Data published today shows an estimated 149,900 children were missing from education at some point in 2023-24, up 28 per cent from 117,100 a year earlier.
And on census day this term, the Department for Education said that there were 39,200 children missing education, up from 33,000 in the previous autumn term.
However, separate analysis suggests this may be an underestimate.
Sharp increase in home-educated children
Meanwhile, DfE data published today has also shown a sharp increase in the number of pupils in elective home education (EHE) this term. On the census day, local authorities reported 111,700 children in EHE, up from an estimated 92,000 in the previous autumn term.
The 92,00 figure was a calculation based on a figure of 87,700 reported by the 95 per cent of local authorities that provided data. The DfE’s most recent figure is based on a 100 per cent response rate.
The latest census-day figures mean the rate of pupils in EHE was 1.4 per cent of those aged between five and 16.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT school leaders’ union, said: “The worrying numbers of children missing in education demonstrate the importance of the government’s planned register of children not in school, including those who are home-educated, coming into effect as soon as possible.
“NAHT has long called for councils to be required to maintain an official register because there is currently a danger of children becoming lost outside the system, with neither school nor local authority knowing where they are or what has happened to them.”
He warned that where a child was not receiving a suitable education, this “not only creates concern for their learning but can also put children at increased risk of harm or exploitation”.
‘Not in school’ register to become a requirement
A duty for councils to operate a children-not-in-school register is set to be introduced as part of the government’s Children’s Wellbeing Bill. The previous government had planned to introduce a register under a schools bill that was later shelved.
Analysis by the Education Policy Institute estimated that the number of children aged five to 15 who were not registered at a school or in home education last year was about 40 per cent higher than in 2017.
The EPI research suggested that more than 300,000 children of school age were missing from the education system in England last year - double the official figures.
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