Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of school exclusions.

The Department supports head teachers in using exclusion where this is warranted.

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 along with the Government response will be published in due course. The full terms of reference for the review can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-exclusions-review-terms-of-reference.