Dozens of children with no schooling in Shropshire
There are more than 100 school-age children across Shropshire who are not receiving an education, it can be revealed.
These include 50 who have recently moved into the county.
Data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act reveal that last month there were 52 youngsters in the Telford & Wrekin Council area aged five to 16 who did not have an educational placement.
Russell Griffin, of Telford & Wrekin Council, said the majority of these were youngsters who had recently moved into the area.
In the Shropshire Council area there were a total of 178 pupils aged five to 18 who did not have any educational provision.
However, Shropshire Council said 110 of these had now moved out of the area, but were still registered on the authority's database.
'Incentives'
Last year Telford & Wrekin Council leader Councillor Shaun Davies spoke of his concern that families from the south-east were being relocated to the county without any satisfactory arrangements being made.
Mr Griffin said that of the 52 pupils without a school in Telford, 34 had moved into the local authority area.
"They were within the school admissions process awaiting a school place," he said.
"When we receive an application for a school place we usually place children within 15 school days."
In April last year Councillor Davies claimed families were being relocated to Telford by London borough councils that would otherwise have to pay high rents through housing benefit. They sometimes even offered cash incentives to move, he added.
He warned that sometimes these moves could have terrible consequences.
“There have been some horrible cases of people being moved to Telford, they just turn up on a train without having any means of support, and they have had to be referred to the food banks,” he said.
A Freedom of Information request from the Liberal Democrats revealed that from 2012 to 2017, a total of 18 families had been moved to Telford.
Karen Bradshaw, director of children’s services at Shropshire Council said of the 178 children registered as having no education provision, 110 had moved out of the county.
"The local authority keeps these children on our database until their whereabouts have been established and it is confirmed that they are in receipt of a suitable education," she said.
Mrs Bradshaw added that a further 50 were going through the process to find a place.
"Some are going through an appeals process and placement panels to ensure they are allocated a place suitable to meet their individual needs," she said.
"Unfortunately, there are also occasions where parents or carers do not engage with the local authority and this can lead to a delay in securing a suitable education for some children."
The remaining 18 were children who had moved into the county and who would be enrolled at a suitable school or educated otherwise, she added.
"Shropshire Council is committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of all children, and that in all circumstances they have access to a high quality education," said Mrs Bradshaw.
