Today’s inquiry was initiated to find out if any of the tens or thousands of students who escaped the lockdown and remained in the classroom were able to return to school.
According to Dame Rachel de Souza (Children’s Commissioner for England), the disappearance of pupils from school rolls, which was estimated between 80,000 and 100,000, was a major red flag.
She warned about the death of Arthur Labinjo Hughes (6 years old), who was tortured, poisoned, then beaten to death at the hands of his father and stepmother in the first lockdown.
Rachel de Souza claimed that the disappearance of pupils from school rolls, which was estimated at between 100,000 and 80,000 students, was a “major red flag.”
According to Dame Rachel, “We worry about children getting pulled into gangs as they aren’t in school. We are concerned about children with significant family safeguarding issues. We are also worried about children whose mental health needs are not met.
“I don’t believe we should underestimate safeguarding, particularly in the wake of Arthur LabinjoHughes being murdered.
The most vulnerable children need to be in school. It is their life stories that we must learn more about.
Emma Tustin (32) was convicted in the killing of Arthur last month. She was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term for 29 years. Thomas Hughes (29), was found guilty by jury of manslaughter.
A pilot project is being run by the Children’s Commissioner with 10 local authorities. It aims at gathering data about how many children have been excluded from mainstream education.
She said that Arthur Labinjo Hughes, six years old, was the perfect example of why “vulnerable children must be at school.”
There is concern that thousands of children could be out of touch with authorities, and may have become victims to gangs.
Anne Longfield was the ex-Children’s Commissioner and stated that Arthur, an extremely vulnerable child, had disappeared from public view during the pandemic.
She said that it was not possible to solve the problem of ‘lacks of coordination and data sharing among child protection agencies in England’.
The warning came after a former minister to children warned that Covid had “exacerbated” the problems of detecting and treating child abuse cases.
Tim Loughton was Minister for Children and Families in David Cameron’s government from 2010-2012. He said that cases such as Arthur’s occurred ‘off radar’ and behind closed doors during lockdown. They could have been taken to schools, or even outside of the family.
According to a spokesperson for the Department for Education, “Our number one priority is to support all students to go to school and college.” National leaders have come together to promote best practice and improve attendance across the country through our attendance alliance.
“They will ensure that everyone who works with children on the ground, whether they are a teacher or a football coach, mental worker, or any other position, has all the resources and tools necessary to help children attend school.
A pilot project is being run by the Children’s Commissioner with 10 local authorities. It aims at gathering data about how many children have been excluded from mainstream education. File photo