Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Timpson review of school exclusion: Government response, published in May 2019, what progress his Department has made on establishing the practice programme to embed effective partnership working to better equip schools to intervene early for children at risk of exclusion.

The Department is taking forward an ambitious programme of reform which will respect head teachers’ powers to use exclusion, while equipping schools to support children at risk of exclusion and ensuring excluded children continue to receive a good education. The Department has already begun engaging with stakeholders including schools and local authorities on these reforms.

In addition, the Government committed to establishing a practice programme that embeds effective partnership working between local authorities, schools, alternative provision, and other partners.

This will better equip schools to intervene early for children at risk of exclusion and to ensure that the most effective provision is put in place for those who are excluded.

The Department will also re-write guidance on exclusions and behaviour to offer clearer, more consistent guidance to schools on managing behaviour, the use of in-school units, managed moves and the circumstances where it may be appropriate to use exclusion.

Guidance will be published by summer 2020 and more details on the practice programme will be announced in due course.