Children’s Commissioner continues in drive to ensure ‘every child is in school’

The Children’s Commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza, has published the first part of her research into vulnerable young people and their attendance in school, identifying looked after children as the first group that are part of her statutory responsibility. At the start of her tenure, it was established that “Too many children are not in school, do not attend regularly, and don’t have the support they need to engage with learning.” As part of this, she has sent out requests to Local Authorities to provide the data on the education status of all looked after children and this report forms the first child-level data on the education status of looked after children who are not in school.

Of particular concern is that one of the groups of looked after children that are more likely to be missing from school are those with an EHCP, SEMH and/or autism. In the section of the report looking at support for children with SEND, it is noted that the changes outlined in the SEND Improvement Plan such as a digitised EHCP and the introduction of the role of Designated Social Care Officers should improve communication between the education and care elements of a child’s EHCP. However, these are not mandatory roles and may not be adopted, continuing the “postcode lottery of implementation”. Another support may be the call for a unique child ID that follows them through all services and increases the ability to track children across multiple data systems.

Whilst the continued focus on support for young people within school is welcomed from the Children’s Commissioner, there are concerns from parent and other organisations that the school environment is not supportive of all pupils. The National Autistic Society Report into Education statistics said that only 26% of autistic pupils feel happy at school and almost three quarters of parents said their child’s school place did not fully meet their needs. 70% of autistic children and young people said school would be better if more teachers understood autism. A one-size-fits-all system of education is not working for a large number of young people and school is often not the best place for them. Ideas such as increasing training for staff, inclusion training for senior leaders and renewed focus on supporting holistic development for all pupils may improve attendance for the long term.