Children Missing from Home and Places of Education

The Children’s Society reports that 100,000 children go missing or run away each year, often falling into dangerous situations. Approximately 25 % of children who go missing are at risk of serious harm (DfE, 2014).  Where a key concern is the link between children who go missing and the risk of Child Exploitation (CE) - see Safeguarding Partnership Jersey  - Safeguarding Children from Child Exploitation.

All children are vulnerable to harm if they go missing, and it is everyone’s responsibility to safeguard them. There are various reasons why children go missing, and this should not be seen in isolation, as this may indicate underlying issues in their lives (see Push and Pull Factors).

All Practitioners and agencies are responsible for early intervention and for adopting a consistent and restorative approach to support children and their families. Efforts should focus on preventing children from going missing in the first place, reducing the likelihood of reoccurrences and helping children to establish stability and trust within supportive relationships. Jersey Child Protection Core Procedures must be followed whenever there are concerns that a child may have suffered significant harm.  Parents/carers should be seen as partners in safeguarding, as they often know their children best and can determine whether their child's safety is at immediate risk or whether they pose a safety risk to others when they go missing.

In Jersey, effective safeguarding of children relies on timely and appropriate information sharing. All practitioners have a legal and professional duty to share information, where necessary, to promote the welfare and protect the safety of children.

Practitioners must be familiar with and act in accordance with the Children and Young People (Jersey) Law 2022 and commensurate Statutory Guidance on information sharing, which supports multi-agency working and a child-centred approach to decision-making, and is underpinned by Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018.

Missing – “Anyone whose whereabouts cannot be established will be considered as missing until located, and their well-being or otherwise confirmed.” (College of Policing 2023). Note that this definition does not include children who are not where they are expected to be, but whose whereabouts are known and cause concern. In these circumstances, please address their concerns regarding their welfare.

Child – A person under the age of 18 - this term is intentionally used to emphasise that a child is at risk when missing and requires protection.

Parents/carers – The child’s biological or adoptive parents/carers, who may be relatives, friends and/or others who provide private fostering arrangements, who look after the child at their current residence.

College - All post-16 education providers, including apprenticeships, specialist post-16 institutions and independent training providers, and relates to their responsibilities towards children under the age of 18.

School – Unless otherwise specified - all schools, including Government of Jersey Schools, Independent or Private Schools (including those known as colleges), and Government of Jersey and Independent Nursery Schools.

Places of education - Any school, college, nursery or home setting (providing full or part-time education).

Regardless of how often a child goes missing, the risks they face may be the same and may include:

• No means of support or income;
• An inability to feed or clothe themselves;
• Exposure to the elements and, depending on the time of year, risk of neglect from cold/heat, leading to ill health or fatality;
• Becoming victims of criminal activities and child exploitation - see SP Jersey Safeguarding Children from Child Exploitation;
• Problematic substance use (including alcohol);
• Deterioration of physical and mental health;
• No access to education and training;
• Inappropriate/manipulative/exploitive relationships.

Longer-term risks may include:

• Long-term problems with their well-being, health and development;
• physical and mental health problems;
• Substance dependency;
• Involvement in crime;
• Involvement in child exploitation, leading into adulthood;
• Homelessness.

Risks increase for younger children, those with underlying mental health, disabilities and neurodiversity, in particular where they have communication difficulties, are more impulsive and have fewer opportunities to disclose their reasons for going missing.

Children who go missing usually experience a combination of push and pull factors. Understanding these enables practitioners to identify individualised child-centred risks, triggers and antecedent behaviours (things that happen before a child goes missing).

Push Factors – Things in their home or educational environment that cause significant stress and lead them to believe the only option to protect themselves is to leave.

Pull Factors – Things that entice a child to leave their home or education environment, usually believing that they can improve their lives in some way or meet an underlying need.

Responding effectively to children who go missing requires a partnership approach with parents/carers, schools, the police, children’s social care (CSC) and any other supportive safeguarding partner agencies, working together. The Level of Intervention when a child is missing should be proportionate to the concern and the child’s vulnerability and risk. Reporting a child as missing to the police should be based on the: -

• Risk to the child's or others' safety;
• Up-to-date and current knowledge of the child;
• Assessed an individual's levels of risk and vulnerability;
• Antecedent behaviours, trigger events and the circumstances of the current missing occurrence.

Not all episodes of a child going missing or not being where they were expected to be warrant concern. Parents/carers hold parental responsibility, and decisions initially sit with them to determine whether there is a safety risk for their child or for someone else. They are then expected to take reasonable actions to find their child and/or, depending on circumstances, wait a reasonable time for the child to return home of their own accord, or arrange for their return home, as outlined in the Levels of Intervention Model. All parties involved in responding should recognise that situations can change quickly, which requires parents/carers and agencies to adapt their actions accordingly. Parents/carers are advised to call the police when their concern about their child or someone else reaches a level that requires police involvement. The police will work in partnership with the multi-agency team where required and may wish to contact CSC to safeguard the child better.

The College of Policing states, “the police are entitled to expect parents/carers to accept normal parenting responsibilities and undertake reasonable actions to try and establish the whereabouts” of their child. So, unless there is a genuine or immediate risk to their safety or to the safety of others, parents/carers will be asked to take these reasonable actions to locate their child:

• Physical checks of their home, and any other location the child may be hiding within the house (including their bedroom);
• Physical checks of any garden, garage, sheds, grounds and surrounding areas;
• Attempting to contact them directly, via mobile phone, text, or social networking sites (e.g. Twitter/ Facebook/WhatsApp, etc.);
• Contacting the missing child’s wider family and friends to ascertain if the child is with them or has made contact;
• Going to locations/addresses they may visit;
• Trying to find them at the place they were last seen or were expected to be.

Where a child is not where they were expected to be, but their location is known, they should not be reported as missing to the police.

Where children are not where they were expected to be, their location is known, and there are: -

• Immediate risks for their safety or the safety of others; or
• The parents/carers (or where applicable the child’s social worker) assesses that their location poses a risk to professionals.

Parents/carers should contact the police, where multi-agency agreements with CSC can be made in the child’s best interests, taking into account the child's welfare and safety, and the safety of others. Shared multi-agency responsibility must be assumed for all children who are at risk of significant harm. That appropriate information is shared promptly and that this continues until the child’s safe return. This may include the need for a Strategy Meeting/Discussion - see SP Jersey Ministers Duty to Investigate Article 42 Enquiries and may include the need for police intervention, for example, a Child Abduction Warning Notice.

Child Abduction Warning Notice - A Child Abduction Warning Notice (CAWN) is a document issued by police to an individual, in certain circumstances, warning them that continued contact with a specific child could lead to arrest and prosecution for child abduction or related offences. It is a tool used to disrupt potential or ongoing inappropriate relationships between an adult and a minor, particularly when the adult has no permission to associate with the child. While breaching a CAWN is not a criminal offence and holds no legal force, it provides evidence of the individual's awareness of the restrictions. It can be used in subsequent criminal proceedings if the individual continues to contact the child.

A CAWN can be used in a variety of circumstances (primarily where children are in care). A CAWN may also be used for a child under 16 who is not in care; see the College of Policing - Advice for Safeguarding Children through the use of Child Abduction Warning Notices.

Parents/Carers Responsibility (see Appendix 1: Practitioners' Tool - Parent/Carers Guidance to Keeping your Child Safe if they go Missing)

A significant number of children are reported to the police as missing on repeated occasions, and parents/carers are asked not to fall into a pattern of automatically doing so, as this may affect their child’s wellbeing and not be in their best interests. It can affect their child’s relationship with practitioners and may lead to them having an unnecessary police record. The circumstances around why the child has gone missing must always be considered, and parents/carers should report their child as missing to the police where they hold:

• Serious concerns about their child’s immediate safety; and/or the immediate safety of others; and/or
• There is an agreed safety plan and/or a Philomena Protocol Risk Assessment Form completed by the Child’s Social Worker (CSW), which indicates that, due to the child’s needs, immediate police intervention is required should the child go missing. Note: if a child has a Philomena Protocol, they should also have a shared and agreed Multi-Agency Safety and Care Planning that focuses on their needs for support, see Appendix 3: Philomena Protocol Guidance and Appendix 4: Jersey Philomena Protocol Risk Assessment Form.

Preventative and Protective Steps for Parents/Carers and Practitioners: -

• There is no legal age at which a child can play outside alone, stay over with friends or travel home alone; this is reliant on parental choice. The NSPCC give helpful tips on how to keep children safe when they are away from home (see NSPCC). Practitioners should take opportunities to encourage parents/carers to take these supportive protective steps with their children as they gain independence and spend time away from home;
• Parents/carers should be encouraged to have open conversations with their children, letting them know how they will respond if they are not where expected to be, at the expected time. There is a reasonable expectation that parents/carers will set parental boundaries and understand where their child is, who they are with, and that they are where they were expected to be as a matter of course;
• Helping children problem-solve and create their own safety plans - helps to give them responsibility and helps them understand concerns, and potential actions if they go missing. This should involve conversations on what they will do and who they will tell (without fear of punishment) if, for example, they are not home on time, are late for school or get held up but are on their way home. This can prevent unnecessary missing-person reports from being made to the police.

• The Philomena Protocol is a national scheme that encourages agencies, parents/carers, family and guardians to record vital information which can be used in the event a vulnerable child goes missing. The information recorded includes a physical description, who their friends are, a recent photograph and whether they have gone missing before. For children with known vulnerabilities related to missing episodes and an allocated CSW, a Philomena Protocol Risk Assessment should be completed (see Appendix 3: Philomena Protocol and Appendix 4: Philomena Protocol Guidance). The responsibility for completing this form sits with the CSW and is carried out in partnership with the police, parents/carers and the child;
• It is important that the Philomena Protocol Form and safety and care plans provide clarity around expectations, roles and agency responsibilities, to ensure practitioners and parents/carers respond appropriately to safeguard them whilst reducing unnecessary police contact with children, which can negatively impact them;
• Philomena Protocol Forms, Safety and Care Plans should be reviewed and updated regularly in Team around the Child (TAC) meetings, following each missing occurrence (or for example following the Daily Missing Meeting).

All Places of Education must have systems in place to address children who are missing (KCSiE 2025). With actions taken to: 

• Consider the potential that a child may go missing in the child’s education plan, which takes into account their wellbeing, health and developmental needs and the actions required to safeguard their welfare should they go missing;
• Keep up to date chronologies which understand outcomes (following the JCF);
• Take action to meet children’s health and development needs and to safeguarding their welfare by placing enquiries to the Children and Families HUB;
• Where there is a history of going missing or there are risks associated with the likelihood they will go missing - a safety plan should be part of any Team around the Child (TAC) - Early Help Wellbeing Assessment (EHWA) and Early Help Wellbeing Plan (following the JCF Framework); and must be part of Health and Development Plans (Child in Need Plans) or Child Protection Plans (see Levels of Need in Statutory Guidance).

When making a missing person’s report, parents/ carers should share a copy of any agreed safety plans, and the CSW should share the child’s Philomena Protocol Risk Assessment if applicable, as this informs the police Risk Assessment (RA).

When the police receive a report a child is missing they make a Police RA in the child’s best interest: 

• Where there are serious concerns for the immediate safety of the child, the safety of others and/or the child has an agreed safety plan – the police will record the child as missing as the threshold for police intervention has been met, where police will be deployed to locate the child;
• Where there are no serious concern for the immediate safety of the child or others and/or the child does not have an agreed safety plan, the police are unlikely to record the child as missing at that point as the threshold for police intervention has not been met. In these circumstances, responsibility lies with Parents/Carers, and the police will ask for reasonable actions to be taken to locate the child prior to Police Intervention —see the Levels of Intervention Model.

The Levels of Intervention Model gives a linear process and is a useful tool for professionals to base decision making on; however, this is a guide, which does not, nor should not stop supportive communication between parents/carers, practitioners in education, police, children’s social care or any other agency who has a supportive professional relationship with the child, where all agencies should work together to meet their needs. Nor should this stop actions taken outside of this model which are found to be crucial on professional judgement in supporting parents/carers where their children are missing. Parents/carers and all practitioners should feel free to call each other, ask for assistance and come to agreed means of how to approach each situation for each missing episode, with all agencies working collaboratively to find the missing child. See alsoAppendix 1: Practitioners' Tool - Parent/Carers Guidance to Keeping your Child Safe if they go Missing.

The information the police require to assist them with any missing child will be:

• The child’s name/s; date of birth; status; parish and address;
• Where and when they went missing;
• Any behaviour or triggers which led to them going missing;
• Who, if anyone, they went missing with;
• What the child was wearing plus any belongings they had with them such as bags, phone etc;
• Description and recent photo;
• Medical history, if relevant;
• Time and location last seen;
• Circumstances or events around going missing;
• Details of family, friends and associates;
• All enquiries parents / carer has made to locate the child;

The police will also ask the reporting person a number of other questions to help assess risk in relation to the specific missing episode. Once a missing person report is made, the reporting person, parents/carers and any involved practitioners from the safeguarding network are expected to continue efforts to contact and locate the child.

The police classification of a person as “missing” will be based on their RA, at that time and in relation to the immediate risk to the child’s safety or the safety of others: 

See College of Policing - Missing Persons.

Where a child is categorised as high risk, Police guidance makes clear that a member of the senior management team or a similar command-level must be involved in the examination of initial enquiry lines and the approval of appropriate staffing levels. (College of Policing).

Where a child is categorised as at medium risk police guidance, makes clear this category this will involve a proactive investigation and search in accordance with the circumstances to locate the missing child as soon as possible (College of Policing).

The reporting person should expect that dependant on the outcome of the Police RA, the police may not decide to record the child as a missing child at that point in time. On police RA assessment if the child or others is deemed as at very low risk. In these circumstances, the police will wish to understand that all reasonable actions have been taken to find the child, the responsibility in this case remains at parents/carers intervention level. This does not stop honest, supportive communication between parents/carers, the police, and any other agency involved at that time.

Once the police have recorded a Missing Person Report for the child, they will: -

• Liaise with the parents/carers;
• Locate the child as safely and as quickly as possible;
• Complete a risk assessment so that every child at high risk of harm is immediately identified and to guide their response;
• Adopt a proactive multi-agency approach in dealing with missing persons, for example, contact the CSW or Children’s Services out-of-hours duty team (if applicable) to assess the child’s risks and vulnerabilities;
• Record an immediate action plan;
• Agree on the process for parents/carers/CSW to share any increased concerns directly with the responding Officer;
• Establish joint actions and pathways for information sharing and maintaining contact;
• Set a time to review the Police Risk Assessment and actions, or sooner if new information suggests an increased risk to the child;
• Support the needs of the family, those close to the missing person, and the community.

The Levels of Intervention Model recognises risk may be:

• Acceptable;
• Not acceptable to the parent or carer but does not justify police intervention;
• Unacceptable to both the parents/carers and the police, and justifies immediate police intervention. 

The police have a responsibility to ensure prevention interviews are undertaken when a child has been accepted as missing, is located and/or returns home. The type of Prevention Interview required is determined by risk (please see further information on who may be best to carry out this interview)

The purpose of a Prevention Interview is to: -

• Identify any ongoing vulnerability or risk factors which contributed to the child going missing and could contribute to repeat occurrences;
• Establish if the child has suffered any harm whilst they were missing;
• Establish information that may assist in locating the child if they go missing again;
• Gather information to inform strategic activity and disruption activity against perpetrators, where applicable.

The Jersey Children’s First Model is the island's Framework for Assessment, and RHCs should follow it.

All children reported missing to the police must be offered an RHC within 72 hours of their return.

In Jersey, RHCs are carried out for children living at home with their parents by Jersey Youth Services (JYS). The purpose of the RHC is to support the child or young person's safety and well-being. The police submit a Missing Child Protection Notification (MCPN) via the Children and Families Hub to notify Jersey Youth Service (JYS) where an RHC is required. JYS contact the child as soon as practicably possible; the timescale is from the time the review is offered and provided, within 72 hours of the child returning home.

RHCs should provide a safe space for the child to talk about any worries or fears. Provide key opportunities to support and safeguard a child, identify risk, and reduce the risk of future missing episodes.

Children often need to build trust with a known, safe practitioner before they will discuss the reasons they ran away or went missing. RHCs should aim to capture the child’s voice and understand these reasons by engaging the child in a trauma-informed way at their own pace. RHCs should be child-centred conversations that adopt a supportive, active-listening approach. Information gained from RHCs should inform a child’s Philomena Protocol and Safety Plans.

JYS will consider how best to complete return review discussions to meet the child’s and their parents/carers' needs for reassurance, support, and advice.

Actions following RHC’s include:

• Helping the child feel safe and understanding the push and pull factors (and if home is a push factor for them, take action accordingly);
• Give them options and work on the things that will help prevent repeat episodes;
• Capture the voice of the child and understand what the child would like to see happen next (short-term and/or long-term);
• Gather the parents' or carers' views of the circumstances (if safe and appropriate);
• Provide the child with information on how to stay safe, give them information on what exploitation and grooming looks like, including helpline numbers;
• Provide support in their safety and well-being.

Where RHCs identify further risk of significant harm, SP Jersey Child Protection procedures must be followed, with an enquiry being forwarded to the Children and Families HUB or notification being forwarded to the child’s allocated CSW, so plans can be made to address their safeguarding needs. This may include JYS making assessments in relation to: -

• Child Exploitation and/or Radicalisation – with the completion of the CE Risk Assessment Screening Tool.

Where there is a risk of harm from CE, the Jersey CE Risk Assessment Screening Tool must be forwarded along with an enquiry to the Children and Families HUB.

The team around the child (police, CSC, JYS, Health, Education, etc) must then work together:

• To build up a comprehensive picture of why the child went missing;
• What happened while they were missing?
• Who they were missing with and where they were found;
• What support did they require upon returning home?

Children may initially be challenging to engage; practitioners and agencies must work together and allocate the person with the best relationship with the child to progress this work. As children who are being abused, neglected and exploited are unable to prevent this.

Partnership working depends on resolving professional differences as soon as possible. Where practitioners hold professional differences, they must follow the SP Jersey Resolving Professional Difference/Escalation Policy and, in situations such as those mentioned below, work together to resolve differences where: -

• Where the police question the appropriateness of the missing report for a child being made to them, the reporting person and the police should take time to discuss the concerns. The reporting person should take time to calmly clarify their reasons for concern, ensuring all parties have the same information, and the police should actively listen;
• If a child has a CSW and there is professional disagreement between the CSW and the Police, which cannot be resolved. The CSW should escalate the issue to their Senior Practitioner (this may be the Out of Hours (OOH) Manager);
• The OOH Children’s Social Care Manager should raise this concern with the Police Duty officer on their behalf. With escalation to the OOH Head of Service and Police Gold (Chief Inspector+) as a next step;
• On occasions where there are unresolved professional differences, the multi-agency must continue to work together and act in the best interests of the child, to locate and secure the child’s safe return home in the necessary timeframe to protect them, which may include police intervention;
• Once professionals confirm the child’s wellbeing, the police and any reporting agency should arrange a follow-up discussion to address the issues that led to professional disagreement, where learning can inform future practice;
• Where there are ongoing concerns regarding agency action or inaction, these should be escalated via the Resolving Professional Differences/Escalation Policy to their conclusion.

CE involves exploitative situations, contexts and relationships where the child receives ‘something’ (e.g. status, love and belonging, food, accommodation, drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, affection, gifts, money) in return they provide a service, which may involve selling drugs or in return for sex. Children cannot prevent their own exploitation. Where CE is concerned, children will always experience a power imbalance, where violence, coercion and intimidation are common factors (see SP Jersey Safeguarding Children at risk of CE).

Other related Jersey Practice Guidance

• Children Looked After and living away from home;
• Children and Young People Moving in and Out of Jersey; 
• Children at Risk of Sexual Abuse in the Family Environment;
• Safeguarding Unaccompanied Children.

This guidance should also be read in the context of:

• Education (Jersey) Law 1999;
• Education Welfare Leaflet for Parents.

Appendix 1: Practitioners' Tool - Parent/Carers Guidance to Keeping your Child Safe if they go Missing

Appendix 2: Carers Guidance

See Philomena Protocol Guidance.

See Philomena Protocol Form.