Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing an online portal to allow headteachers to alert (a) his Department, (b) the Children's Commissioner for England and (c) other relevant authorities about missing or absent pupils where schools have safeguarding concerns.

Safeguarding of children and young people is the statutory responsibility of local partners, including schools, the local authority, police and health. There are already clear responsibilities and arrangements in place for schools to notify the local authority of pupils who are not attending school or where there are safeguarding concerns. The statutory guidance, Keeping Children Safe in Education, sets out this process along with the role of each school’s Designated Safeguarding Lead in coordinating and making referrals to children’s social care and the police as appropriate. These clear, statutory responsibilities, alongside our commitment to introduce a local authority registration system for children not in school, mean that an online portal is not required at this time.