Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if his Department will require schools in England to make telephone calls to second and third named contacts to follow up on the unauthorised absence of children from school.

The Department recently launched a consultation on proposals to update the Department’s statutory safeguarding guidance, Keeping Children Safe in Education, from September 2018. The consultation closes on 22 February 2018.

As part of the consultation, the Department is seeking views regarding information that schools hold in relation to the number of contacts and if going beyond the legal minimum is the sensible approach to take.

The Department plans to publish the revised Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance, for information, early in the summer term 2018. This should give schools and colleges sufficient time to review their policies and procedures and make any changes necessary to meet the requirements before the guidance comes into force in September 2018.