Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to reduce the exclusion rate of children and young people who identify as (a) Gypsy, Roma or Travellers and (b) being from other ethnic minority backgrounds.

It is for headteachers to decide whether a pupil’s behaviour is such that it warrants exclusion from school. Reforms undertaken have focused on supporting schools to drive up standards, improve attendance and tackle poor behaviour.

The Department for Education has issued statutory guidance that sets out schools’ responsibilities in relation to exclusion decisions. The guidance reinforces that schools must take into account their duties under the Equality Act 2010 when excluding pupils, so as not to discriminate against them because of their ethnicity. It also highlights specifically those ethnic groups with disproportionately high exclusion rates and notes that headteachers should consider what extra support might be needed to reduce their risk of exclusion.

The Department is addressing the underlying causes of exclusion through its reforms to improve the quality of education that all pupils receive and to increase support for children with additional needs. This includes strengthening schools’ powers to tackle poor attendance and behaviour; addressing economic disadvantage through the pupil premium; overhauling the special educational needs system; and supporting improvements in the quality of alternative provision.