Nearly 300 Incidents of Missing Pupils Reported at La Passerelle
- markdarrenwilkinso
- Jun 5
- 1 min read
La Passerelle Pupils Reported Missing Nearly 300 Times in 16 Months
Students from La Passerelle, a Jersey school for children with additional needs, were reported missing to police 291 times between September 2023 and January 2025, according to figures obtained by the BBC.
The school was established to support pupils unable to cope in mainstream education, often due to anxiety or neurodiversity. However, some parents have raised serious concerns about the school environment. One parent, referred to as Paul, said mixing neurodiverse children with those involved in criminal behaviour has led to a "toxic mix," with students going missing and engaging in anti-social behaviour.
Paul’s autistic child began going missing and acting out after befriending students with behavioural issues. He claimed some suspended pupils even returned to the school grounds to encourage others to leave.
While the school and Education Minister Deputy Rob Ward insisted no pupils have gone missing during the school day without staff knowledge, they confirmed staff follow any pupil who leaves the premises until their parents arrive.
La Passerelle currently has 76 students across its primary and secondary sites. The States of Jersey Police declined to clarify how many individual students the 291 reports involved.
In a joint statement, the school and education department said they work with families and agencies to meet each pupil's needs, and that non-attendance is logged if a student fails to arrive at school.
