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| Ofsted Trojan Horse warning on missing pupils | Ofsted Trojan Horse warning on missing pupils |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Ofsted chief Sir Michael Wilshaw has warned of "potentially high numbers of pupils" disappearing from school registers in Birmingham and Tower Hamlets in east London. | Ofsted chief Sir Michael Wilshaw has warned of "potentially high numbers of pupils" disappearing from school registers in Birmingham and Tower Hamlets in east London. |
| Sir Michael said this "serious safeguarding issue" emerged as inspectors made follow-up visits after the so-called Trojan Horse inquiries. | Sir Michael said this "serious safeguarding issue" emerged as inspectors made follow-up visits after the so-called Trojan Horse inquiries. |
| The chief inspector said it was unclear where some pupils had gone next. | The chief inspector said it was unclear where some pupils had gone next. |
| The Department for Education said it would take "immediate steps". | |
| "The safety of young people in our schools is paramount and we will be taking immediate steps to strengthen our guidance to schools on safeguarding and to amend the current regulations about the information schools collect when a pupil is taken off the register," said a Department for Education spokesman. | |
| The Ofsted chief had warned there was a lack of robustness in identifying why pupils had been taken off school registers or their next destination - making it difficult to know if they could be at risk from "extremist ideologies". | |
| In some cases he said there were "generic" descriptions, such as "moved abroad" or "gone to live with grandparents" - or in one case "gone back to Libya". | In some cases he said there were "generic" descriptions, such as "moved abroad" or "gone to live with grandparents" - or in one case "gone back to Libya". |
| Sir Michael suggests that some of these pupils will have left mainstream state schools and become pupils in unregistered schools. | Sir Michael suggests that some of these pupils will have left mainstream state schools and become pupils in unregistered schools. |
| From about a thousand pupils who moved from schools during this monitoring period, Ofsted says that in about 30% to 40% of cases it is unclear where pupils went next. | From about a thousand pupils who moved from schools during this monitoring period, Ofsted says that in about 30% to 40% of cases it is unclear where pupils went next. |
| The report from Sir Michael provides Education Secretary Nicky Morgan with an updated assessment on progress in 21 Birmingham schools and seven in Tower Hamlets. | The report from Sir Michael provides Education Secretary Nicky Morgan with an updated assessment on progress in 21 Birmingham schools and seven in Tower Hamlets. |
| It comes in the wake of the so-called Trojan Horse inquiries into allegations that groups with a hardline Muslim ethos had been trying to take over schools. | It comes in the wake of the so-called Trojan Horse inquiries into allegations that groups with a hardline Muslim ethos had been trying to take over schools. |
| Sir Michael's progress report says that there has been an overall improvement, in both state schools and some independent schools. | Sir Michael's progress report says that there has been an overall improvement, in both state schools and some independent schools. |
| But he highlights his concerns about a lack of a clear legal requirement for schools to establish where pupils move if they leave a school, warning that current practices are "inconsistent" and "inadequate". | But he highlights his concerns about a lack of a clear legal requirement for schools to establish where pupils move if they leave a school, warning that current practices are "inconsistent" and "inadequate". |
| Sir Michael says this makes it "very difficult, if not impossible" to establish if pupils are at risk. | Sir Michael says this makes it "very difficult, if not impossible" to establish if pupils are at risk. |
| "We cannot be sure that some of the children whose destinations are unknown are not being exposed to harm, exploitation or the influence of extremist ideologies." | "We cannot be sure that some of the children whose destinations are unknown are not being exposed to harm, exploitation or the influence of extremist ideologies." |