Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the trends in the level of permanent exclusions of children from schools in the last fifteen years; and whether he has made a statistical analysis of the variations of those reasons by (a) local authority and (b) region of England.
Answered by Robin Walker
The department agrees with the Timpson Review’s conclusion that there is no ‘right’ number of exclusions. We are clear that permanent exclusion should only be used when necessary, as a last resort and this should not mean exclusion from education.
The Timpson Review explored how headteachers use exclusion, and why pupils with particular characteristics are more likely to be excluded from school. This review can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/school-exclusions-review-call-for-evidence.
Statistics on permanent exclusions from the 2006/07 academic year onwards are available in the national statistics release 'Permanent exclusions and suspensions in England'. This can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/permanent-and-fixed-period-exclusions-in-england.
The national trend can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/0ed81d36-3d56-4f12-9a33-9acd2058a403.
In the Explore data and files section of the publication, under open data, the file on permanent exclusions and suspensions by geography includes the numbers and rates of permanent exclusions at national, regional and local authority level. The file on permanent exclusions and suspensions by reason includes data by reason for exclusion at national, regional, and local authority level. Consistent data is available from 2006/07.
A technical note that included further statistical analysis into the association between probability of being excluded and various pupil and school characteristics was published alongside the Timpson Review. This can be accessed here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/799910/Technical_note.pdf.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Education Policy Institute report Measuring Pupil Inclusion in School Groups, published on 31 January; and what plans they have to ensure that schools are measured on whether they (1) exclude, or (2) off-roll, vulnerable pupils.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department will consider the Education Policy Institute methodology discussion paper in due course.
School performance tables are designed specifically to generate meaningful data from which the public and relevant parties can hold schools and colleges to account. The department keeps all its school performance measures under review and welcomes feedback on how we can refine and improve our suite of measures and the way they are used.
Governing boards are expected to carefully consider the level and characteristics of pupils who are leaving the school. They should also deploy maximum challenge to the school and academy trust management teams on any permanent exclusions to ensure it is only used, when necessary, as a last resort. This also includes looking at suspensions, pupils taken off roll and those directed to be educated off site in alternative provision and whether there are any patterns to the reasons or timing of such moves.
The government is clear that off-rolling (the practice of removing a pupil from the school roll without using a permanent exclusion, when the removal is primarily in the best interests of the school, rather than the best interests of the pupil) is unlawful and unacceptable in any form and we continue to work with Ofsted to tackle it. Ofsted already considers records of children taken off roll and their characteristics and strengthened the focus on this in the revised framework in September 2019. Where inspectors find off-rolling, this will always be addressed in the inspection report and, where appropriate, could lead to a school’s leadership being judged inadequate.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to help ensure that the ongoing work in his Department on behaviour management reflects the needs of autistic children and children with special educational needs.
Answered by Will Quince
By their very nature, informal exclusions of any child are unlawful. This is why we already make clear in the suspension and permanent exclusion guidance that ‘informal’ or ‘unofficial’ suspensions, such as sending pupils home ‘to cool off’, are unlawful, regardless of whether they occur with the agreement of parents or carers. Further information of this guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-exclusion/changes-to-the-school-exclusion-process-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak.
Any suspension of a pupil, even for short periods of time, must be in line with the relevant legislation and recorded as a suspension. The department is also clear that off rolling is unacceptable in any form and continues to work with Ofsted to identify and tackle it. The forthcoming special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) Review will also set out proposals for improving support for children with SEND in mainstream, which will look to ensure they get the right support in the right place at the right time.
All schools are required to have a behaviour policy which must be lawful, proportionate and reasonable. An initial intervention to address underlying causes of disruptive behaviour should include an assessment of whether appropriate provision is in place to support any special educational needs, including autism, or disability that a pupil may have. The department will be setting this out clearly in the consultation on the revised ‘behaviour in schools’ guidance and the ‘suspension and permanent exclusion’ guidance which will be published shortly. These will equip headteachers to create calm, orderly, safe, and supportive school environments where all pupils can thrive and reach their potential in safety and dignity and where exclusions are only ever used lawfully, and when absolutely necessary as a last resort.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to tackle the practice of informal exclusions of autistic children in educational settings.
Answered by Will Quince
By their very nature, informal exclusions of any child are unlawful. This is why we already make clear in the suspension and permanent exclusion guidance that ‘informal’ or ‘unofficial’ suspensions, such as sending pupils home ‘to cool off’, are unlawful, regardless of whether they occur with the agreement of parents or carers. Further information of this guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-exclusion/changes-to-the-school-exclusion-process-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak.
Any suspension of a pupil, even for short periods of time, must be in line with the relevant legislation and recorded as a suspension. The department is also clear that off rolling is unacceptable in any form and continues to work with Ofsted to identify and tackle it. The forthcoming special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) Review will also set out proposals for improving support for children with SEND in mainstream, which will look to ensure they get the right support in the right place at the right time.
All schools are required to have a behaviour policy which must be lawful, proportionate and reasonable. An initial intervention to address underlying causes of disruptive behaviour should include an assessment of whether appropriate provision is in place to support any special educational needs, including autism, or disability that a pupil may have. The department will be setting this out clearly in the consultation on the revised ‘behaviour in schools’ guidance and the ‘suspension and permanent exclusion’ guidance which will be published shortly. These will equip headteachers to create calm, orderly, safe, and supportive school environments where all pupils can thrive and reach their potential in safety and dignity and where exclusions are only ever used lawfully, and when absolutely necessary as a last resort.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what responsibilities his Department is placing on (a) directors of children's services, (b) school governing bodies, (c) academy trusts and (d) local forums of schools to (i) review information on SEND children who leave schools by exclusion or otherwise and (ii) establish a shared understanding of how the data on the characteristics of those children informs local trends.
Answered by Will Quince
The department’s ‘understanding your data: a guide for school governors and academy trustees’ document makes clear that governing boards should carefully consider the level and characteristics of pupils who are leaving the school and deploy maximum challenge to the school and academy trust management teams on any permanent exclusions. This is to ensure it is only used as a last resort. The full guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/understanding-your-data-a-guide-for-school-governors-and-academy-trustees/understanding-your-data-a-guide-for-school-governors-and-academy-trustees#pupil-numbersattendance-and-exclusions.
This also includes looking at suspensions, pupils taken off roll, those directed to be educated off-site in alternative provision (AP) and whether there are any patterns to the reasons or timing of such moves. For example, if high numbers of children with special educational needs and or disabilities (SEND) are moving, the school, academy or trust may wish to consider reviewing its SEN support.
The department is also clear locally that schools, local authorities, and local forums should track and review the information they have on children who leave schools, by exclusion or otherwise. This helps to establish a shared understanding of how the data on the characteristics of such children feeds local trends. Where patterns indicate possible concerns or gaps in provision, we expect headteachers and other local leaders to use this information to ensure they are effectively planning to meet the needs of all children.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool, Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what his planned timetable is for completing implementation of the commitments made in response to The Timpson review of school exclusion.
Answered by Robin Walker
The government is actively taking forward the recommendations from the Timpson Review of School Exclusion through its ambitious programme of action on behaviour, exclusion and alternative provision, which will back 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 published a call for evidence on behaviour management strategies, in-school units and managed moves in June this year and will shortly be consulting on new statutory guidance on suspensions and permanent exclusions. In addition, as part of the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) Review, we will be setting out our plans for reforming alternative provision so it can provide leadership and expertise across the whole school system to incentivise early support, and to ensure stable and high-quality provision for those children and young people most at risk of disengaging from education.
The department will be bringing forward proposals for public consultation in the first three months of 2022.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the findings of Mind’s report entitled, Not making the grade: why our approach to mental health at secondary school is failing young people, published on 30 June 2021.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The government is grateful to Mind and Young Minds for their report about mental health in secondary schools. We recognise the difficulties that a significant number of young people are facing with their mental health and wellbeing, and that this can be linked to experiences of racism, trauma and abuse. We also know that the COVID-19 outbreak has had a particular impact on the mental health and wellbeing of young people. Mental health and wellbeing are a priority for the government, and we are working closely with schools and colleges to support pupils to return in a way that supports their mental wellbeing.
We recently announced more than £17 million to improve mental health and wellbeing support in schools and colleges. This includes funding to train a senior mental health lead in 7,800 schools and colleges in England this academic year. Senior leads will learn about the range of mental health issues likely to be encountered in schools and colleges, the risk factors associated with specific groups, including pupils who have suffered from trauma and vulnerable groups and how to put in place whole school approaches that embed that knowledge into wider staff training and school processes, including behaviour and attendance policies.
This is in addition to the £79 million we announced in March to boost children and young people’s mental health support. This funding will increase Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) to cover around 35% of pupils in England by 2023. MHSTs work with groups of schools and colleges to identify specialist needs of pupils in their areas.
We understand that mental health difficulties can lead to challenging behaviour, and we know some students require additional support to behave well. Our Behaviour Hubs programme equips schools and multi-academy trusts to create and sustain positive behaviour cultures. The programme includes specialist training modules on managing challenging behaviour and inclusive practices and policies.
However, we will always support headteachers to use exclusion when required as part of creating calm and disciplined classrooms – and our guidance sets out how headteachers can make these difficult decisions in a way which is lawful and fair. At times, it may also be necessary to use reasonable force to restrain a pupil – for example, to break up a fight to protect teachers and other pupils. We trust schools to use their judgement in recording incidents involving force and, when serious incidents occur, we would expect schools to record the incident and let the parents know.
Furthermore, recently the department carried out a call for evidence as part of a fundamental review of both the behaviour and discipline and suspensions and permanent exclusions guidance. For this we gathered views on behaviour management which included interventions that support pupils with particular vulnerabilities. This will help us understand how schools have appropriate provision to support any mental health needs, special educational needs or disability that a pupil may have.
Racism has no place in schools, or in society. We expect headteachers to put effective behaviour policies in place to tackle this, including actions to prevent bullying, and have put in place support. Our Respectful School Communities tool can support schools to develop an approach which promotes respect and discipline, in order to combat bullying, harassment and abuse of any kind. We are also currently running a procurement exercise to fund anti-bullying organisations in 2021-22, to make sure that schools have the right support in place to prevent bullying of all pupils, including those with protected characteristics. This builds upon the changes we have made to make relationships education compulsory in all schools, which covers teaching pupils the knowledge they need to foster respect for other people and for difference. Where bullying and racist incidents do occur, schools should develop their own approaches for monitoring these and exercise their own judgement as to what will work best for their circumstances.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress his Department has made on implementing the recommendations of the Timpson Review of School Exclusion, published in May 2019.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Good behaviour and discipline in schools is crucial if children are to reach their full potential. The Department supports head teachers to use suspensions and expulsions when required as part of creating calm and disciplined classrooms that bring out the best in every pupil. Expulsion should only be used as a last resort, and expulsion from school should not mean exclusion from education.
Since the publication of the Timpson Review and agreeing the recommendations in principle, the Government has been pursuing a programme of work on school behaviour across the school system. In April we commenced the Behaviour Hubs programme, investing £10 million that will help schools to develop and sustain a culture where good behaviour is the norm. Training is also being reformed as part of the Early Career Framework, so that all new teachers will be shown how to effectively manage behaviour in their first two years in the profession from September 2021. The Department will continue to work with Ofsted to tackle the practice of ‘off-rolling’ which is an unacceptable practice. Additionally, the Department will be consulting on how to help head teachers remove phones in schools, and other revisions to the Department’s behaviour and discipline and expulsions guidance, later in the year.
The Department intends to go further and is committed to improving outcomes for children and young people in alternative provision who are most at risk of expulsion and disengaging from education. The Department will set out its plans in the forthcoming SEND review.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress he has made in implementing the recommendations of the Timpson Review on school exclusions.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Good behaviour and discipline in schools is crucial if children are to reach their full potential. The Department backs head teachers to use suspensions and expulsions when required as part of creating the calm and disciplined classrooms needed to support effective teaching. The Department is also clear that expulsions should only be used as a last resort and expulsion from school should not mean exclusion from education.
Since the publication of the Timpson Review and agreeing the recommendations in principle, the Government has been pursuing a programme of work to support effective behaviour management across the school system. In April, the Department commenced the Behaviour Hubs programme, investing £10 million to help schools develop and sustain cultures where good pupil behaviour is normal. The Department has reformed training and development for teachers as part of the Early Career Framework, so that all new teachers will be shown how to effectively manage behaviour in their first two years in the profession from September 2021. The Department has also continued to work with Ofsted to tackle ‘off-rolling’ which is an unacceptable practice. Additionally, the Department will be consulting on how to help head teachers to remove phones in schools, and other revisions to the Department’s behaviour, discipline and suspensions and expulsions guidance, later in the year.
The Department intends to go further and is committed to improving outcomes for children and young people in alternative provision who are most at risk of expulsion and disengaging from education. The Department will set out its plans in the forthcoming SEND review.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will make it her policy to (a) reject the report from the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities published on 31 March 2021 and (b) implement the recommendations on race equality included in the (i) 2019 Timpson review of school exclusions, (ii) 2017 McGregor-Smith review of race in the workplace, (iii) 2018 Windrush lessons learned review, (iv) 2017 Angolini independent review into serious incidents and deaths in custody, (v) 2017 Lammy review on discrimination in the criminal justice system and (vi) 2020 Joint Committee on Human Rights report on Black people, racism and human rights.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Government will not be rejecting the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities’ report. The Prime Minister has established a new Inter-Ministerial Group to review the recommendations, and it is now right that the Government considers the report in detail and assesses the implications for future government policy.
The Government has responded to previous reviews and a significant number of the recommendations have been implemented; others are underway.
The independent Commission's report built on previous reviews in the scope of its work. It makes an important contribution to both the national conversation about race, and our efforts to level up and unite the whole country.