Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of trends in the number of (a) suspensions and (b) exclusions of pupils with SEND.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Schools can use sanctions as a measure to improve behaviour and, in the most serious cases, exclusion may be necessary to protect other pupils and staff from disruption and restore a safe, calm learning environment. The government supports headteachers in taking these difficult decisions.
This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision (AP) receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. The department is committed to taking a community-wide approach, improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special schools cater to those with the most complex needs. We want to reduce numbers of preventable exclusions, including by using the expertise of AP schools.
The statutory ‘Suspension and permanent exclusion’ guidance is clear that, in all cases, school leaders should consider early intervention strategies to address the underlying causes or contributing factors of a pupil’s disruptive behaviour before issuing an exclusion. This includes situations where a pupil has SEND. Schools should also consider using a multi-agency assessment for pupils who display persistent disruptive behaviour, which could include those with unidentified SEND. Schools should arrange such assessments when concerns arise, rather than waiting for a specific trigger.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 25 October 2024 to Question 9795 on Pupil Referral Units, if her Department will undertake a manual audit of all children registered at Pupil Referral Units since 1 November 2023 to see how many have previously been excluded from school.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
All decisions to exclude a pupil must be lawful, reasonable and fair. Permanent exclusion should only be used as a last resort.
There are legal duties on schools and local authorities to provide suitable full-time education from the sixth day of a suspension or permanent exclusion. Where children are permanently excluded, they are frequently placed in alternative provision schools (also known as pupil referral units) so that they can receive the dedicated support they require to return to a new mainstream school or a sustained post-16 educational destination.
The department does not hold statistics centrally on the number of children registered at pupil referral units who have previously been excluded from school. The department is not currently planning to develop this data.
Our aim is to reduce numbers of preventable exclusions, including by using the expertise of alternative provision schools to support pupils whilst they are in mainstream school, before behaviour issues or other barriers to learning escalate.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 25 October 2024 to Question 9795 on Pupil Referral Units, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of recording the number of children registered at Pupil Referral Units who have previously been excluded from school.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
All decisions to exclude a pupil must be lawful, reasonable and fair. Permanent exclusion should only be used as a last resort.
There are legal duties on schools and local authorities to provide suitable full-time education from the sixth day of a suspension or permanent exclusion. Where children are permanently excluded, they are frequently placed in alternative provision schools (also known as pupil referral units) so that they can receive the dedicated support they require to return to a new mainstream school or a sustained post-16 educational destination.
The department does not hold statistics centrally on the number of children registered at pupil referral units who have previously been excluded from school. The department is not currently planning to develop this data.
Our aim is to reduce numbers of preventable exclusions, including by using the expertise of alternative provision schools to support pupils whilst they are in mainstream school, before behaviour issues or other barriers to learning escalate.
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to (a) promote inclusivity in schools, (b) assist (i) schools and (ii) teachers to provide support for children with special educational needs and disabilities and (c) reduce exclusions of such children.
Answered by David Johnston
The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan set out a vision for an inclusive system categorised by high-quality mainstream provision where children and young people have their needs identified early and can access prompt, evidence-based, targeted support. Alongside this, the department will improve access to timely, high-quality specialist provision, where this is appropriate for the child or young person.
High-quality teaching is central to ensuring that pupils with SEND are given the best possible opportunity to achieve in their education. To support all teachers, the department is implementing teacher training reforms which begins with initial teacher training and continues into early career teaching, through to middle and senior leadership. These reforms are designed to ensure teachers have the skills to support all pupils to succeed, including those with SEND.
Reaching over 70% of schools and further education colleges, the Universal Services programme will help the school and further education workforce to identify and meet the needs of children and young people with SEND, earlier and more effectively.
The department knows that if needs and behaviours that present a barrier to learning were addressed earlier, more children could be supported to thrive in their mainstream school. That is why the department’s reforms will see AP settings working closely in partnership with mainstream schools to provide high-quality targeted support and one-to-one interventions. This will build capacity in mainstream schools to identify and support needs early, reducing the numbers of preventable exclusions and expensive long-term placements, as well as lead to improvements in children’s wellbeing and outcomes.
Good behaviour in schools is essential to ensure that all pupils can benefit from the opportunities provided by education. The government supports head teachers in using suspension and permanent exclusion as a sanction where warranted as part of creating calm, safe and supportive environments where both pupils and staff can work in safety and are respected.
The government agrees with the Timpson Review of school exclusion conclusion that there is no ‘right’ number of exclusions, but the department is clear that permanent exclusion should only be used as and when absolutely necessary, as a last resort and this should not mean exclusion from education.
All decisions to exclude a pupil must be lawful, reasonable, and fair. The Behaviour in Schools guidance and the updated statutory Suspension and Permanent Exclusion guidance (2023) sets out that, when considering excluding a pupil, schools should consider any contributing factors that are identified after an incident of misbehaviour has occurred, which could include where the pupil has Special Educational Needs. Initial intervention measures should include an assessment of whether appropriate provision is in place to support any SEND that a pupil may have.
Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of ethnic monitoring of pupils in the compilation of data in relation to (1) school exclusions, and (2) the provision of alternatives to classroom schooling.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The Government publishes school exclusions data by pupil characteristic in the ‘Permanent exclusions and suspensions in England’ publication. The data is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/permanent-and-fixed-period-exclusions-in-england. Since November 2022, this data has been published two terms in arrears rather than as an annual release. This fulfils the Department’s commitment to the 2021 report ‘Strengthening Home Education’, where the Education Select Committee suggested that only having an annual statistical release on exclusions may prevent the Department from identifying illegal exclusion practices.
The Department also publishes the ‘Schools, pupils and their characteristics’ publication for placements in non-school based alternative provision arranged by local authorities (Alternative Provision census), and placements in non-school based alternative provision arranged by schools (from 2023 only, School census). These tables are available in the attached files.
The Department also publishes the ‘Schools, pupils and their characteristics’ publication, which is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics. The 2 attached tables provide information on:
Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what guidance they provide to schools about the use of ‘alternative provision’ in place of exclusion for pupils presenting challenging behaviours; and how the use of ‘alternative provision’ is monitored by Ofsted.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The use of alternative provision for pupils presenting challenging behaviours is covered in the government’s statutory guidance on alternative provision, which can be found attached. It is also included in guidance on behaviour in schools, as well as in guidance on suspension and permanent exclusion, which can also be found attached.
The government’s recently published ‘Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan’ sets out the department’s ambitious reforms to improve capacity and capability within the AP sector. The plan includes a three tier model for AP which focusses on providing targeted support and interventions within mainstream schools to reduce the number of preventable exclusions and to improve behaviour and attendance. School commissioning of well planned, high quality AP can play an important part in delivering this service.
Ofsted evaluate local authority and school use of AP separately. Ofsted look at a school’s use of AP as part of graded school inspections. In doing so, inspectors will evaluate how well a school continues to take responsibility for its pupils who attend AP. Further details can be found in paragraphs 361 to 367 of the School Inspection Handbook, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-inspection-handbook-eif/school-inspection-handbook.
From this year, Ofsted have included the inspection of the commissioning of AP by local authorities as part of Area SEND inspections. This includes inspecting whether a local authority’s approach to commissioning and overseeing AP arrangements for children and young people in the local authority area meets their duties as set out in AP statutory guidance. Full details can be found in the Area SEND inspection framework and handbook, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/area-send-framework-and-handbook/area-send-inspections-framework-and-handbook.
Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many pupils have been placed in Pupil Referral Units in England in each of the last three years for which figures are available; and what proportion of those pupils are (1) boys, (2) of Black Caribbean origin, and (3) of another ethnic minority.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The department publishes annual data on the gender and ethnicity of pupils at schools in England. The most recently published data is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2022-23. The publication includes figures for ‘State-funded alternate provision (AP) schools’, which include pupil referral units and alternative provider free schools and academies. The attached tables, taken from the published data, show breakdowns of pupils in these schools by gender and ethnicity from January 2021 to January 2023.
The SEND and AP Improvement Plan, published on 2 March 2023, set out a new national vision and delivery model for the AP system. Departmental reforms will see AP schools working with mainstream settings to provide targeted support and interventions to improve behaviour, attendance and reduce the numbers of preventable exclusions, including for those groups with a greater likelihood of being referred to alternative provision.
Schools also have a clear duty not to discriminate against pupils based on protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010. Ofsted’s assessment of behaviour in schools includes specific consideration of rates, patterns and reasons for exclusions, as well as any differences between groups of pupils.
The department’s ‘Understanding your data: a guide for school governors and academy trustees available at: 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, makes clear that governing boards should carefully consider the level and characteristics of pupils who are leaving the school. They should challenge the school and academy trust management teams on any permanent exclusions to ensure it is only used as a last resort, as well as on directions for pupils to be to be educated off site in AP schools. They should also consider whether there are any patterns to the reasons or timing of such moves.
Asked by: Pauline Latham (Conservative - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to publish (a) the feedback from the Regional Expert Partnerships to her Department and (b) discussions on how the proposals within the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plans published in March 2023 are to be refined.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Shadow Minister (Equalities)
The department will be sharing strategic guidance with all Regional Expert Partnerships (REPs) for delivery of the Change Programme, which will include setting out the local partners they must engage with. Engagement with all partners across all local areas involved in the REPs, including schools, health partners and families, is integral to successfully delivering, testing and refining the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) reforms set out in the Improvement Plan.
Throughout the lifetime of the programme, there will be a constant feedback loop between the department and the REPs in order to monitor the findings and share learning and best practice. This will include the REPs feeding back on the progress of delivering the reforms and any barriers they may be facing. The department will be transparent throughout this process and is currently establishing how it will provide public updates as the programme progresses.
The department previously shared that all REPs would be led by a lead local authority, selected through objective criteria based on published SEND performance data. The department used this data to identify a shortlist of local authorities in each Department for Education region, who were subsequently invited to submit an expression of interest to be considered for the role. To be eligible for the shortlist, prospective lead local authorities must not:
They must also be in the top 75% of authorities nationally against:
The department then ranked the remaining authorities based on their Designated School Grant surplus/deficit and shortlisted the top three local authorities in each region.
Asked by: Pauline Latham (Conservative - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 25 April 2023 to Question 180364 on Alternative Education and Special Educational Needs, what objective criteria is to be used when selecting local authorities using published SEND performance data.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Shadow Minister (Equalities)
The department will be sharing strategic guidance with all Regional Expert Partnerships (REPs) for delivery of the Change Programme, which will include setting out the local partners they must engage with. Engagement with all partners across all local areas involved in the REPs, including schools, health partners and families, is integral to successfully delivering, testing and refining the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) reforms set out in the Improvement Plan.
Throughout the lifetime of the programme, there will be a constant feedback loop between the department and the REPs in order to monitor the findings and share learning and best practice. This will include the REPs feeding back on the progress of delivering the reforms and any barriers they may be facing. The department will be transparent throughout this process and is currently establishing how it will provide public updates as the programme progresses.
The department previously shared that all REPs would be led by a lead local authority, selected through objective criteria based on published SEND performance data. The department used this data to identify a shortlist of local authorities in each Department for Education region, who were subsequently invited to submit an expression of interest to be considered for the role. To be eligible for the shortlist, prospective lead local authorities must not:
They must also be in the top 75% of authorities nationally against:
The department then ranked the remaining authorities based on their Designated School Grant surplus/deficit and shortlisted the top three local authorities in each region.
Asked by: Pauline Latham (Conservative - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to implement guidance to Regional Expert Partnerships on how many local partners they need to engage with when refining proposals in the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plans published in March 2023.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Shadow Minister (Equalities)
The department will be sharing strategic guidance with all Regional Expert Partnerships (REPs) for delivery of the Change Programme, which will include setting out the local partners they must engage with. Engagement with all partners across all local areas involved in the REPs, including schools, health partners and families, is integral to successfully delivering, testing and refining the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) reforms set out in the Improvement Plan.
Throughout the lifetime of the programme, there will be a constant feedback loop between the department and the REPs in order to monitor the findings and share learning and best practice. This will include the REPs feeding back on the progress of delivering the reforms and any barriers they may be facing. The department will be transparent throughout this process and is currently establishing how it will provide public updates as the programme progresses.
The department previously shared that all REPs would be led by a lead local authority, selected through objective criteria based on published SEND performance data. The department used this data to identify a shortlist of local authorities in each Department for Education region, who were subsequently invited to submit an expression of interest to be considered for the role. To be eligible for the shortlist, prospective lead local authorities must not:
They must also be in the top 75% of authorities nationally against:
The department then ranked the remaining authorities based on their Designated School Grant surplus/deficit and shortlisted the top three local authorities in each region.