There are many policy decisions made at national level which impact on whether we are building the capacity of the education system to ensure inclusion – how can your school affirm young people to prevent and reduce exclusions?
CREDIT: This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared on the National Education Union
Who is excluded, and which groups of young people are over-represented in the exclusion statistics, tells us about inequality and social exclusion in society. Affirming young people and their backgrounds, and ensuring the curriculum is relevant and accessible, are vital in reducing exclusions, but so is investing in staff development and creating a research-informed profession.
We think that proper support for children and young people at risk of exclusion requires:
greater funding for students on pupil premium, students with SEND and looked after children;
reversal to the education cuts which have forced schools and colleges to reduce pastoral systems;
dedicated posts in schools for mentors, counsellors and family support workers to ensure individual support and positive relationships with a named staff member;
a flexible curriculum, relevant and properly representative of a diverse Britain;
multi-agency working with a team around each child at risk of exclusion;
collaboration between mainstream schools and pupil referral units, because staff in alternative provision are a repository of expertise and skills which can be offered to mainstream schools.
So, how can schools work to shape the future of the education system and prevent and reduce exclusion?
Zero tolerance approach to behaviour management
Zero tolerance can sound appealing and effective in terms of an approach to achieving consistent practice across a school. Ensuring staff feel safe at work is vital, and creating a positive learning environment is the right goal.
However, there is evidence that zero tolerance approaches can drive up exclusions, and the race and class disparities regarding who is excluded are concerning. It does not support young people to stay engaged in education or develop the skills they need.
What are the systemic causes of rising exclusions?
In 2020, the RSA worked with the Esmee Fairburn Foundation to explore why there has been a 60% increase in the number of pupils permanently excluded from England’s schools over a five- year period. The report explored the causes of rising exclusions including wider societal factors, direct consequences of deliberate policy-making and unintended consequences of policy-making.
It concluded that, in order to reduce unnecessary exclusions, we need to address the systemic causes of rising exclusions and to create the conditions, within schools, which allow them to hold onto, and meet, the pastoral and learning needs of at-risk children. Indeed, pastoral and learning needs are inextricably linked, and have a reciprocal relationship. One interesting suggestion from the research was that schools should make it clear that exclusion is an option available to the school rather than stating that it is a sanction for a pre-specified list of behaviours.
The report recommended the following:
The government should invest in multi -agency teams to support the preventative work of headteachers. Area-based teams of mental health, social care, youth work and criminal justice professionals should work together to help headteachers support pupils at risk of exclusion.
The government should create a ‘what works’ fund to assess the impact of promising approaches to reducing exclusions.
The DFE should ensure that progression routes for school staff recognise the importance of pastoral work. Pastoral leadership should be embedded within the framework for the National Professional Qualification for Headship.
The DfE should issue clear ‘fair access’ guidance that ensures all schools and agencies engage with fair access processes and removes academies’ right of refusal over pupils placed via fair access systems.
The DFE should ensure that we know where every child and young person is in the education system by mandating that the date and reason for all managed moves, and transitions to home education, are recorded on school information systems before pupils can be removed from the school roll.
The report also identified five conditions for change:
Every child should have a strong relationship with a trusted adult in school.
Every child’s parent or carer should be engaged partners in their child’s education.
Every child should attend a school with an inclusive ethos.
Every pupil should be assessed early, and continuously, for learning and social and emotional needs so that appropriate support can be provided.
All children should be looked after, and visible, in the system.
Intervening to prevent and reduce the exclusion of Black students
According to the DfE 2019 Timpson Review, Black Caribbean pupils are permanently excluded from school at three times the rate of White British pupils, and Gypsy Roma and Traveller children are permanently excluded at five times the rate of White British pupils.
Schools can make a difference; they must create spaces and professional opportunities to consider, and respond to, the impact of racism, poverty and mental health on their student populations.
Intervening to prevent and reduce the exclusion of SEND students
Students with education, health and care (EHC) plans are five times more likely to be excluded from school than students without an EHC plan, and figures for students with undiagnosed SEND are likely to be much higher but are not currently recorded. Autistic students are the largest group of SEND learners to be excluded.
The way a school or college operates its behaviour management policy can have a highly negative and exclusionary impact on SEND students. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, and the national emphasis on catch-up, SEND students are facing greater pressures with reduced support from specialist TAs, LSAs and mental health professionals.
Intervening to reduce the risk of exclusion for looked after children
Children in care can be more likely to miss education because of the disruption in their lives. School staff can help improve attendance by talking to children in care about the importance of coming to school, how they feel about coming to school and their ambitions for the future, and how being at school will help them with further education or getting a job. There is much that school staff can do to make a difference for children in care and to support carers to engage with education.
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