Ofsted highlights child data sharing weakness

A survey by Oftsted found that the School to School system, which includes a "lost pupil" database, was not being used consistently by local authorities' children's services departments. As a result, the system set up by the former Department for Children, Schools and Families has been less effective than intended. The Children Missing from Education survey examined the effectiveness of 15 local authorities in helping 14-18 year olds who are missing from education. The document, published on 17 August 2010, reveals that all the children's services departments surveyed said they were hampered by the limitations of national systems for exchanging information about children moving between areas. In order to overcome this problem, they had all worked with other council departments and had made links with other agencies. But the extent and effectiveness of the exchange of information varied from one authority to another. "While various agencies had partial knowledge, none of the children's services departments felt confident that it knew about all the children living in its area in order to fulfill its safeguarding duties fully," says Ofsted. The best councils placed great emphasis on extensive work across different agencies. In five cases the local authority and health professionals were closely and systematically involved in identifying children who were not receiving any education. A spokesperson for the Department for Education told GC News: "It is vital that all local authorities learn from the best and local services work together to ensure children are learning and are kept safe. "All schools – including academies and independent schools - should work closely with health services, the police and the local authority to keep pupils safe and receiving a suitable education."