Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Ofsted report entitled, Exploring the issue of off-rolling published on 10 May 2019, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of pupils illegitimately removed from schools.

The Department is clear that off-rolling, as defined by Ofsted, is unacceptable, and whilst the Department believes this practice is relatively rare, the Government is committed to continue working with Ofsted to tackle the practice of off-rolling.

Pupils leave school rolls for many reasons, including permanent exclusion, moving to another school, or changes of circumstances (such as when a pupil moves to a new area). All schools must notify the local authority when a pupil’s name is to be deleted from the admission register. There is no legal definition of ‘off-rolling’. However, the law is clear that a pupil’s name can only be deleted from the admission register on the grounds prescribed in regulation 8 of the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006, as amended.

Following media coverage of off-rolling in 2017, the Department wrote to all secondary schools, reminding them of the rules surrounding exclusion.

Ofsted already considers records of children taken off roll and has also recently consulted on proposals that will see a strengthened focus on this issue. From September 2019 where inspectors find off-rolling, this will always be addressed in the inspection report, and where appropriate will lead to a school’s leadership being judged inadequate.

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

The Timpson Review and the Government’s response were published on 7 May. The review makes 30 recommendations and highlights variation in exclusions practice across different schools, local authorities and certain groups of children. The Government has accepted all 30 recommendations in principle, and the Department has committed to working with education leaders over the summer to design a consultation on making schools accountable for the outcomes for permanently excluded children, to be launched in the autumn. As part of this, the Department will seek views on how to mitigate the potential unintended consequences Edward Timpson has identified in his review, including the practice of off-rolling.