Children missing education

Requirements for parent or legal guardian

It is your responsibility as a parent or legal guardian to ensure your child receives a full-time education that meets their needs (for example if they have special educational needs). You can send your child to school or Elective home education.

Children must be provided with an education between the school term after their 5th birthday and the last Friday in June in the school year they turn 16.

Further information can be found on the following links:

• School attendance and absence
• Legal action to enforce school attendance

Moving and significant house moves

You should make all efforts to continue to send your child to their existing school until the day they can start in the new one. If this is not possible, you should ensure that your child continues to be educated during the period they are not enrolled at a school.

You will need to provide confirmation to the existing school of the arrangements you will put in place to ensure this happens.

The existing school will also refer the child to the Education Safeguarding Service. They will ensure you are contacted to discuss the support you intend to obtain to make this happen.

If the decision has been made to move school, then it is requested that parents download and complete the application form for In-Year admissions, in order to apply to transfer from the current school to a new one.

Transfer of school should ideally be planned to coincide with the house move. If this is not possible, all efforts should be made to continue to attend the existing school until the start date for the new school.

Requirements for all schools and academies

• Inform their local authority in every circumstance when they are about to delete a pupil's name from the admission register; under all 15 grounds (Annex A)
• Inform their local authority of the pupil's destination school and home address if the pupil is moving to a new school (where they can reasonably obtain this information); and
• Provide information to their local authority when registering new pupils, including the pupil's address and previous school (again where they can reasonably obtain this information).

Full guidance and referral form for schools and academies can be found on the Kirklees Council Intranet.

Education Safeguarding Service

In order to safeguard children and ensure education is available, the Education Safeguarding Service accept referrals from schools, other professionals, members of the public and parents of children who are still on roll at a school but may soon be missing education for one reason or another.