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Children’s commissioner: ‘It’s a scandal so many children are missing school’

Hundreds of pupils with special educational needs (SEN) are completely missing from education, according to the Children’s Commissioner.

New analysis suggests SEN children represent more than one in five of the nearly 3,000 children who are not enrolled at a school or being suitably educated elsewhere.

Speaking exclusively to Radio 5 Live, children's commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza called it a "scandal so many children are out of school” and said these children "are not on anybody's radar".

A Department for Education spokesperson said Dame Rachel's report laid "bare the scale of the challenge to the education system".

It said the government will bring in a law so that councils must produce and maintain registers of children not in school, "ensuring fewer young people slip under the radar".

This clip is from 5 Live Breakfast on 10 September 2024. Listen on ̳ Sounds.

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