Government under pressure over ‘ghost children’ missing from class

Published

1 year ago

November 9, 2023

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The government “remains committed” to legislate to establish a register of pupils who are not in school, the education secretary said.

It comes after criticism that the King’s Speech on Tuesday, which set out the legislative agenda for the year, did not include anything about the plan to reduce the number of so-called “ghost children”.

As Sky News has reported, since the pandemic there has been a rise in the number youngsters who have stopped going to school.

Often this is pupils who have been excluded from the classroom and then fall out of the system – making them vulnerable to being targeted by gangs.

Making an intervention as Education Secretary Gillian Keegan opened a debate in the House of Commons, Lib Dem MP Munira Wilson said: “What was crystal clear from the King’s Speech yesterday is despite her [Ms Keegan’s] grandiose statements here, education is not a priority for this government.”

Ms Wilson asked why there was no announcement “about bringing forward legislation for a children-not-in-school register” – something ministers promised they would still do after scrapping the Schools Bill last year.

The education secretary said that remains the government’s position – though she did not say when the plans would be brought before parliament, only saying it would happen at a “suitable opportunity”.

“We do remain committed to legislating to take forward the children-not-in-school measures and we will progress these at a future suitable legislative opportunity,” Ms Keegan said.

“We are continuing to work with local authorities to improve the non-statutory registers. And we have also launched a consultation on revised elective home education guidance.

“So there is work going on, the consultation is open until January 18, 2024. So there is a lot of work going on and we do intend to bring forward that legislation.”

The law requires all children of school age to receive suitable full-time education, but last year 141,000 children spent more time out of class than in – up by 137% since the pandemic.

Local councils blame funding problems for not being able to keep track of missing pupils well enough.

Last May the government launched a piece of legislation known as the Schools Bill, which promised to raise standards through a series of measures including the creation of local authority-administered register for children not in school.

However, come December it was scrapped, with ministers insisting they were committed to its objectives despite not taking the legislation further.

Speaking in the Commons, shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson paid tribute to Sky News “for being relentless in pursuing this issue”.

She said persistent absenteeism means we are now on track for two million children to be regularly missing school by 2025.

She said: “That’s one in four of our children. There is no greater failing by this government than standing by as more and more children are missing from school for days on end, term after term, a lost generation of children missing from England’s schools.”

A broad and complex crisis damaging the lives of thousands

Nick Martin

People and politics correspondent

@NickMartinSKY

For months now I’ve been speaking to children, parents, teachers and experts all struggling with one major issue – children not going to school.

It’s a quiet, hidden crisis; the child too anxious to get out of the car, the parent spending hours on the phone fighting for a special school place. And all that time, learning is lost.

The latest data paints a really worrying picture, too. It shows that 140,000 children are missing 50% or more of their education – called severe absence.

And a staggering 1.5 million children are what’s called persistently absent – missing the equivalent of a morning a week. These figures are double what they were before the pandemic.

Back in July, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan accepted this is “crisis”. She said wished she could drive children to school herself, and even said it was the job of headteachers to do the same, if necessary.

Her department has introduced attendance hubs and mentors to tackle the problem in the worst affected areas.

But campaigners – including the children’s commissioner for England – have been calling for legislation in the King’s Speech to focus efforts to get children back to the classroom, to enshrine a solution into law. But nothing materialised.

Labour now appears to be seizing the opportunity.

It’s always been thought that education won’t be a big issue in the next election. That could be about to change with the party choosing to take valuable parliamentary debate time to raise the issue in the House.

There are lots of issues at play here; the cost of living crisis, NHS waiting lists for mental health services, school places and council funding.

It is a broad and hugely complex crisis that’s damaging the lives of thousands of children.

Ms Phillipson earlier told Sky News that if she becomes education secretary after the next election, she will “take action to make sure our children are supported, that every day in school matters”.

She said that would mean: “More mental health support, with mental health hubs in every community, improved access to mental health support within our secondary schools, and alongside that for our younger children, universal free breakfast clubs to support children with a softer start to the school day, and also wider help for families during what’s a really difficult time with the cost of living crisis.”

Meanwhile, Andy Cook, chief executive of the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), a centre-right think tank, warned the crisis could have far-reaching consequences for society.

He told Sky News: “You go into any prison and you talk to the people there, 90% of them say they missed a lot of school on a regular basis. So we need to take this seriously.”

UK

Teenage girl killed on M5 in Somerset after getting out of police car named

Published

13 mins ago

November 15, 2024

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Teenage girl killed on M5 in Somerset after getting out of police car named

A teenage girl who was killed after getting out of a police car on the M5 in Somerset has been named.

Tamzin Hall, 17 and from Wellington, was hit by a vehicle that was travelling southbound between junction 24 for Bridgwater and junction 25 for Taunton shortly after 11pm on Monday.

She had exited a police vehicle that had stopped on the northbound side of the motorway while transporting her.

A mandatory referral was made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which is now carrying out its own investigation into what happened.

Avon and Somerset Police said: “Our thoughts and sympathies go out to Tamzin’s family for their devastating loss.

“A specially-trained family liaison officer remains in contact with them to keep them updated and to provide support.

“The family have asked for privacy at this difficult time.”

The police watchdog, the IOPC, has been asked to investigate.

In a statement, director David Ford, said: “This was a truly tragic incident and my thoughts are with Tamzin’s family and friends and everyone affected by the events of that evening.

“We are contacting her family to express our sympathies, explain our role, and set out how our investigation will progress. We will keep them fully updated as our investigation continues.”

Paramedics attended the motorway within minutes of the girl being hit but she was pronounced dead at the scene.

The motorway was closed in both directions while investigations took place. It was fully reopened shortly after 11am on Tuesday, Nationals Highways said.

UK

Mohamed al Fayed’s brother Salah also abused women, say female Harrods employees

Published

13 mins ago

November 15, 2024

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Mohamed al Fayed's brother Salah also abused women, say female Harrods employees

A survivors group advocating for women allegedly assaulted by Mohamed al Fayed has said it is “grateful another abuser has been unmasked”, after allegations his brother Salah also participated in the abuse.

Justice for Harrods Survivors says it has “credible evidence” suggesting the sexual abuse allegedly perpetrated at Harrods and the billionaire’s properties “was not limited to Mr al Fayed himself”.

The group’s statement comes after three women told BBC News they were sexually assaulted by al Fayed’s brother, Salah.

One woman said she was raped by Mohamed al Fayed while working at Harrods.

Helen, who has waived her right to anonymity, said she then took a job working for his brother as an escape. She alleges she was drugged and sexually assaulted while working at Salah’s home on Park Lane, London.

Two other women have told the BBC they were taken to Monaco and the South of France, where Salah sexually abused them.

The Justice for Harrod Survivors representatives said: “We are proud to support the survivors of Salah Fayed’s abuse and are committed to achieving justice for them, no matter what it takes.”

The group added it “looks forward to the others on whom we have credible evidence – whether abusers themselves or enablers facilitating that abuse – being exposed in due course”.

Salah was one of the three Fayed brothers who co-owned Harrods.

The business, which was sold to Qatar Holdings when Mohamed al Fayed retired in 2010, has said it “supports the bravery of these women in coming forward”.

A statement issued by the famous store on Thursday evening continued: “We encourage these survivors to come forward and make their claims to the Harrods scheme, where they can apply for compensation, as well as support from a counselling perspective and through an independent survivor advocate.

“We also hope that they are looking at every appropriate avenue to them in their pursuit of justice, whether that be Harrods, the police or the Fayed family and estate.”

The Justice for Harrods Survivors group previously said more than 400 people had contacted them regarding accusations about Mohamed al Fayed, who died last year.

One of those alleged to have been abused is Bianca Gascoigne, the daughter of former England player Paul.

Speaking to Sky News in October, Gascoigne said she was groomed and sexually assaulted by al Fayed when she worked at Harrods as a teenager.

UK

Wes Streeting ‘crossed the line’ by opposing assisted dying in public, says Labour peer Harriet Harman

Published

13 mins ago

November 15, 2024

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Wes Streeting 'crossed the line' by opposing assisted dying in public, says Labour peer Harriet Harman

Wes Streeting “crossed the line” by opposing assisted dying in public and the argument shouldn’t “come down to resources”, a Labour peer has said.

Speaking on Sky News’ Electoral Dysfunction podcast, Baroness Harriet Harman criticised the health secretary for revealing how he is going to vote on the matter when it comes before parliament later this month.

MPs are being given a free vote, meaning they can side with their conscience and not party lines, so the government is supposed to be staying neutral.

But Mr Streeting has made clear he will vote against legalising assisted dying, citing concerns end-of-life care is not good enough for people to make an informed choice, and that some could feel pressured into the decision to save the NHS money.

He has also ordered a review into the potential costs of changing the law, warning it could come at the expense of other NHS services if implemented.

Baroness Harman said Mr Streeting has “crossed the line in two ways”.

👉 Click here to listen to Electoral Dysfunction on your podcast app 👈

“He should not have said how he was going to vote, because that breaches neutrality and sends a signal,” she said.

“And secondly… he’s said the problem is that it will cost money to bring in an assisted dying measure, and therefore he will have to cut other services.

“But paradoxically, he also said it would be a slippery slope because people will be forced to bring about their own death in order to save the NHS money. Well, it can’t be doing both things.

“It can’t be both costing the NHS money and saving the NHS money.”

Baroness Harman said the argument “should not come down to resources” as it is a “huge moral issue” affecting “only a tiny number of people”.

She added that people should not mistake Mr Streeting for being “a kind of proxy for Keir Starmer”.

“The government is genuinely neutral and all of those backbenchers, they can vote whichever way they want,” she added.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has previously expressed support for assisted dying, but it is not clear how he intends to vote on the issue or if he will make his decision public ahead of time.

The cabinet has varying views on the topic, with the likes of Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood siding with Mr Streeting in her opposition but Energy Secretary Ed Miliband being for it.

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is being championed by Labour backbencher Kim Leadbeater, who wants to give people with six months left to live the choice to end their lives.

Under her proposals, two independent doctors must confirm a patient is eligible for assisted dying and a High Court judge must give their approval.

The bill will also include punishments of up to 14 years in prison for those who break the law, including coercing someone into ending their own life.

MPs will debate and vote on the legislation on 29 November, in what will be the first Commons vote on assisted dying since 2015, when the proposal was defeated.