Large academy chains more likely to have children disappear from schools without explanation, study finds

Large academy chains all have higher than average rates of children disappearing from school rolls with no explanation, a study has found.

Most large multi-academy trusts – which run state schools independent of councils – also have above average rates of exclusions, research from the Education Policy Institute (EPI) suggests.

The study focuses on “informal” removals likely to have been instigated by schools to improve their GCSE results or to manage budget pressures.

It comes amid continuing concerns about “off-rolling”, in which pupils, often those that are considered problematic, naughty or academically-poor, are unofficially removed from school rolls.

The latest analysis by the EPI calculates that among the cohort that reached year 11 in 2017, more than 61,000 pupils experienced an unexplained exit at some point during their time at secondary school.

This equates to as many as one in 10 youngsters in a year group.

Some schools lost at least the equivalent of an entire class of pupils over the five years, the figures show.

Larger multi-academy trusts – which run at least 10 schools – have above average rates of unexplained exits, the report finds, but overall there is not a large difference between academy chains and councils.

In some cases, children may have had more than one move for unofficial reasons; the study says that for this year group, there were over 69,000 unexplained exits in total.

The majority of unexplained exits, around three quarters, are experienced by vulnerable pupils.

Almost one in three pupils in the social care system, one in six poorer pupils, one in six pupils with special educational needs, and one in seven black pupils experience unexplained school moves.

As many as four in 10 (24,000) of those who experienced an unexplained exit did not return to the school system, the report adds.

David Laws, executive chairman of the EPI, called the figures “disturbing” and said was “concerning” that the government has little information on where pupils end up.

He said: “Vulnerable children, including those in care and in poverty, are particularly at risk of having their education disrupted in this way – adding further disadvantage to the barriers they already face.”

Mr Laws called on school leaders, Ofsted, and the Department for Education to look closely at multi-academy trusts and local authorities with the worst records to address “worrying outcomes”.

Watchdog Ofsted has previously criticised schools for “off-rolling” children just before their GCSE exams to boost their results and perform better in the government’s league tables.

Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), who sponsored the report, said: “It calls for further investigation that large multi-academy trusts, many of whom have been lauded by government for vastly improved results, have higher than average unexplained exits.

“The performance culture in schools, where high GCSE grades and Progress 8 scores are what counts, needs to change.”

But Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “We would urge commentators not to jump to conclusions about particular trusts or local authorities or to try to score political points.

“What is clear is that we need a system of measuring school performance which rewards the inclusion of vulnerable pupils rather than the current system which effectively penalises schools with inclusive intakes because these pupils tend to make less progress than their peers.”

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “While we back head teachers in having robust behaviour policies and to use permanent exclusions as a last resort, we are clear that it is against the law to remove pupils on the basis of academic results. Any school that does this is simply breaking the law, but unexplained pupil exits is not the same as off-rolling.

“As this report highlights, the increase in unexplained exits is small and there are not large differences between exits in multi-academy trusts and local authorities, and we will continue to work with Ofsted to tackle off-rolling in any setting.”