Around one in four children who go missing are at risk of serious harm. This page sets out, in full, the London safeguarding procedure that is supposed to protect them — from care, from home, and from education.
Call 999. Do not wait for a set period of time before reporting a child missing, and do not try to decide yourself whether the child counts as "missing" or "absent" — that classification is a decision for the police, based on the information you give them.
Free, confidential, 24-hour support is available from Missing People on 116 000 (call or text), and from the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000. A child or young person can contact Childline on 0800 1111.
A child who goes missing from a care placement, from home, or from school is not a paperwork problem. They are the point at which every promise the state makes about protecting children is either kept or quietly broken — usually within the first few hours.
London already has a detailed, agreed procedure covering exactly what should happen. It is published as PG34: Missing from Care, Home or Education in the London Safeguarding Children Procedures, and it is the Runaway and Missing from Home and Care (RMFHC) protocol for London. Almost nobody outside the professional safeguarding world has ever read it.
That is why it is reproduced here in full. A duty that families, carers and young people cannot read is a duty they cannot hold anyone to.
Source and status of this page. The material set out below is reproduced from PG34. Missing from Care, Home or Education, published in the London Safeguarding Children Procedures. It is presented here as a public reference so that residents of Cities of London and Westminster can read the standard their local authorities and the Metropolitan Police are working to.
Read the official chapter at londonsafeguardingchildrenprocedures.co.uk/chapter/pg34-missing-from-care-home-or-education.
The chapter was last amended in September 2025, when a link to the police request for missing child discussion form was added to Section 2.1 (The Metropolitan Police Service). That form is used to request discussions with the Missing Persons Unit or local missing hub, and is a different form from the one used to request a strategy meeting. The published chapter carries a last-updated date of April 2026 (version 55).
This is a campaign reference page, not legal advice and not a substitute for the official procedure. Where a decision is being taken about a real child, the current published chapter, the Core Procedures and the local authority's own policy govern. Specific definitions of key concepts used by safeguarding practitioners are available through the Glossary published alongside the procedures, and a record of all amendments is kept in the Amendments & Archives section of the same site.
This guidance is the Runaway and Missing from Home and Care (RMFHC) protocol for London. It should be followed by local authorities, the Metropolitan Police and other partners when children run away or go missing.
Children running away and going missing from care, home and education is a key safeguarding issue for local authorities and local Safeguarding Children Partnerships. This guidance is designed to ensure that when a child goes missing there is an effective, collaborative safeguarding response from all agencies involved. Current research findings estimate that approximately 25 per cent of children and young people who go missing are at risk of serious harm. There are particular concerns about the links between children running away and the risks of sexual exploitation. According to recent studies, looked-after children missing from their placements are vulnerable to sexual and other exploitation, especially children in residential care.
The chapter provides guidance for assessing both the risk that a child may run away and the risk to the child if they do go missing. It sets out the actions that should be taken by professionals to locate the child, assist with their return, and identify the issues that caused and may continue to cause the child to run away or go missing.
The guidance is based on guidance issued under Section 7 of the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970, which requires local authorities, when exercising their social services functions, to act under the general guidance of the Secretary of State. Local authorities should comply with this guidance when exercising those functions, unless local circumstances indicate exceptional reasons that justify a variation.
It complements Working Together to Safeguard Children and related statutory guidance, and the Children Act 1989 guidance and regulations volumes in respect of care planning and review. It takes account of the Department for Education statutory guidance Children who run away or go missing from home or care (January 2014), and should be used in conjunction with the Core Procedures.
Research cited: the Ofsted report Missing Children (February 2013); the Joint All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) Inquiry on Children Who Go Missing from Care (2012); and the accelerated report of the Office of the Children's Commissioner's inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation in Gangs and Groups. Statutes and guidance cited: Local Authority Social Services Act 1970; Working Together to Safeguard Children; The Children Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations – Volume 2: Care Planning, Placement and Case Review; DfE statutory guidance on children who run away or go missing from home or care.
Each Local Safeguarding Children Partnership (LSCP) and its partner agencies should adopt the following safeguarding principles in relation to identifying and locating children who go missing:
The Core Procedures and Safeguarding Practice Guidance provide information to support professionals in recognising, responding to and managing circumstances in which children who have run away or are missing may be suffering, or are likely to suffer, significant harm.
Additional practice guidance exists for
These, along with the Core Procedures, can be accessed on the London CPC website.
Nationally, the following can be accessed
The Metropolitan Police Service, as the lead agency for investigating and finding missing children, will respond to children and young people going missing or being absent based on ongoing risk assessments in line with current guidance. The police will prioritise all incidents of missing children as medium- or high-risk.
Requests for a discussion about a missing child with the Missing Persons Unit or local missing hub should be made using Form 87P.
The police definitions
The police classification of a person as "missing" or "absent" will be based on ongoing risk assessment. A child whose whereabouts are known would not be treated as either "missing" or "absent" under the police definitions.
It is important to note that professionals or others reporting a child missing to the police should not make the judgment themselves as to whether a child is missing or absent — this decision will be made by the police on the basis of the information provided.
Where a child is recorded by police as being absent, the police will agree review times and any ongoing actions with the person reporting the absence. All persons recorded by police as absent are monitored on the police CAD system. Monitoring is ongoing and subject to regular reviews to ensure risk levels do not change. Where information comes to light which introduces any risk to that person, the case may be re-categorised as "missing" and a police investigation instigated. One of the overriding principles of "absent" is that police can focus resources more effectively, in accordance with their risk assessments of "absent" and "missing" incidents.
The police will carry out a "Safe and Well" check with a child who has been reported as missing and returns, and will also conduct an independent "Return Review" interview in exceptional circumstances.
Risk assessment
The police will prioritise all incidents of missing children as medium- or high-risk. Where a child is recorded as being absent, the details will be recorded by the police, who will also agree review times and any ongoing actions with the person reporting.
A missing child incident would be prioritised as high risk where:
The high-risk category requires the immediate deployment of police resources. Police guidance makes it clear that a member of the senior management team or a similar command-level official must be involved in examining initial enquiry lines and approving the appropriate staffing levels. Such cases should lead to the appointment of an Investigating Officer, possibly a Senior Investigating Officer, and a Police Search Advisor (PolSA). There should be a media strategy and/or close contact with outside agencies. Family support should be put in place. The UK Missing Persons Bureau should be notified of the case immediately. CEOP (National Crime Agency) and local authority children's services should also be notified.
A missing child incident would be prioritised as medium risk where the risk posed is likely to place the subject in danger, or they are a threat to themselves or others. This category requires an active and measured response from police and other agencies to trace the missing person and support the person reporting. This will involve a proactive investigation and search in accordance with the circumstances to locate the missing child as soon as possible.
Reference: guidance on how the police respond to missing persons is published by the College of Policing.
The police can use the powers under Section 46(1) of the Children Act 1989 to remove a child into police protection if they are at risk of significant harm. Police protection lasts up to 72 hours.
Section 17 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 provides police with powers to enter and search premises in certain circumstances — notably, for the purposes of this guidance, for saving life and limb, or to arrest without warrant a person who has committed an indictable offence or certain other listed offences under the section.
Section 24 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 provides police with the power of summary arrest for any offence, subject to certain provisions — notably, for the purposes of this guidance, under s.24(5)(d) to protect a child or other vulnerable person from the person in question.
Should it be necessary to take the child into police protection, the child must be moved as soon as possible into local authority accommodation. The local authority should consider the type of accommodation that is most suitable in each case. It is important that young people are not placed in accommodation that leaves them vulnerable to exploitation or trafficking.
The local authority may apply to the court for a Recovery Order under Section 50 of the Children Act 1989. A Recovery Order can only be sought when the child is subject to an interim or full care order, and it is clear that the child is in no immediate danger of significant harm. Social services may need to obtain an Emergency Protection Order under Section 44 of the Children Act 1989 before the expiration of police protection.
Section 46(1), Children Act 1989: where a constable has reasonable cause to believe that a child would otherwise be likely to suffer significant harm, he may (a) remove the child to suitable accommodation and keep him there; or (b) take such steps as are reasonable to ensure that the child's removal from any hospital, or other place, in which he is then being accommodated is prevented. Also cited: Children Act 1989 sections 31, 44 and 50; Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 sections 17 and 24.
Section 13 of the Children Act 2004 requires local authorities and other named statutory partners to make arrangements to ensure that their functions are discharged with a view to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. This includes planning to prevent children from going missing, and doing everything possible to ensure their safe return when they do go missing. Through their inspections of local authority children's services, Ofsted will include an assessment of measures with regard to missing children as part of their key judgement on the experiences and progress of children who need help and protection.
Local authorities should name a senior children's service manager as responsible for monitoring policies and performance relating to children who go missing from home or care. The responsible manager should look beyond this guidance to understand the risks and issues facing children who are missing from home or care, and to review best practice in dealing with the issue.
Local authorities must ensure that all incidents where children go missing are appropriately risk-assessed, and should record all incidents of looked-after children who are missing or away from their placement without authorisation.
Even with strong systems and services that minimise the likelihood of young people running away, some young people will still feel that they have to run away. In all circumstances, local safeguarding procedures should be followed. If there is concern that the child may be at risk if returned home, the child should be referred to children's social care to assess their needs and make appropriate arrangements for their accommodation.
Children who are looked after should have information about, and easy access to, help lines and support services, including emergency accommodation. Support should also be made available to families to help them understand why the child has run away and how they can support them on their return.
It is important that emergency accommodation can be accessed directly at any time of the day or night. Bed and breakfast accommodation is not suitable for children or young people under the age of 18 and should only be used in exceptional circumstances.
Sharing information to locate a child who is looked after, subject to a child protection plan, or a child in need
The local authority should consult with the police regarding the action to be taken to share information about a missing child who is looked after, subject to a child protection plan, or a child in need. This should include an assessment of whether to release information to the media. The local authority should also notify other local authorities according to the degree of concern. Consideration should also be given to whether the child or their family has links to other areas in the United Kingdom.
Upon receipt of a notification from another local authority, a flag should be added to the electronic record system for children's social care, and consideration should be given to notifying relevant health and other partners.
Data on looked-after children who go missing or are away from placement without authorisation
The Department for Education statutory guidance on children who run away or go missing from home or care (January 2014) states that looked-after children who go missing, or who are away from placement without authorisation, can be at increased risk of sexual or other forms of exploitation, or of involvement in drugs, gangs, criminal activity or trafficking. Particular attention should be paid to repeat episodes. Data on these episodes should be analysed regularly in order to map problems and patterns. Regular reports on this data should be provided to council members and the LSCP.
Data for children missing or away from placement without authorisation should be reported to the Department for Education by the responsible authority, through their annual data returns on looked-after children as part of the annual SSDA903 data collection.
Local authorities collect information about children missing from education and educational establishments, as well as about children who access other local authority services such as youth services, and those who are looked after. As the guidance states, the early and effective sharing of information between professionals and local agencies is essential for identifying patterns of risky behaviour. This may be used to identify areas of concern for an individual child, or to identify "hotspots" of activity in a local area.
Local authorities should collect data on children reported missing from care, including repeat episodes of missing from care, unauthorised absences from care placements and other relevant information, and should regularly analyse this data to identify problems and patterns. This should include identifying patterns of sexual and other exploitation.
Good practice suggests the following data should be collected and analysed by a multi-professional group
Data about children and young people who go missing from home, education or care should be included in regular reports to council members — especially to the Lead Member for Children's Services — and in regular reports by the local authority to the local LSCP.
Ofsted is required to disclose details of the locations of children's homes to local police services, to support the police in taking a strategic and operational approach to safeguarding children — particularly in relation to sexual exploitation and trafficking.
It should be noted that disclosure of this information to police services does not happen automatically, and police services will need to request to receive this information on an ongoing basis.
This duty is in addition to the existing obligation for Ofsted to disclose this information to local authorities. A protocol published alongside the regulations sets out the responsibilities of public authorities to use information about the location of children's homes only for the purposes for which it was disclosed, and to share it further only where this is compatible with safeguarding children and promoting their welfare.
Reference: Department for Education joint protocol, Children's homes – procedure for disclosing names and addresses (2013).
Healthcare professionals play a crucial role in identifying and reporting children who may be missing from care, home and school.
Missing children have access to services provided by a range of health providers, for example
Health professionals should have an understanding of the vulnerabilities and risks associated with children who go missing. Staff working in health settings should be aware of their professional responsibilities and the responses undertaken by the multi-agency partnership. Risks include sexual exploitation, trafficking, forced marriage and female genital mutilation. Radicalisation, also a risk factor for vulnerable young people, is managed via the national "Prevent" strategy.
All health providers should provide a comprehensive service for looked-after children. A Designated Nurse and Doctor for Looked After Children are located in each Clinical Commissioning Group. These are statutory appointments, and they are responsible for commissioning and delivering appropriate healthcare, assessments and services. Designated health professionals for looked-after children should share relevant information and intelligence relating to high-risk individuals or emerging themes and patterns indicative of organised and targeted abuse with the NHS Patch Safeguarding Children Forum. They should also ensure that all health staff within their locality know how to identify, report and respond to a child who is missing from care.
Reference: the Prevent strategy — Protecting the UK against terrorism.
When a 16 or 17-year-old runs away or goes missing, they are no less vulnerable than younger children and are equally at risk, particularly of sexual exploitation or involvement with gangs.
When a 16 or 17-year-old presents as homeless, local authority children's services must assess their needs as for any other child. Where this assessment indicates that the young person is in need and requires accommodation under section 20 of the Children Act 1989, they will usually become looked after.
The accommodation provided must be suitable, risk-assessed and meet the full range of the young person's needs. The sustainability of the placement must be taken into consideration. Young people who have run away and are at risk of homelessness may be placed in supported accommodation with the provision of specialist support — for example, a specialist service might be provided for those who have been sexually exploited or are at risk of sexual exploitation.
Local authorities should have regard to the statutory guidance issued in April 2010 to children's services authorities and local housing authorities about their duties under Part 3 of the Children Act 1989 and Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 to secure or provide accommodation for homeless 16 and 17-year-olds.
References: Children Act 1989 section 20; Provision of accommodation for 16 and 17-year-olds who may be homeless and/or require accommodation; Housing Act 1996.
Some of the children who are looked after by local authorities may be unaccompanied asylum-seeking children or other migrant children. Some children in this group may have been trafficked into the UK and may remain under the influence of their traffickers even while they are looked after. Trafficked children are at high risk of going missing, with most going missing within one week of becoming looked after and many within 48 hours. Unaccompanied migrant or asylum-seeking children who go missing immediately after becoming looked after should be treated as children who may be victims of trafficking.
Children who have been trafficked may be exploited for sexual purposes, and the link to sexual exploitation should be addressed in conjunction with the Sexual Exploitation Procedure.
The assessment of need to inform the care plan will be particularly critical in these circumstances and should be done immediately, as the window for intervention is very narrow. The assessment must seek to establish:
In conducting this assessment, it will be necessary for the local authority to work in close co-operation with the Modern Slavery Human Trafficking Centre and immigration staff, who will be familiar with patterns of trafficking into the UK. Immigration staff should be able to advise on whether information about the individual child suggests that they fit the profile of a potentially trafficked child.
Provision may need to be made for the child to be in a safe place before any assessment takes place, and for the possibility that they may not be able to disclose full information about their circumstances immediately. The location of the child should not be divulged to any enquirers until their identity and relationship with the child has been established — if necessary, with the help of police and immigration services. In these situations, the roles and responsibilities of care providers must be fully understood and recorded in the placement plan. Proportionate safety measures that keep the child safe and take into account their best interests should also be put in place, to safeguard the child from going missing from care or from being re-trafficked.
It will be essential that the local authority continues to share information with the police and immigration staff concerning potential crimes against the child, the risk to other children, or other relevant immigration matters.
Safeguarding Children Who May Have Been Trafficked: Practice Guidance (2011) contains practical guidance for agencies which are likely to encounter, or have referred to them, children and young people who may have been trafficked. Where it is suspected that a child has been trafficked, they should be referred by the local authority into the UK's victim identification framework, the National Referral Mechanism (NRM).
The NSPCC Child Trafficking Advice Centre (CTAC) provides specialist advice and information to professionals who have concerns that a child or young person may have been trafficked. CTAC can be contacted free on 0808 800 5000, Monday to Friday, 9:30am to 4:30pm, or by email at help@nspcc.org.uk.
References: National Crime Agency (Modern Slavery Human Trafficking Centre); Safeguarding children who may have been trafficked (GOV.UK); the National Referral Mechanism; NSPCC. See also the Trafficked and Exploited Children Procedure and the Sexual Exploitation Procedure within the London Safeguarding Children Procedures.
Grooming is when someone builds an emotional connection with a child to gain their trust for sexual abuse or exploitation. Children and young people can be groomed online or in the real world, by a stranger or by someone they know — such as a family member, friend or professional. Groomers may be male or female, and could be any age. Many children and young people do not understand that they have been groomed, or that what has happened is abuse.
Children can be groomed for sexual abuse as well as other forms of exploitation, including involvement in criminal and extremist activity. Children who are missing are more vulnerable to being groomed, and may also go missing as a result of being groomed.
Protecting children at risk of radicalisation
Children and young people can suffer harm when exposed to extremist ideology. This harm can range from a child adopting or complying with extreme views which limit their social interaction and full engagement with their education, through to children being groomed for involvement in violent attacks.
Children can be exposed to harmful, extremist ideology in the immediate or extended family, or by relatives and family friends who live outside the family home but have influence over the child's life. Older children or young people might self-radicalise over the internet or through the influence of their peer network. In this instance, their parents might not know about this, or may feel powerless to stop their child's radicalisation.
Going missing is a risk factor in relation to radicalisation:
Professionals should always assess whether a child who has gone missing is at risk of radicalisation. Concerns relating to radicalisation should be referred to the police using the Prevent National Referral Form.
Children at risk of sexual exploitation (CSE)
The sexual exploitation of children involves exploitative situations, contexts and relationships where the young person — or a third person or persons — receives "something" (for example food, accommodation, drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, affection, gifts or money) as a result of them performing, and/or another or others performing on them, sexual activities. Violence, coercion and intimidation are common.
Involvement in exploitative relationships is characterised by the child's or young person's limited availability of choice as a result of their social, economic or emotional vulnerability. A common feature of CSE is that the child or young person does not recognise the coercive nature of the relationship and does not see themselves as a victim of exploitation.
Going missing is a significant risk factor in relation to sexual exploitation:
Because there is such a strong link between children going missing and the risk of sexual exploitation, professionals should always assess whether a child who has gone missing is being sexually exploited or is at risk of being sexually exploited. See also the Sexual Exploitation Procedure.
Children at risk of being drawn into offending behaviour
Children and young people who go missing from care, home and education also need safeguarding against the risk of being drawn into offending behaviour. For example, some children have become involved in what is colloquially known as the "county lines" issue. This involves children being used by gangs to transport and distribute drugs outside of London, as drug sales operations are expanded into the home counties and beyond.
Reference: NSPCC (definition of grooming).
From the age of 16, young people in care are referred to as care leavers. However, it is important to note that local authorities have very similar duties and responsibilities towards 16 and 17-year-old care leavers as they do to children in care, and for the purposes of this guidance the response to a missing care leaver aged 16 or 17 should be the same.
Local authorities continue to have a range of responsibilities towards children leaving care until the young person's 21st birthday, and in some instances their 25th birthday. It is good practice to follow the guidance set out in this chapter whilst a young person remains "leaving care".
Care leavers, particularly 16 and 17-year-olds, are vulnerable to sexual exploitation and may go missing from their home or accommodation. Local authorities must ensure that care leavers live in "suitable accommodation" as defined in Section 23B(10) of the Children Act 1989 and Regulation 9(2) of the Care Leavers Regulations. In particular, young people should feel safe in their accommodation and in the areas where it is located. Local authorities should ensure that pathway plans set out where a young person may be vulnerable to exploitation, trafficking or going missing, and put in place support services to minimise this risk.
Reference: The Care Leavers (England) Regulations 2010.
When a child is placed out of their local authority area, the responsible authority must make sure that the child has access to the services they need in advance of placement. Notification of the placement must be made to the host authority and other specified services. All children who are the subject of a London pre-incident risk assessment should be notified to the local police service.
If children placed out of their local authority run away, this protocol should be followed in addition to complying with other processes specified in the host local authority's policy. It is possible that the child will return to the area under the responsibility of the relevant authority; therefore it is essential that liaison between the police and professionals in both authorities is well-managed and coordinated. A notification process for missing or absent episodes should be agreed between the responsible and host local authorities as part of the care plan and the placement plan.
Sometimes a looked-after child may be away from their placement without authorisation. While they are not missing, they may still be placing themselves at risk — for example, they may be at the house of friends where there are concerns about risks of sexual exploitation.
The carer or social worker should take reasonable steps to ascertain the child's wellbeing, including, when appropriate, visiting the location. However, if there is a concern that the child may be at significant risk of harm to themselves or others, then the police should also be notified so that appropriate safeguarding measures can be taken. This should not be confused with reporting a child missing.
Local authorities have a duty to place a looked-after child in the most appropriate placement to safeguard the child and minimise the risk of the child running away. The care plan and the placement plan should include details of the arrangements that will need to be in place to keep the child safe and minimise the risk of the child going missing from their placement.
Where a child already has an established pattern of running away, the care plan should include a strategy to keep the child safe and minimise the likelihood of the child running away in future. This should be discussed and agreed as far as possible with the child and with the child's carers, and should include detailed information about the responsibilities of all services, the child's parents and other adults involved in the family network.
Independent Reviewing Officers (IROs) should be informed about missing and absent episodes, and they should address these in statutory reviews. The pre-incident risk assessment should be updated after a missing incident and should be regularly reviewed.
Designated health professionals for looked-after children should be informed of children missing from care who are deemed to be "high risk". They should be included in any multi-agency strategy meetings or activity to manage the child's retrieval and any subsequent health needs.
Whenever the whereabouts of a looked-after child is not known, the foster carer or the manager on duty in the children's home is responsible for carrying out preliminary checks to see if the child can be located. For example, if a child was supposed to have returned home from school but has not arrived within the normal journey time, checks could include finding out if there are transport delays, phone calls to the child, and phone calls to the school to see if the child has been delayed. If these initial checks fail to locate the child, or there are still concerns that — despite contact being made with the child — they remain at risk, the individuals and agencies listed below should be informed.
It is clearly important to set a deadline at the outset of these initial checks so that they do not continue beyond a reasonable timeframe. The reasonable timeframe should be based on an assessment of the risks related to the individual child. In some cases there may be particular reasons to be concerned about the child's safety immediately, and the agencies detailed below should be contacted straight away — in conjunction with ongoing attempts to contact the child and determine why they are not where they are supposed to be.
Who should be contacted when a child is missing or away from placement without authorisation
Information to give the police — minimum requirements
Appendix 4: Looked After Child Information Sharing Form should be used when reporting a child missing to the police. As a minimum requirement, all reports should include:
The carer or carers should take all reasonable steps, which a good parent would take, to secure the safe and speedy return of the child, based on their own knowledge of the child and the information in the child's placement plan. If there is a suspected risk of harm to the child, the carers should liaise immediately with the police.
Immediate strategy and action plan
Following initial discussions between the allocated children's social care worker and the police, they should agree an immediate strategy for locating the child and an action plan. This is to include a range of actions to locate and ensure the safe return of the child, including:
Within three days, and onwards
Within 3 days, a meeting or telephone discussion between the relevant parties should take place and include the police, the child's social worker and the provider. The action plan and risk assessment should be reviewed and updated.
When the child has been located, care staff or foster carers should promptly inform the child's social worker and the Independent Reviewing Officer that the child has returned. Arrangements should have been made for safe and well checks and independent return review interviews.
Safe and well checks
Safe and well checks are carried out by the police as soon as possible after the child has returned. Their purpose is to check for any indications that the child has suffered harm, establish where and with whom they have been, and give them an opportunity to disclose any offending by or against them.
Where a child frequently goes missing, it may not be practicable for the police to see them every time they return. In these cases a reasonable decision should be taken in agreement between the police and the child's parent or carer with regard to the frequency of such checks — bearing in mind the established link between frequent missing episodes and serious harm, which could include gang involvement, forced marriage, maltreatment or abuse at home, bullying or sexual exploitation.
The assessment of whether a child might run away again should be based on information about:
Independent return review
The independent return review is an in-depth interview that should be carried out by an independent professional — for example a social worker, teacher, health professional or police officer — who is not involved in caring for the child, is trained to conduct these interviews, and is available. The child should be seen alone unless they specifically request to have someone accompany them. The child should be offered the option to speak with an independent representative or advocate. The IRO should be informed.
The responsible local authority should ensure the return review interview takes place, working closely with the host authority where appropriate. Contact should be made with the child within 72 hours of them being located or returning from absence, to arrange the independent return review interview in a neutral place where they feel safe.
The interview and the actions that follow from it should:
It is especially important that the independent return review interview takes place when a child:
Follow up
The local authority children's social care services, police and other agencies involved with the child should work together to assess the child and:
Where children refuse to engage with the interviewer, parents and/or carers should be offered the opportunity to provide any relevant information and intelligence they may be aware of. This should help to prevent further instances of the child running away, and identify early the support needed for them.
If a child continually runs away, the actions taken following earlier incidents need to be reviewed, and alternative strategies should be considered.
To reduce repeated running away and improve the long-term safety of children and young people, the agencies involved may want to provide:
There may be local organisations in the area that can provide repeat runaways with an opportunity to talk about their reasons for running away, and can link runaways and their families with longer-term help if appropriate. Local authorities should work with organisations that provide these services in their area.
Children's homes staff and foster carers should be trained and supported to offer a consistent approach to the care of children — including being proactive about strategies to prevent children from running away, and understanding the procedures that must be followed if a child goes missing. The competence and support needs of staff in children's homes and of foster carers in responding to missing from care issues should be considered as part of their regular appraisal and supervision.
The Children's Homes Regulations 2001 (as amended) require children's homes to have a missing child policy. They also require that, before implementing or making substantive changes to an existing policy, children's homes shall consult with relevant partners and take into consideration any relevant local authority or police protocols on missing children. Finally, where a child is, or has been, persistently absent without permission from the children's home, or is at risk of harm, the children's home shall request that the local authority responsible for the child review the child's care plan.
The National Minimum Standards (Standard 5.5) specifies that staff should actively search for children and work with the police where appropriate.
References: The Children's Homes Regulations 2001, as amended by The Children's Homes and Looked after Children (Miscellaneous Amendments) (England) Regulations 2013; Children's homes: national minimum standards; and the Department for Education's Statutory guidance on children who run away or go missing from home or care: Flowchart to accompany the statutory guidance, available on GOV.UK.
When local authorities and the Metropolitan Police analyse trends and patterns in relation to children who run away or go missing from home, particular attention should be paid to repeat "missing" and "absent" episodes. Each local authority and LSCP needs to be alert to the risk of sexual exploitation or involvement in drugs, gangs or criminal activity such as trafficking, and to be aware of local "hot spots" as well as concerns about any individuals whom children run away to be with.
Local authorities and LSCPs should also consider the "hidden missing" — children who have not been reported missing to the police, but who have come to an agency's attention after accessing other services. There may also be trafficked children who have not previously come to the attention of children's services or the police. Research demonstrates that children from black and minority ethnic groups, and children who go missing from education, are less likely to be reported as missing. Local authorities and the police should be proactive in places where they believe under-reporting may be more likely because of the relationships some communities, or individuals, have with the statutory sector.
Children missing from home are subject to risks and vulnerabilities similar to those for children who are looked after. NHS designated and named professionals hold a statutory role regarding safeguarding in the local health community, and must be included in the information-sharing and management processes being put in place for children deemed to be at high risk.
The police will respond to all notifications of children categorised as "missing" as medium or high risk in accordance with this guidance. Where a child is categorised as being absent, the details will be recorded by the police, who will also agree review times and any ongoing actions with the person reporting.
Information required by the police to assist in locating and returning the child to a safe environment
Cross-reference: see Part 2, The Metropolitan Police Service — Risk Assessment.
Child protection procedures must be initiated in collaboration with children's social care services whenever there are concerns that a child who is missing may be suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm.
A risk assessment should be completed in line with this protocol, and action by the police will include:
Where the child is subject to a child protection plan or a section 47 enquiry
Where a child is living at home and is the subject of a child protection plan, or is the subject of a s47 enquiry, additional action is required:
Where the child is known to children's social care services, or meets the criteria for referral to children's social care services, the local authority will ensure that an assessment takes place and that there are a range of service options available to address the child's needs following the safe and well check and independent return review interview.
Young people who have run away and are at risk of homelessness may be placed in supported accommodation, with the provision of specialist support — for example, for those who may have been sexually exploited.
Safe and well checks
Safe and well checks should be carried out by the police as soon as possible after the child has returned. Their purpose is to check for any indications that the child has suffered harm, establish where and with whom they have been, and give the child an opportunity to disclose any offending against them.
Where a child frequently goes missing, it may not be practicable for the police to see them every time they return. In these cases a reasonable decision should be made in agreement between the police and the child's parent regarding the frequency of such checks, bearing in mind the established link between frequent missing episodes and serious harm. In addition, consideration should be given to referring the child to children's social care services for an assessment to understand the reasons why the child is going missing and to assess the risk of harm further.
The assessment of whether a child might run away again should be based on information about:
Independent return review
The independent return review is an in-depth interview and should be carried out by an independent professional — for example a social worker, teacher, health professional or police officer who does not usually work with the child and is trained to carry out these interviews. Children sometimes need to build up trust with a person before they will discuss in depth the reasons why they ran away.
The police should make a referral to children's social care services to ensure that a return review interview takes place. Contact should be made with the child within 72 hours of them being located or returning from absence, to arrange an independent return review interview in a neutral place where they feel safe.
The interview and the actions that follow from it should:
The independent return review interview must take place when a child:
Working together after the return
Following the safe and well check and independent return review, the local authority children's services, police and voluntary services should assess the child's needs and work together:
Where children refuse to engage with the interview, parents should be offered the opportunity to provide any relevant information and intelligence they may be aware of. This should help prevent further instances of the child running away and identify the support needed for them early on.
Information about local help lines and agencies that work with runaways should be provided to the child and their family.
This section outlines the actions to be taken when a child is missing from school and may be suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm, or is a child in need.
Statutory duties on local authorities and parents are set out in
In particular, the guidance provides for professionals seeking to exercise their duty under Section 175 of the Education Act 2002 and Section 11 of the Children Act 2004 to ensure that their functions are discharged having regard to the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. It additionally aims to ensure that the duty to co-operate to improve the well-being of children under Section 10 of the Children Act 2004 is fulfilled.
All schools will have a Designated Teacher for Looked-After and Previously Looked-After Children. These teachers are ideally placed to assist in identifying those children currently in school who may be at a greater risk of missing out on education.
Further guidance referenced
The Children Missing Education statutory guidance sets out the key principles to enable local authorities in England to implement their legal duty under section 436A of the Education Act 1996 to make arrangements to identify, as far as it is possible to do so, children missing education (CME). Local authorities should be able to demonstrate that they have considered this statutory guidance, and where it is not followed they should have reasonable grounds for not doing so. The key principles are:
Reference: The Children Act 2004; The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 as amended.
For the purpose of the Statutory Guidance on Children Missing Education (2024), children missing education are children of compulsory school age who are not registered pupils at a school and are not receiving suitable education otherwise than at a school. Children missing education are at significant risk of underachieving, being victims of harm, exploitation or radicalisation, and becoming NEET — not in education, employment or training — later in life.
Enquiries into the circumstances surrounding a child who is missing from school can be effectively supported by schools adopting an admissions procedure that requires a parent or carer to provide documentary evidence of their own and the child's identity and status in the UK, as well as the address at which they are residing. These checks should not become delaying factors in the admissions process.
If a member of school, educational establishment or college staff becomes aware that a child may have run away or gone missing, they should try to establish with the parents or carers what has happened. If this is not possible, or the child is missing, the designated safeguarding teacher or adviser should, together with the class teacher, assess the child's vulnerability.
From the first day of unexplained absence
From the first day that a child does not attend school and there is no explanation or authorisation of the absence, the following steps should be taken:
A referral to children's social care and/or the police should always be made promptly where
Further questions that could assist in judging whether to inform children's social care and the police
The length of time that a child remains out of school could, of itself, be an alerting factor of risk of harm to the child. Accordingly, if a situation is not resolved within 3 days, the Education Welfare Service should be contacted. Referrals should then be made to the police and the local authority's children's social care, as appropriate, over the next two weeks.
An extended leave of absence can be authorised by the head teacher, at which point a return date is set. In these cases, the timeline for enquiries starts from when the child does not attend school on the expected return date, not from the day the extended leave began.
Day one
If the answers to any of the points set out in the previous section indicate concerns about the child's safety, a referral should be made to the police and children's social care on day one. The education welfare service should be informed and requested to assist in locating the child.
Reasonable enquiry
If the judgment reached on day one is that there is no reason to believe that the child is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm, then the school may delay making a referral. The process of "reasonable enquiry" has not been specified in regulations; however, it includes school staff checking with all members of staff with whom the child may have had contact, as well as with the pupil's friends, parents, siblings and known relatives at this school and others.
School staff should also make telephone calls to any numbers held on record or identified, send a letter to the last known address, conduct home visits by some school-based staff, and consult with local authority staff.
Days two to twenty-eight
If the above response was unsuccessful, the school should contact their local authority CME Officer. The local authority should make enquiries by visiting the child's home and asking for information from the child's family, their neighbours and the local community, as appropriate.
The local authority CME team should also check databases within the local authority, and use agreed protocols to check local databases — for example local authority housing, health and the police. They should check with agencies known to be involved with the family, with the local authority the child moved from originally, and with any local authority to which the child may have moved.
The child's circumstances and vulnerability should be regularly reviewed and reassessed jointly by the school's nominated safeguarding advisor and the CME Officer, in consultation with children's social care and the police as appropriate.
Child missing from school for more than four weeks
A child may not be removed from the school roll before the end of four weeks. After 4 weeks, the child's Common Transfer File should be uploaded to the Department for Education secure site for the transfer of pupil information when a pupil moves between schools. The CME Officer in the local authority must also be informed.
Transfer of information when a pupil changes school
The Education (Pupil Information) (England) Regulations 2000 (SI 2000/297), as amended by SI 2001/1212 and SI 2002/1680, govern the transfer of information between schools.
If the CME team or any other agency becomes aware that the child has moved to another school, the service should ensure that all relevant agencies are informed so that arrangements can be made to forward records from the previous school.
Reference: The Education (Pupil Information) (England) Regulations 2000.
This part applies to children who are "subject to restriction" — that is, who have:
A missing person's referral must be made by Home Office staff to the police, the UK Missing Persons Bureau and local authority children's social care in a number of circumstances, including:
A copy of the missing persons notification form must be faxed or emailed to the local authority duty desk and the UK Missing Persons Bureau.
If it is believed by Home Office staff that a child is being coerced to abscond or go missing, this must be reported as a concern that the child has suffered or is likely to suffer significant harm to the local police and children's social care services. Notifications will also be made where a missing child is found by Home Office staff.
The local authority and health are responsible for
The police are responsible for
The police central point of contact is the PNC Team in Liverpool.
The local authority will also notify the Home Office Evidence and Enquiry Unit when a child in their care goes missing, or when a missing child is returned or found. The Home Office must maintain regular weekly contact with the local authority and the police until the child is found, and record all contact with the police and local authority.
Reference: Home Office guidance, Missing Children and Vulnerable Adults Guidance (chapters 19 to 22a: restrictions).
Found by Home Office staff
The local police and local authority must be informed immediately. In consultation with the local police and the local authority's children's social care, a decision will be made regarding where the child is to be taken, if they are not to be left at the address where they are encountered. The Home Office must follow up enquiries with the local police and children's and adult services to identify if there are any safeguarding issues.
Found by the police or local authority
The Home Office Command and Control Unit will be the single point of contact for the local police, and the Evidence and Enquiry Unit will be the single point of contact for local authorities, to notify the Home Office that a child has been found.
Contact points given in the procedure: Command and Control Unit — CommandandControlUnit@homeoffice.gov.uk. Evidence and Enquiry Unit — Home Office UK Border Agency, Evidence and Enquiry Unit, 12th Floor Lunar House, 40 Wellesley Road, London, CR9 2BY.
Based on the Department for Education's Statutory guidance on children who run away or go missing from home or care (2014), the definitions which should be used are set out as follows.
Reference: DfE Statutory guidance on children who run away or go missing from home or care, January 2014.
Items to cover:
The remaining appendices to the chapter are downloadable practitioner documents. They are published with the official chapter and are listed here so that readers know what exists and can ask for them by name.
Each appendix can be viewed from the official chapter at londonsafeguardingchildrenprocedures.co.uk.
The procedure set out on this page is, on the whole, a good one. Written down, it is careful, specific and timed: 72 hours to reach a child after they return, 3 days to a multi-agency meeting, 7 days to the Lead Member and the Corporate Parenting Board, a return interview that must happen after two missing episodes.
The problem is not the standard. The problem is that nothing much happens when the standard is missed — and the child who was missed is the last person in a position to do anything about it.
This constituency is covered by Westminster City Council and the City of London Corporation, and both are bound by this same London-wide protocol, alongside the Metropolitan Police. That is the useful part: there is no argument to be had about what the standard is.
What an MP can do is ask, in writing and on the record, whether each authority is meeting it — and publish the answers. Where an authority declines to answer, the correspondence goes on the public record.
Where a vote concerns whether a child in care can enforce a safeguarding duty owed to them, that sits inside the core human rights mandate and the position is fixed.
Where a vote concerns funding, structures or local delivery choices in children's services, the constituency decides and this seat votes as the majority directs.
A missing child procedure is only as good as the question someone is willing to ask afterwards: did we do the things we wrote down, and if not, who noticed? Publishing the answer is not a burden on children's services. It is the only thing that makes the written standard mean anything to the child it was written for.
Register to join the secure constituency polling platform and direct how this seat votes on children's social care.
Register Your Vote