Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Timpson Review will (1) clarify the numbers of children being excluded because of behavioural, emotional and social difficulties, and (2) identify what help is being given to such children and their families in schools that do not exclude them.

Exclusions can only be issued for disciplinary reasons. It is unlawful to exclude for a non-disciplinary reason. For example, it would be unlawful to exclude a pupil simply because they have additional needs or a disability that the school feels it is unable to meet.

The annual data on exclusions includes the numbers of children excluded for disciplinary reasons by type of special educational need, including those with social, emotional and mental health difficulties. The data is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/permanent-and-fixed-period-exclusions-in-england-2015-to-2016.

The exclusions review will explore exclusions practice and implications for pupil groups disproportionately represented in the national statistics. The review considers how schools use exclusion and how this impacts on all pupils. In particular, it will consider why some groups of children are more likely to be excluded from school. It will also seek to identify best practice which can be shared across the system.