six per cent of children missing education have an education, health and care plan for special needs, compared to 4 per cent of pupils nationally. They are also more than twice as likely to have a child protection plan.
