Schools told to prioritise ‘understanding’ rather than exclude pupils

SCHOOLS will pledge not to exclude pupils for bad behaviour under the first council policy of its kind.

Southwark council in south London said it is the first borough to introduce a policy to prevent all child exclusions from schools. It will ask schools to agree to a “trauma-informed response” to bad behaviour in appropriate circumstances, which the council defined as “not taking concerning behaviour at face value but striving to understand what is driving that behaviour”.

Cllr Jasmine Ali, cabinet member for children, young people and education, said that “even one child out of education is one too many”, adding that the plan was “about prevention, so children aren’t excluded in the first place. If they are not in education they are more prone to being in gangs”.

The education inclusion charter, agreed by the council’s cabinet members yesterday, has a focus on early intervention with disruptive pupils.

Schools will work with families and professionals across mental health, social care and youth offending services, and the police.

Schools signing up to the charter must pledge not to encourage parents to explore home education as a “resolution to issues with inclusion”. It says managed moves between schools may offer a “fresh start” but that discussions about a possible move must not take place informally. It also says there are “rare instances where exclusion is unavoidable to safeguard children”.

Cllr Ali said it was “deeply disturbing” that children who are in care, are living in poverty, have special education needs or are from black, Asian or minority ethnic backgrounds were disproportionately excluded.

Work on the charter began after permanent exclusions in the borough rose to 49 pupils in 2018. The number of exclusions in Southwark has been falling since 2018 and there were no exclusions in the autumn 2021 term.

The council hopes to become the first borough in England with zero exclusions. Cllr Ali said: “There are cases I have seen where young people have been taken out of the education system and found it difficult to get back in.”