WIREDGOV

Cllr Roy Perry, Chairman of the LGA's Children and Young People Board, commented on the speech made by Education Secretary, Nicky Morgan, on radicalisation and schools needing to report moving or missing children to their council.

"Councils work closely with their maintained schools to ensure that any child missing from school or thought to be at risk of radicalisation are quickly identified and supported.

"Ensuring all academies and free schools understand their responsibilities to work with their local council in helping to combat this issue is paramount.  Councils have the statutory responsibility to safeguard all children and need to work closely with all schools no matter what their legal status. Any school that is no longer council maintained must acknowledge this duty and work with their council accordingly.

"Unregistered schools are illegal and in some areas are increasingly becoming an issue.  With councils being squeezed out of education provision, they have no jurisdiction to enter a premises unless there is a serious safeguarding concern.  However, gaining entry to these establishments once a problem is reported is extremely difficult and councils need more powers to ensure children's safety."