Thematic report |
Local education authority practice in monitoring the location of pupils being educated outside the school setting - May 2007
There is some confusion in a few local authorities about the type of provision that should be registered with the Welsh Government as a pupil referral unit. This means that some local authorities in Wales maintain unregistered units that educate pupils of compulsory school age. A few pupils who are educated in unregistered units are not on the roll of any school or college and therefore could be classed as missing from education.Although local authorities maintain data on pupils missing from education, it is not always complete and it is not shared with other local authority departments.
Recommendations
The Welsh Assembly Government should:
- give clear guidance to local authorities about the types of provision that are required to be registered; and
- provide Estyn with annual information about all the sites that local authorities register.
Local authorities should:
- register with the Welsh Assembly Government all sites where they maintain provision for pupils of school age other than those at mainstream, special or nursery schools;
- keep the Welsh Assembly Government informed about any changes to the registered provision annually; and
- require closer working between education, social services, police and health workers to identify children who are not attending schools or other approved educational provision.
Schools should:
- ensure that they comply with the requirements of The Education (Pupil Information) (Wales) Regulations 2004.