The investigation, which comes following the death of six-year-old Athur Labinjo-Hughes in Solihull last year, will look at persistent absences in 10 local authority areas.
These areas have not yet been chosen but will be a “real mix” of areas, the Office of the Children’s Commissioner said.
De Souza told the Observer: “We should be able to find out where every child in England is. We should be making sure they are in school or high-quality education.
“We must do everything we can for safeguarding purposes to make sure children are in school, particularly the most vulnerable. There is no reason in 2021 why we shouldn’t be able to find out where every child is, and make sure they are in school, getting a decent education.”
Latest Department for Education figures show that persistent absence increased to 16.3 per cent in secondary schools in autumn 2020, compared with 15.0 per cent in 2019, not including non-attendance in Covid circumstances.
Last week, Ofsted backed calls for an elective home education (EHE) register after the inspectorate’s Annual Report 2020/21 highlights a rise in the number of EHE pupils across all year groups since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This year, school and local authority leaders told us about a significant increase in pupils being removed from school to be home educated,” the report states, citing figures released by the Association of Directors of Children’s Services which showed a 38 per cent rise in the number of children being home educated in 2020/21 compared with the previous year.
Amanda Spielman, Ofsted’s chief inspector, said she had “long called” for a register of children being home educated.
“This is something I’ve been an advocate of for a long time, because we do not know who these children are or where increasing numbers of children are," she said.
“Increasing numbers of children being moved to ‘unknown’ destinations are at growing risk of harm and are vulnerable. We need to be able to keep track of them to keep them safe.”
Meanwhile, Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi has also announced the launch of a new attendance alliance.
