Vulnerable Valuable children with disrupted education
School attendance, particularly after the onset of COVID-19 and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, has become a significant cause for concern at both national and local levels. The absence of children from school can serve as an essential indicator of various safeguarding issues, including neglect, sexual abuse, and child sexual and criminal exploitation, according to Working Together to Improve School Attendance.
In the autumn of 2023, Hampshire Safeguarding Children Partnership (HSCP) conducted a thematic audit to assess the multi-agency response to potential safeguarding concerns resulting from disrupted school attendance, with a focus on unauthorised absence.
The audit revealed the significance of a multi-agency approach in supporting the attendance of vulnerable children, with the factors leading to disrupted education, multifaceted and complex. A summary of the findings and resources to support practice can be found in the HSCP Practitioner Briefing, Learning from Audits: Valuable Children with Disrupted School Attendance.