School attendance

Child missing education

All children living in Central Bedfordshire aged between 5 and 16 years old must be in full-time education.

Children missing education refers to all children of compulsory school age who are neither on a school roll nor being educated otherwise and who have been out of any educational provision for a substantial period of time.

We are committed to ensuring that all children receive a quality education and the council guarantees a robust response to any information received about a child who is thought to be missing from education. 

If you have concerns that a child may be missing education, it is essential that you refer the matter to our Access and Inclusion Service or by calling 0300 300 6479/0300 300 6220 /0300 300 4707.

If you are from a school, please refer to our Schools Portal.

On notification, the allocated officer will undertake all relevant enquiries; contact the family and young person in order to support them to re-engage with education.

If at any time you have a reasonable concern that a child or young person has suffered significant harm or maybe at immediate or acute risk of suffering significant harm, a referral should be made to Children’s Social Care by calling 0300 300 8585.