Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with the Home Secretary on researching the link between the level of permanent school exclusions and youth crime.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government is taking forward an ambitious programme of action on behaviour, exclusion and alternative provision (AP). This will respect head teachers’ powers to use exclusion, enable schools to support children at risk of exclusion, and ensure that excluded children continue to receive support and a good education.
Engagement in full-time, high-quality education is a protective factor against children’s risk of involvement in serious violence. Research has shown that excluded children have a higher risk of being both a victim and perpetrator of crime. However, we must be careful not to draw a simple causal link. The surrounding issues and causes of serious violence are complicated. The Department is working with the education and care sectors, the Home Office and other Government Departments to help make our streets safer by supporting children and young people who are at risk of being caught up in serious violence.
The Department recognises that timely access to full-time, high-quality AP plays a critical role in improving outcomes for excluded pupils who may have vulnerabilities that make them at risk of involvement in crime. We will expand AP and improve the quality of the sector so that pupils in AP receive the right support and an education on par with that received by their mainstream peers. Further information on the timeframes for this work will be provided in due course.
Asked by: Sarah Jones (Labour - Croydon West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many departmental staff are working on implementing the recommendations of the Timpson review of school exclusions; and which directorate is responsible for that work.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Behaviour, Attendance, Exclusion and Alternative Provision Division of the Department for Education is the lead division taking forward the Government's programme of action on behaviour, exclusions and alternative provision.
As of September 2019, this division had 32 members of staff, and sits in the Strategy, Social Mobility & Disadvantage directorate.
The recommendations of the Timpson review of school exclusion are wide-ranging, and it is not possible to record how much time individual staff will spend working on them, as this work will be carried out in addition to other duties. Staff from across the Department will also contribute to the work on an ad hoc basis.
Asked by: James Frith (Labour - Bury North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Timpson review of school exclusion: Government response, published in May 2019, what progress his Department has made on establishing the practice programme to embed effective partnership working to better equip schools to intervene early for children at risk of exclusion.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department is taking forward an ambitious programme of reform which will respect head teachers’ powers to use exclusion, while equipping schools to support children at risk of exclusion and ensuring excluded children continue to receive a good education. The Department has already begun engaging with stakeholders including schools and local authorities on these reforms.
In addition, the Government committed to establishing a practice programme that embeds effective partnership working between local authorities, schools, alternative provision, and other partners.
This will better equip schools to intervene early for children at risk of exclusion and to ensure that the most effective provision is put in place for those who are excluded.
The Department will also re-write guidance on exclusions and behaviour to offer clearer, more consistent guidance to schools on managing behaviour, the use of in-school units, managed moves and the circumstances where it may be appropriate to use exclusion.
Guidance will be published by summer 2020 and more details on the practice programme will be announced in due course.
Asked by: James Frith (Labour - Bury North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Timpson review of school exclusion: Government response, published in May 2019, what progress his Department has made on providing guidance on the use of in-school units and managed moves; and what the timetable is for his Department's consultation on that guidance.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department is taking forward an ambitious programme of reform which will respect head teachers’ powers to use exclusion, while equipping schools to support children at risk of exclusion and ensuring excluded children continue to receive a good education. The Department has already begun engaging with stakeholders including schools and local authorities on these reforms.
In addition, the Government committed to establishing a practice programme that embeds effective partnership working between local authorities, schools, alternative provision, and other partners.
This will better equip schools to intervene early for children at risk of exclusion and to ensure that the most effective provision is put in place for those who are excluded.
The Department will also re-write guidance on exclusions and behaviour to offer clearer, more consistent guidance to schools on managing behaviour, the use of in-school units, managed moves and the circumstances where it may be appropriate to use exclusion.
Guidance will be published by summer 2020 and more details on the practice programme will be announced in due course.
Asked by: James Frith (Labour - Bury North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Timpson review of school exclusions, when his Department plans to issue updated guidance on school exclusions to schools.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department is taking forward an ambitious programme of reform which will respect head teachers’ powers to use exclusion, while equipping schools to support children at risk of exclusion and ensuring excluded children continue to receive a good education. The Department has already begun engaging with stakeholders including schools and local authorities on these reforms.
In addition, the Government committed to establishing a practice programme that embeds effective partnership working between local authorities, schools, alternative provision, and other partners.
This will better equip schools to intervene early for children at risk of exclusion and to ensure that the most effective provision is put in place for those who are excluded.
The Department will also re-write guidance on exclusions and behaviour to offer clearer, more consistent guidance to schools on managing behaviour, the use of in-school units, managed moves and the circumstances where it may be appropriate to use exclusion.
Guidance will be published by summer 2020 and more details on the practice programme will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Morris of Yardley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that sector experts are regularly consulted on the implementation of the recommendations of the Timpson review of school exclusion.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The department will take a collaborative and consultative approach in delivering the recommendations of Edward Timpson’s review.
Over the summer, we will work with education leaders to design a consultation on how to reform school accountability for children who are excluded, and how we can enable schools to fulfil new accountabilities through reform to commissioning and funding arrangements for alternative provision. This consultation will launch in the autumn.
The department will also consult widely in responding to several of Edward Timpson’s other recommendations, including the revision of guidance relating to behaviour and exclusions, on improvements to the national data on exclusion, and on possible changes to the arrangements for fixed term exclusion.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to his Statement of 7 May 2019 on the Timpson review of school exclusions, if it is his policy to make schools accountable for pupils who leave their rolls only through permanent exclusions.
Answered by Nick Gibb
As noted in the Government response to Edward Timpson’s review of school exclusion, the Government will make schools accountable for the outcomes of permanently excluded children. Over the summer, the Department will work with education leaders to design a consultation, to be launched in the autumn, on how to deliver these reforms in practice. Among other things, the Department will seek views on how to mitigate the potential unintended consequences Edward Timpson has identified in his review, including how to tackle the practice of ‘off-rolling’.
Ofsted already considers records of children taken off roll and has recently consulted on proposals that will see a strengthened focus on this issue, and has proposed that where inspectors find off-rolling, this will always be addressed in the inspection report, and where appropriate will lead to a school’s leadership being judged inadequate. Ofsted will publish the outcome of its consultation soon.
As in the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) regulations 2006 as amended, state schools must notify the local authority when a pupil’s name is to be deleted from the admission register as soon as the ground for deletion under regulation 8 in relation to that pupil is established. The Department will provide guidance on the use of ‘managed moves’, as recommended by Edward Timpson.
The Government will also establish a practice programme that embeds effective partnership working between local authorities, schools, alternative provision and other partners to better equip schools to intervene early for children at risk of exclusion and to ensure that the most effective provision is put in place for those who are excluded. As a large proportion of schools are academies, the programme will support partnership working between local authorities and academies.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to his Statement of 7 May 2019 on the Timpson review of school exclusions, whether his consultation on making schools accountable for the outcomes of pupils that they exclude will include accountability for pupils who leave school rolls other than by permanent exclusion.
Answered by Nick Gibb
As noted in the Government response to Edward Timpson’s review of school exclusion, the Government will make schools accountable for the outcomes of permanently excluded children. Over the summer, the Department will work with education leaders to design a consultation, to be launched in the autumn, on how to deliver these reforms in practice. Among other things, the Department will seek views on how to mitigate the potential unintended consequences Edward Timpson has identified in his review, including how to tackle the practice of ‘off-rolling’.
Ofsted already considers records of children taken off roll and has recently consulted on proposals that will see a strengthened focus on this issue, and has proposed that where inspectors find off-rolling, this will always be addressed in the inspection report, and where appropriate will lead to a school’s leadership being judged inadequate. Ofsted will publish the outcome of its consultation soon.
As in the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) regulations 2006 as amended, state schools must notify the local authority when a pupil’s name is to be deleted from the admission register as soon as the ground for deletion under regulation 8 in relation to that pupil is established. The Department will provide guidance on the use of ‘managed moves’, as recommended by Edward Timpson.
The Government will also establish a practice programme that embeds effective partnership working between local authorities, schools, alternative provision and other partners to better equip schools to intervene early for children at risk of exclusion and to ensure that the most effective provision is put in place for those who are excluded. As a large proportion of schools are academies, the programme will support partnership working between local authorities and academies.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to Ofsted’s report entitled Safeguarding children and young people in education from knife crime published in March 2019, if he will extend the requirement for schools to collect data on permanent and fixed-term exclusions to require schools to collect data on managed moves.
Answered by Nick Gibb
As noted in the Government response to Edward Timpson’s review of school exclusion, the Government will make schools accountable for the outcomes of permanently excluded children. Over the summer, the Department will work with education leaders to design a consultation, to be launched in the autumn, on how to deliver these reforms in practice. Among other things, the Department will seek views on how to mitigate the potential unintended consequences Edward Timpson has identified in his review, including how to tackle the practice of ‘off-rolling’.
Ofsted already considers records of children taken off roll and has recently consulted on proposals that will see a strengthened focus on this issue, and has proposed that where inspectors find off-rolling, this will always be addressed in the inspection report, and where appropriate will lead to a school’s leadership being judged inadequate. Ofsted will publish the outcome of its consultation soon.
As in the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) regulations 2006 as amended, state schools must notify the local authority when a pupil’s name is to be deleted from the admission register as soon as the ground for deletion under regulation 8 in relation to that pupil is established. The Department will provide guidance on the use of ‘managed moves’, as recommended by Edward Timpson.
The Government will also establish a practice programme that embeds effective partnership working between local authorities, schools, alternative provision and other partners to better equip schools to intervene early for children at risk of exclusion and to ensure that the most effective provision is put in place for those who are excluded. As a large proportion of schools are academies, the programme will support partnership working between local authorities and academies.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to his Statement of 7 May 2019 on the Timpson review of school exclusions, what sanctions (a) are currently in place and (b) will be put in place where schools or multi-academy trusts are found to have off-rolled pupils.
Answered by Nick Gibb
As noted in the Government response to Edward Timpson’s review of school exclusion, the Government will make schools accountable for the outcomes of permanently excluded children. Over the summer, the Department will work with education leaders to design a consultation, to be launched in the autumn, on how to deliver these reforms in practice. Among other things, the Department will seek views on how to mitigate the potential unintended consequences Edward Timpson has identified in his review, including how to tackle the practice of ‘off-rolling’.
Ofsted already considers records of children taken off roll and has recently consulted on proposals that will see a strengthened focus on this issue, and has proposed that where inspectors find off-rolling, this will always be addressed in the inspection report, and where appropriate will lead to a school’s leadership being judged inadequate. Ofsted will publish the outcome of its consultation soon.
As in the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) regulations 2006 as amended, state schools must notify the local authority when a pupil’s name is to be deleted from the admission register as soon as the ground for deletion under regulation 8 in relation to that pupil is established. The Department will provide guidance on the use of ‘managed moves’, as recommended by Edward Timpson.
The Government will also establish a practice programme that embeds effective partnership working between local authorities, schools, alternative provision and other partners to better equip schools to intervene early for children at risk of exclusion and to ensure that the most effective provision is put in place for those who are excluded. As a large proportion of schools are academies, the programme will support partnership working between local authorities and academies.