Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department plans to take to make schools accountable for the outcomes of permanently excluded SEND children.

The government is taking forward an ambitious programme of action on behaviour, exclusion and alternative provision (AP) which will respect head teachers’ powers to use exclusion when they need to, enable schools to support children at risk of exclusion, and ensure that excluded children continue to receive a good education.

The department knows that the vast majority of pupils in AP have special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), particularly social, emotional, and mental health, and that AP is increasingly operating as part of the SEND system. In the SEND Review, we will set out our plans for reforming AP to incentivise early support and to ensure that those who are at risk of a suspension or being permanently excluded remain safe and supported in high-quality education.