Educational Neglect

Education plays a vital role in children’s progress, wellbeing, and overall development. Regular school attendance is also a key protective factor and can reduce vulnerability to wider harms.

Educational neglect has been referred to as: “an understudied phenomenon that is difficult to define and also to address. It is considered a form of child maltreatment in many jurisdictions, and it usually involves a parent or other caregiver actively or passively neglecting the learning and educational needs of a child, which results in harm to the child’s development and well-being.” Van Wert et al. (2018 p50)

Indicators of educational neglect may include:

• Parent(s) consistently failing in maintaining schooling or identifying provision for their child.
• Parent(s) failing to engage in school meetings to address attendance concerns.
• Parent(s) unable to provide substantiated reasons for absences from school.
• Parent(s) failure to engage in statutory or non-statutory interventions to improve attendance.
• Parents fail to prevent children from becoming persistently absent- (below 90% attendance) and/or severely absent (below 50%) over a period equal to an academic year.
• Passively letting a child stay home from school without adequate reason.
• Encouraging a child to drop out of school.

“School absences, particularly when chronic, are associated with children’s internalizing and externalizing problems, and family poverty, mental health issues, homelessness, substance abuse, crime, and a lack of basic necessities”
Van Wert et al. (2018 p50)

What does the law say about school attendance?

The law (Education Scotland Act, 1980) says that parents must provide their child with an ‘efficient’ education that is suited to their age, ability and aptitude while they are ‘school age’ — from five years old until they turn 16.

They can do this by:

• sending them to a school run by a local authority.
• arranging for them to attend an independent school.
• educating them at home.

Educational neglect should not be regarded solely as a ‘school issue.’ All agencies working with a family must remain alert to the broader factors that may be influencing the situation.

All practitioners should have high expectations for good school attendance and promote this through their standard practice with families.

The Scotland average for persistent absenteeism is approximately 30%, meaning nearly one in three pupils nationally fall into this category.

Fife’s rate is slightly higher, at around 32%, placing it above the national average. This indicates that persistent absence is a significant issue in Fife, requiring continued focus and coordinated multi-agency efforts to address underlying causes and prevent further escalation.

Educational Neglect and what the numbers say - Dr Alex McTier, 2025

Some vulnerability factors to be considered:

Child vulnerability factors

• Adverse childhood experiences (abuse/neglect).
• Disability
  
• Substance misuse
  
• Learning difficulties
  
• Family unit breakdown
  
• Bereavement
  
• Views not considered in decision making about education
  
• Chronic ill-health
  
• Child subjected to exploitation (sexual or criminal)
  
• Living in poverty
• Going missing
  
• Reduced or inappropriate educational or timetable provision
  
• Young carer
  

Parental vulnerability factors

• Previous worries about poor attendance at school
• Poor parental mental and emotional wellbeing
  
• Substance misuse
  
• Domestic abuse/violence
  
• Learning difficulties.
  
• Unemployment
  
• Poverty
  
• Lack of positive parenting in childhood
• Adverse childhood experiences
  
• Being underweight or obese
• Poor parental engagement in education both current or previous
  
• Unable to provide/uninterested in development of child at any age
  
• Unable to or not engaging with support
  
• Exploitation or criminality
• Bereavement
  
• Family breakdown
  
• Ill health
  
• Not following health advice that enables engagement in education
  

Agency & Professional vulnerability factors

• Lack of sharing information between agencies regarding concerns
• Ineffective monitoring and review of reduced timetables or alternative provision
  
• Lack of triangulation or challenge regarding information provided by parent where it raises query/may not be substantiated
  
• Lack of substantiated/reasonable information for absence
  
• Inconsistent or unsustainable responses to agency support
  

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All practitioners should:

• Consider the significance of educational neglect if they become aware of persistent and/or severe absence from school.
• Demonstrate professional curiosity in relation to children not in school including those who are home educated / not in education.
• Challenge parents and carers as to why children are not in / attending school.
• Engage with the child’s school to collaboratively identify and implement supports that can help improve attendance.
• Ensure that where a child has a Child’s Plan and there are concerns around their attendance, that this is reflected in the plan.

Fife Council have clear policies and processes for school attendance including Children Missing from Education, Agreed Reduced Attendance and Flexi-schooling which can be found on the Intranet: Schools & Education – Promoting Engagement and Attendance

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• Neglect Strategy

• Neglect Guidance

• Neglect Toolkit

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