Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of early intervention programmes in reducing levels of pupil exclusions.

The Government’s externally led review of exclusions practice, led by Edward Timpson CBE, is considering how schools use exclusion, how this impacts their pupils, and why some groups of pupils are more likely to be excluded. It is also considering practice in relation to behavior management and early intervention measures that schools take to reduce the risk of exclusion.

To help schools develop effective strategies, the Department has produced advice covering what should be included in their behaviour policy. The Bennett Review of behaviour in schools report Creating a Culture, published last year, also provides practical advice for head teachers about creating a culture that prevents classroom disruption, maintains good discipline and promotes pupils’ education, focus and wellbeing. The report includes early intervention strategies such as ‘internal inclusion units’ to avoid exclusions and case studies of policies in place. The report can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/behaviour-in-schools.