50 children found absent at Meadowhall shopping centre raises concerns over school attendance

But most were with parents or relatives – making it condoned absence rather than truancy, Sheffield district commander Chief Supt Lindsey Butterfield told a police commissioner meeting.

Dr Alan Billings said: “This made me wonder how many children are out of school on any given day and what happens to them.

“I was told that they are the responsibility of their individual academy and the academies are under no obligation to tell the local authority if children are absent.

“Some schools have their own attendance officers, some do not. There seems to be a lack of consistency, no doubt one of the unintended consequences of moving to academies

“This is serious. Children not in school are at risk. They are vulnerable and can be targeted by organised criminals.”

Nationally, persistent absentees have risen from 38,000 in the 2019/20 school year to 63,000 in 2021/22.

“It is alarming to see that attendance continues to be lower than before the pandemic,” said Dr Billings.

“My guess would be that many who subsequently come into contact with the police have just such poor school attendance records.

“I certainly think we need national consistency for reporting children missing from school.

“But I also recognise, having spoken to some of those absentees, that there are some young people who struggle with formal education.

“This is where I would commend and seek to support the youth work that goes on in our county.”