West Yorkshire Police and the Education Safeguarding Team would like to alert DSLs to the force Truancy policy
https://www.westyorkshire.police.uk/sites/default/files/2022-05/truancy.pdf .
There have been a number of referrals to the Police for children and schools need to be aware of this key point.
“Where a person is reported to have left school premises without the permission of staff at that location, or failed to attend at school as planned, they will not be recorded as a missing person or require a police deployment unless either a) or b) applies:
a) It is considered that there is an immediate and real risk that the child will suffer significant harm or cause significant harm to another person if they are not found.
b) Where there is an agreement in place between the school and the police that the young person should be treated as missing immediately in all circumstances”
West Yorkshire Police policies can be found here
https://www.westyorkshire.police.uk/about-us/policies-and-procedures/policies/crime and
Children Missing Education guidance can be found here
https://bso.bradford.gov.uk/content/children-missing-education