Children missing from education: attendance and safeguarding

A child who is not in school is a child you cannot see. If nobody knows why, nobody can check that the child is safe.

The English statutory guidance, Keeping children safe in education (KCSIE) 2026, calls repeated or long absence a vital warning sign. It links absence to neglect, sexual abuse, child criminal exploitation, mental health problems, forced marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM). KCSIE is written for schools in England, but many international schools use it as a model.

Follow your school's child protection procedure and tell your designated safeguarding lead (DSL) the same day. If you think a child is in immediate danger, call your local emergency services.

Most absences have an ordinary cause, such as illness or a family trip. Your job is to spot the ones with no explanation, or with an explanation that keeps changing.

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) lists missing school among the signs of neglect in older children. For more, see signs of neglect and affluent neglect.

• Repeated absence with vague reasons, or reasons that change from call to call
• Parents who cannot be reached, or phone numbers that stop working
• A holiday that keeps getting longer, with no return date
• A child who is hungry, tired or unkempt on the days they do attend
• New money, gifts or phones that the child cannot explain
• Brothers and sisters who stop attending at the same time

The attendance guidance from England's Department for Education expects schools to contact parents on the first day when no reason has been given. That is a sound habit for any school.

Give one named person the job, with a set time, such as an hour after registration. KCSIE 2026 asks schools to hold more than one emergency contact number for each pupil where reasonably possible.

Keep the call calm and plain. For example: "Hello, this is [your name] from school. [Child] is not in school today and we do not have a reason. Can you tell me where [child] is, and when to expect them back?"

• Check the register against late arrivals, sick notes and trip lists
• Call the first parent or carer, then the second emergency contact
• Send a short written message, in the family's home language if you can
• Record the time of each call, who answered and what they said
• Tell the DSL the same day if nobody answers or the reason sounds wrong

If absence goes on without explanation, the DSL takes the lead. The attendance guidance says further contact should be made to keep the child safe. Agree a plan with dates, and write down each step in a clear concern record.

England's rules give useful markers. Schools should find the reason for an absence within 5 school days, and tell the local authority about pupils absent without permission for 10 school days in a row. Set your own trigger points in your policy.

Take extra care if the family may be the source of the risk, for example in a planned forced marriage. Take advice from the police or child protection authorities before you call. Do not warn the family about a referral unless you are told it is safe.

• Read the child's file for known concerns, past absences and agency contacts
• Try every contact: both parents, emergency contacts and anyone named on the form
• Ask the class teacher, bus staff and activity leaders what they know
• Check on the child at home only if your policy and local law allow it
• Contact the authorities if you cannot confirm that the child is safe

In England, a child missing education is a child of compulsory school age who is not on a school roll and not getting suitable education elsewhere. The law there also tells schools what to report when a name leaves the register.

Your host country may have no local authority team to call. Ask local counsel or the education authority what you must report, to whom, and by when. The article on mandatory reporting laws is a good start.

Two ideas from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child apply here. Every child has the right to an education (Article 28), and governments should stop children being unlawfully taken abroad (Article 11).

International families move often and sometimes fast. A child can leave your roll with no new school named, and then nobody knows where they are.

England's guidance asks parents to name the new school, or say where the child will live. It asks schools to keep making reasonable enquiries when a child's whereabouts are unknown.

At the exit meeting, ask plainly: "Which school will [child] join, and in which city? We will pass on the records the new school needs."

Check your data law before you send a file. The International Taskforce on Child Protection (ITFCP) tells schools to ask what law covers sending child protection records, and not to let doubt stop sharing. See moving schools and safeguarding records.

• Ask for the new school's name, city and country in writing before the last day
• If no school is named, ask for the new address, country and a working phone or email
• Record the last day attended and who told you
• Send the child protection file within 5 days of an in-year move, as KCSIE 2026 advises
• Send it apart from the main student file, in secure transit, and get confirmation of receipt
• If a child with open concerns leaves with no destination, record your efforts and ask the authorities for advice

KCSIE 2026 expects your policies to include a safeguarding response to children absent from education, especially on repeat occasions or for long periods. Keep it short enough that every office team member can follow it.

Check the steps below once a term. Then ask a few staff what they would do if a child had not arrived for two days and nobody had called.

• A named person calls on day one, with a deadline
• Two emergency contacts per child, tested each term
• A return date for every extended holiday, and a flag when a child is not back
• A list of absences with no reason, which the DSL reviews each week
• A clear point at which the DSL contacts the authorities, agreed with local advice
• An exit form for every leaver that records where they are going

Do this with your office team and one other school leader. Write down every gap, then give each gap a name and a date.

• Pick the three pupils absent most this term. Can you explain each absence?
• Look at your last five leavers. Do you know where each child went?
• Call the second emergency number for ten pupils. Does it work?
• Read your policy. Does it say who calls on the first day?
• Ask the office team what they do when a parent does not answer