To ask the Minister of Education when statutory guidance will be introduced on children missing in education.

Mr Givan

My officials are reviewing potential legislative gaps and are working to develop departmental guidance on the issue of children missing in education. Addressing that issue effectively requires a coordinated multi-agency approach. To that end, my officials continue to engage with colleagues in the Department of Health and the Education Authority (EA) to explore opportunities for improved information sharing and collaborative action in that policy area. Work is under way to examine the processes and policies that are in place across other jurisdictions, with a view to identifying best practice and informing local approaches. In parallel, consideration is being given to the range of data sources that may be required to support a more effective response to children missing in education.

Mr Givan

I thank the Member for her question. Her concern is one that I share. When it comes to attendance levels, for children who are enrolled in a school but do not attend, there is a process involving education welfare officers (EWO). We know that, after the first four weeks of the academic year, there are children who have still not gone to school. They are actively being pursued by the EWOs in the Education Authority and by the schools. What we do not know is this: parents have a responsibility to pursue a place in education for the children in their family, but there is no legislative requirement on the parent to inform the Department of Education or the EA if they decide not to register or enrol their child in a school, because they are going to be homeschooled, for example. If a child has been registered and deregistered, we know that they have been deregistered. However, there is a challenge in sharing information. We know how many people are born in Northern Ireland — we have a record of that — but, if a child subsequently leaves the jurisdiction with their family, we do not know that. There is, therefore, a lack of information, which, as I referenced in my response to the original question, requires collaboration between Health and the EA. We need to be able to determine, with clear and factual information, how many children are missing in education. I have outlined where I believe there are gaps in the information and that that has an impact on how effective we are in addressing those concerns. It is something that the Department is actively working on. Whether I can give the Member a guarantee that that will lead to legislation in this mandate remains to be seen. However, I assure the Member that there is an urgency to making sure that we have as much information as possible to help us.

Mrs Mason

I will ask about another group of children who are not able to access education: those who experience emotion-based school non-attendance. Recently, I met parents who are experiencing that with their children — they told me heartbreaking stories. What steps is the Minister taking to make sure that those children receive the right support and that schools receive the right resources to respond?

Mr Givan

The range of reasons why people do not attend school can be multifaceted. The Member has outlined one reason why a child may not be in attendance at school, and there are many others. If they are registered but not attending, we know that. There is support. Yes, the question, "How effective is it?" could be asked, but education welfare officers can proactively engage with the families. I am happy to look in more detail into that particular issue, but I assure Members that we want our children to be in school. It is where they are safest, and it is where they are best placed to gain an education. It is in nobody's interests for them not to attend school.

Miss McIlveen

In a previous mandate, I raised serious concerns about children missing from care and the lack of data on that in the Department of Health. The lack of accurate data relating to this issue is, as another example, also very alarming. Who has responsibility for monitoring protocols for children missing in education?

Mr Givan

The education welfare service within the EA has operational responsibility for children missing in education. A number of procedures and protocols are in place for such children, including protocols involving colleagues in other jurisdictions that relate to children missing in education, because that is also an issue for us. The education welfare service has operational responsibility in that area. Members have highlighted particular examples, and the information that was published in a media article is a result of the Department's work to understand what data is held by GPs and the health service and what information we lack as we try to move forward on this. That has generated a fair degree of interest, which is welcome, but we need to move beyond that kind of scoping work to real, meaningful processes to help identify children who are missing and to do what we can to make sure that they are engaged in education.