Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they have taken in response to the report by the Children's Commissioner of March 2013, They Go the Extra Mile: Reducing inequality in school exclusions, in particular with regard to recommendations 2, 4 and 10.

All children are entitled to a good education, regardless of their circumstances. As the Commissioner’s report of March 2013 set out, the issues that underlie the disparity seen in school exclusions are complex.

The department collects and publishes data on the use of exclusion, including by type of school, and by pupil characteristic.

The exclusions guidance ‘Exclusion from maintained schools, Academies and pupil referral units in England’, attached, is clear that all schools should consider what extra support might be needed to identify and address the needs of children from groups with disproportionally high rates of exclusion, in order to reduce their risk of exclusion.

There are also safeguards in place to ensure that schools meet the duties described in this guidance. Head teachers’ exclusion decisions can be reviewed by the school governing body. If a parent believes that their child has been excluded from school without regard to the guidance, they should complain through the official school complaint procedure with the governing body. Ofsted assess a school’s use of exclusion, including the rates, patterns and reasons for exclusion, as well as any differences between groups of pupils as part of their inspection of schools.

The Government recently announced an externally led review of exclusions practice and implications for pupil groups disproportionately represented in the national statistics. The review will consider how schools use exclusion and how this impacts on all pupils, but particularly why some groups of children are more likely to be excluded from school. The department will publish full details of the review, including how views can be submitted, in due course.