APPENDIX 57
Memorandum submitted by Tower Hamlets
Council
Thank you for letter of 12 March inviting
the Authority to contribute information to assist the current
inquiry into the issue of forced marriage. It may be helpful at
first to clarify the data that was provided last week, which was
subsequently misinterpreted in the media.
The Authority was asked "How many
children are judged to be not receiving a suitable education (either
currently, or at the last date for which figures are available—please
ensure the date is also provided)". Our reply was that there
had been 46 children referred since September 2007, 30 of whom
had been admitted to school by 10 March 2008. This left 16 cases
being worked with by the Attendance & Welfare Adviser (AWA)
for Children Missing Education (CME). These were all children
confirmed as living in Tower Hamlets who were not currently on
a school roll and this figure did not relate in any way to forced
marriage. A further 20 were being checked by the AWA (CME) to
determine whether they had taken up school places that had been
offered or were out of school. None of these were linked to forced
marriage.
Records are also kept of and searches
undertaken for "missing children" who are no longer
living in Tower Hamlets and whose whereabouts are unknown. Many
children are located eventually but some are not. The most common
reason for children remaining on the register is where families
have gone to live abroad, often to the country of origin, leaving
no forwarding address. There are 27 names on the missing children
register, 12 have been added in the current academic year. Forced
marriage was not reported as a contributory factor in any of the
27 cases.
A number of measures have been taken
to raise awareness of the issue of forced marriage and to facilitate
referrals from schools where this may be a concern, including:-
— Forced Marriage is a component
within the `Working with Bangladeshi Children & Families'
multi-agency training which includes participants from Education.
It is also referred to in the Education 1 day courses, in
the Foundation multi-agency 1 day course and in hand outs.
The differences between arranged and forced marriage are covered.
— There is a protocol in Tower
Hamlets and our advice is that any concerns should be referred
to Children's Services if under 18 and/or the Police and Vulnerable
Adults Team. Our Child Protection Advice Line provides a service
to schools and all other local agencies to discuss and report
any safeguarding concerns, including forced marriage.
— Our Children Missing Education
Guidance for schools includes forced marriage as a reason for
absence and advises immediate referral to the Child Protection
Advice Line.
— Forced marriage is covered
by the London Child Protection Procedures (section 5.15). Our
LSCB procedures sub-group will review this with a view to
producing a supplementary local protocol. The procedures are circulated
to all schools.
— PHSE encompasses keeping safe,
children's rights and domestic violence. Forced marriage in Tower
Hamlets has been linked to domestic violence so the training delivered
to schools has been particularly focused on domestic violence.
— The Ashiana Project is based
in East London. It is a "quick response" organisation
that gives very active support. It liaises with the Home Office
and contacts Social Care whist providing individual support to
the young women involved. Our Pupil Referral Unit reports that
Ashiana has always shown up on the same day as contacted and operates
a safe house for young people located outside the borough. The
Project has also given sessions as part of the PRU PSHE programme
outlining issues, rights and what to do if faced with forced marriage.
The PRU has referred concerns about two Year 11 students in relation
to possible forced marriage in the last three years.
— Children's Services staff
have participated in a recent course delivered by the Ashiana
`Safe Haven' Outreach Programme in partnership with the Sapphire
Unit that addressed forced marriage and domestic violence.
— A multi-agency conference
on forced marriage has been held with representation among others
from schools, the Council of Mosques and local authority.
— In the Equalities Impact Assessment
that has recently been completed on the Attendance & Welfare
Service there was no evidence of forced marriage being an issue
in non-attendance at school.
— The Tower Hamlets web site
publishes specific information on forced marriage, defines it
as a form of domestic violence and child abuse and advises how
to access support, both locally and from the Forced Marriage Unit.
20 March 2008
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