A PROBE into the number of children who are missing out on their education has revealed dozens in Barnsley are long-term absent from school.
There are 35,997 children of compulsory school age across the borough and there are enough places to cater for them all.
However, as of the start of the new school year in September, a total of 45 children were known to be completely missing their education, according to a Freedom of Information request.
Dame Rachel de Souza, the Children’s Commissioner, said councils are struggling to trace absent children.
“I am deeply concerned about this situation as it reflects a troubling gap in our ability to protect and support some of the most vulnerable members of our society,” she added.
“Local authorities, despite their best efforts, are struggling with insufficient resources and inadequate powers to track and support these children.
“These children are particularly vulnerable, yet the response from some local authorities is not urgent enough and far too often children fall off the radar.
“Many local authority teams are working hard to locate these children, but they are limited by a lack of resources and access to essential information.
“We must do much more to help these children to re-engage with education - the way we currently handle long-term cases of children missing from education is not working.
“In too many areas, there seems to be a lack of curiosity about what has happened to these children, many of whom have already faced significant disruptions in their education.
“The current system is more focused on legal sanctions and process rather than the academic and pastoral support needed to help children to re-engage with education.”
Persistent absence rates have also jumped, rising from 16.1 per cent in the 2019 autumn term to 22.5 per cent last year.
The proportion of pupils missing at least half of classes has also climbed significantly, with 2.4 per cent of children in Barnsley missing 50 per cent or more.
A council statement said: “Children missing education are children of compulsory school age who are neither on a school roll nor receiving suitable education at home or in alternative provision.
“By law, we have to know where all children are and where they’re being educated (Education Act 2006).
“We’re also required to identify those who aren’t receiving a suitable education.
“Children and young people missing education are amongst the most vulnerable in our area, so it’s vital that practitioners in all services work together to identify and re-engage these children and young people back into appropriate education as quickly as possible.
“We have access to data about pupils who aren’t on a school roll and those at high risk of going missing from education or school.”
James Bowen, assistant general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said attendance has declined significantly since the pandemic, fuelled by factors including rising anxiety and poor mental health, poverty, challenges at home and under-resourced support for children with special educational needs.
He added: “It’s vital children attend school whenever possible pupils can easily miss crucial steps in their learning if they’re absent.”
