Exclusion
Children are excluded at far higher rates in England than in other countries in Europe and this practice impact marginalised children at higher rates.
The need for exclusion is argued for as necessary to protect children and teachers from what are high levels of disruption and even violence.
Yet it is clear that exclusions don’t solve these problems. There is an urgent need to address the underlying problems and to insist on school and society where children’s rights are honoured, rather than cracking down on those already failed.
We could – and should – choose to make changes to the school system to better meet the needs of children, we could increase support for SEND, we might tackle systemic racism and inequality, we could tackle the wider problems inflicted on children and their families of poverty and housing problems. .
We must choose to find solutions which have children’s rights at the heart, rather than ‘solutions’ which tread all over the rights of those already oppressed.
“The need for ‘belongingness’ is a fundamental human motivation and social exclusion may be the most common and important cause of anxiety and depression. Exclusion ostracises the children in society most in need of help. This can be hugely problematic as being ostracised is a deeply wounding experience that has long term consequences.”
Psychologists for Social Change
PSC support the moratorium on school exclusions in England
A very English ‘solution’
England has much higher levels of exclusion than other countries within the United Kingdom, than Northern Ireland and than other European countries.
Researchers found that a mix of factors were responsible, from societal inequality to structural factors around the organisation of our school system and the way schools are judged and ranked. Stricter behavioural systems – the so-called ‘zero tolerance’ approach of cracking down on minor misdemeanors – have also been linked.
Rates have been highest in academies, the issue hit the headlines in 2018 and the government promised a review. Levels remain high.
“…the UK has a school exclusion rate that is 10 times greater than that of any other country in Europe.”
Dr John Tillson and Dr Laura Oxley
Theory and Research in Education: Children’s moral rights and UK school exclusions (2020)
“…97.4% of all pupils permanently excluded in the UK in 2016/17 were from schools in England compared to Scotland…”
Dr Claire Stewart-Hall, Lorraine Langham and Professor Paul Miller
Institute for Educational and Social Equity: Preventing school exclusions of Black children in England – a critical review of prevention strategies and interventions (2023)
“The most immediately noticeable effect [of national testing and school league tables introduced in the 1980s] was a huge rise in rates of school exclusions as institutions sought to ensure poorly attaining students did not drag their indicators down.”
Professor Val Gillies
Pushed to the Edge: Inclusion and Behaviour Support in Schools (2016)
“I found the factors associated with the rise in school exclusions in English schools. These include education market policy, the so-called league tables, austerity and funding cuts, fragmentation of the education system, informal off-rolling to improve GCSE results, and poverty.”
Honorary Professor and Head of Research Feyisa Demie
BERA: School exclusions: What does research tell us about the scale of the problem and challenges? (2022)
“Exclusions are high as a consequence of systemic factors such as ‘market competition’ which leads some schools to prioritise their needs over student needs. Inflexible curricula and rigid success criteria based solely around academic exams forces teachers into a straight jacket that makes inclusion extremely difficult. ‘Accountability measures’, policed by Ofsted, prompt schools to treat young people as commodities. A growth in punitive behaviour policies has also triggered an increase in sanctions, segregation and ostracisation for children who struggle to comply.”
Psychologists for Social Change
PSC support the moratorium on school exclusions in England
“Of those 45 schools handing at least 20% of their pupils one or more fixed-period exclusion in 2016-17, the overwhelming proportion were academies, with one of them, the Outwood academy Ormesby in Middlesbrough, excluding 41%.”
“In 2016, research found that academies were three times more likely than local authority schools to exclude students. And, in 2019 the Education Policy Institute found that multi-academy trusts (MATs) have above-average rates of permanent school exclusions and slighter higher rates of unexplained exits (offrolled) compared to local authority schools.”
Jessica Perera,
Institute of Race Relations: How Black Working-Class Youth are Criminalised and Excluded in the English School System (2020)
Marginalised children harmed
Exclusion is yet another side effect of a English school system which does not meet the needs of all children and of a society which having withdrawn support punishes those who fall through the ever bigger cracks.
It is clear that there are significant issues which can cause problems in schools. There is evidence that the strict behavioural systems intended as as the solution have become part of the problem in increasing unrealistic expectations of children, especially younger children and those who are neurodivergent, leading to punishment for those who won’t – or can’t – comply.
“Among children subject to permanent or temporary school exclusions, there is a disproportionate number of boys, Roma, gypsy and traveller children, children of Caribbean descent, children living in poverty and children with disabilities.”
Committee on the Rights of the Child
Concluding observations on the 5th periodic report of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (2016)
Experiences of marginalised children
“Children in low income families often experience multiple additional challenges in their lives, including ill health, homelessness and family unemployment. These factors can lead to punishment or reprimands. For example children missing school or being late because of extended journeys to school due to unstable housing and frequent moves into temporary accommodation.”
4in10: London’s Child Poverty Network and Just for Kids Law
Race, poverty and school exclusions in London (2020)
“Sanctions for not meeting school expectations are often the same as those applied for poor behaviour; poorer pupils can be punished for not having the correct uniform. This can lead to “them feel unjustly treated, and in some cases caus[ing] them to resist punishments”, in turn escalating to more serious sanctions including exclusion and a reputation for being problematic.”
4in10: London’s Child Poverty Network and Just for Kids Law
Race, poverty and school exclusions in London (2020)
“Our findings indicated that ethnic and SEN disparities were caused by multiple factors, including teachers’ low expectations, institutional racism, stereotyping, unconscious bias, poverty and lack of diversity.”
Honorary Professor and Head of Research Feyisa Demie
BERA: School exclusions: What does research tell us about the scale of the problem and challenges? (2022)
“Institutional racism can shape schools’ and teachers’ views on what is, and is not, acceptable behaviour. The RSA reported that young people had been punished by school for “actions like “spudding” (or “fist bumping”)” and noted other similar cases reported in the media, for example ‘kissing teeth’ breaching a school’s behaviour policy. Schools’ uniform policies can also discriminate against Black children on the basis of their hair, for example there have been cases of children being excluded for wearing natural afros or fades.”
4in10: London’s Child Poverty Network and Just for Kids Law
Race, poverty and school exclusions in London (2020)
“Small infringements which 10 years ago were not a big deal, are now a big deal. We are seeing children where we ask, why are they here?”
Astrid Schon, the headteacher at London East Alternative Provision
Quoted in Guardian: ‘It takes too long to get support’: alarm over rising primary school exclusions (2021)
“It is a legal requirement that schools investigate the possibility that disruptive behaviour is the result of unmet need, and act to reduce the risk of permanent exclusion. However, Just for Kids Law finds that schools have often failed to address the additional needs that are the context of a child’s behaviour, leading to an escalation.”
4in10: London’s Child Poverty Network and Just for Kids Law
Race, poverty and school exclusions in London (2020)
“Excluding children from school because they are disabled is discriminatory.”
Baroness Kishwer Falkner,
Chairwoman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission
School’s exclusion of disabled child successfully challenged, with support from equalities watchdog (2023)
“With school exclusion positioned as a major driver of child criminal exploitation it is unclear why significant action at a regional and national level to end exclusions has not yet been initiated.”
Dr Lauren Wroe
Journal of Children’s Services: Young people and ‘county lines’: a contextual and social account (2021)
“…the systematic dismantling of vital services, especially youth provision, and the restructuring of education to the detriment of the working class as a whole, has quite literally created an educational underclass, whose only prospect is a downward spiral from school exclusion, to youth detention and ultimately prison.”
Jessica Perera,
Institute of Race Relations: How Black Working-Class Youth are Criminalised and Excluded in the English School System (2020)