Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his department is taking to discourage schools from excluding primary-aged pupils.

Good discipline in schools is essential to ensure that all pupils can benefit from the opportunities provided by education. Schools can only exclude a pupil for a disciplinary reason, and all decisions to exclude a pupil must be lawful, reasonable and fair. The Government supports head teachers in using exclusion as a sanction, where it is warranted.

Statutory guidance issued to schools is clear that they should consider underlying causes of poor behaviour before issuing an exclusion as a last resort.

In March 2018, the Government launched an externally-led review of exclusions practice, led by Edward Timpson CBE. The review is exploring how head teachers use exclusion, and why pupils with particular characteristics are more likely to be excluded from school. It is also considering the differences in exclusion rates across primary and secondary schools in England. The review and the Government response will be published shortly.