Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that children with special educational needs receive an education and healthcare plan before exclusion from school is proposed.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
It is important that schools take appropriate steps to address the underlying causes of poor behaviour, which could include pupils’ special educational needs (SEN). Local authorities have a statutory responsibility to assess whether children and young people have special educational needs that require an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan. The statutory guidance on exclusions sets out that early intervention measures should include an assessment of whether appropriate provision is in place to support any SEN that a pupil may have. This guidance is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/921405/20170831_Exclusion_Stat_guidance_Web_version.pdf.
The law does not prevent a pupil with SEN or a disability from being excluded, however schools have a legal duty under the Equality Act 2010 not to discriminate against disabled pupils by excluding them from school because of their disability. Any exclusion must be lawful, reasonable and fair.
Schools should balance their responsibilities of considering what extra support might be needed to identify and address the needs for children with SEN with their responsibility to ensure that all children are able to experience good quality teaching and learning without disruption in the classroom and without being exposed to risks to their health or safety. The guidance also sets out that schools should, as far as possible, avoid permanently excluding pupils who have an EHC plan.
The department is pursuing an ambitious programme of work on school behaviour and to rapidly improve the availability of good alternative provision, so that permanently excluded children and children at risk of exclusion receive a high-quality education and support suited to their individual needs.
We are investing £10 million in behaviour hubs which will enable schools and multi-academy trusts with exemplary behaviour cultures and practices to work in partnership with those that want to improve their behaviour culture.
Additionally, to help support and equip staff, the Early Career Framework reforms entitle all early career teachers to 2 years of professional development in 5 core areas including behaviour management.
We will revise guidance on exclusions to make it clearer and more consistent, so that head teachers have the information they need to use exclusion properly and proportionately. We will also continue to engage with key stakeholders, including academics, when revising guidance.
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 minimise the (a) incidences and (b) effect of pupil exclusion from school.
Answered by Nick Gibb
It is important that all schools should be calm and disciplined environments within which pupils feel happy and able to fulfil their potential, free from low-level disruption.
The Department supports head teachers using exclusion where warranted. It is clear that there is no right number of exclusions, and permanent exclusion should only be used as a last resort. Exclusion from school should not mean exclusion from high quality education.
The Department is pursuing an ambitious programme of work on school behaviour and to rapidly improve the availability of good alternative provision. This will ensure that permanently excluded children, and children at risk of exclusion, receive high-quality education and support suited to their individual needs. This includes a £10 million investment in behaviour hubs, which will enable schools and multi-academy trusts with exemplary behaviour cultures and practices to work in partnership with those that want to improve their behaviour culture. The Department is also working with Ofsted to eliminate off-rolling.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of school exclusions.
Answered by Nick Gibb
It is critical for schools to be calm and disciplined environments, for pupils and teaching staff. The Department backs head teachers in using exclusion where warranted. We are clear that there is no right number of exclusions, and permanent exclusion should only be used as a last resort. Exclusion from school should not mean exclusion from high-quality education.
The Department is pursuing an ambitious programme of work to improve school behaviour. We are working to improve the availability of good alternative provision, so that permanently excluded children, and children at risk of exclusion, receive high-quality education and support suited to their needs. This includes a £10 million investment in behaviour hubs, which will enable schools and multi-academy trusts with exemplary behaviour cultures and practices to work in partnership with those that want to improve pupil behaviour. We are also working with Ofsted to eliminate on off-rolling.
The Department will also revise guidance on exclusions to make it clearer and more consistent, so that head teachers have the information they need to use exclusion properly and proportionately.
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 report by the Institute of Race Relations How Black Working-Class Youth are Criminalised and Excluded in the English School System, published on 28 September.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
To understand the disparities in school exclusion rates, the department is committed to working with the independent Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities, established by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister.
Exclusions guidance is clear that all schools should consider what extra support might be needed to identify and address the needs of children from groups with disproportionally high rates of exclusion, to reduce their risk of exclusion.
The department is taking forward an ambitious programme of action on school behaviour and is working to rapidly improve the availability of good Alternative Provision, so that permanently excluded children and children at risk of exclusion receive a high quality education suited to their individual needs.
In addition, the department is investing £10 million in Behaviour Hubs which will enable schools and multi-academy trusts, with exemplary behaviour cultures and practices, to work in partnership with those that want to improve their behaviour culture. We are also supporting staff through the Early Career Framework reforms, which will entitle all early career teachers to 2 years of professional development in 5 core areas, including behaviour management.
The department will revise guidance on exclusions to make it clearer and more consistent, so that head teachers have the information they need to use exclusion properly and proportionately. We will continue to engage with key stakeholders including academics, when revising guidance. We are also working with Ofsted to clamp down on off-rolling.
In addition, the department provided £7 million to the See, Hear, Respond service, led by Barnardo’s which will deliver, amongst other things, street-based youth work to identify and support children at risk of harm outside of the home, including criminal exploitation. The £13 million Trusted Relationships Fund (2018-22) also funds 11 different local authorities across England delivering innovative approaches to supporting children and young people aged 10 to 17 at risk of child sexual exploitation or abuse, criminal exploitation and peer on peer abuse.
The department is also funding a £2 million Tackling Child Exploitation support programme to help safeguarding partners in local areas develop an effective response to extra-familial harms such as child sexual and child criminal exploitation.
Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to ensure that child victims of criminal exploitation are not excluded from school.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
It is critical for schools to be calm and disciplined environments, for pupils and teaching staff, and it is important that they remain as such.
There is no right number of exclusions, but we are clear that permanent exclusion should only be used as a last resort. Exclusion from school should not mean exclusion from good quality education or from support needed to reduce risk and vulnerability.
We are taking forward an ambitious programme of work on school behaviour and are working to rapidly improve the availability of good alternative provision, so that permanently excluded children and children at risk of exclusion receive high-quality education and support suited to their individual needs. We are also working with Ofsted to clamp down on off-rolling, which is never acceptable.
We will also revise guidance on exclusions to make it clearer and more consistent, so that head teachers have the information they need to use exclusion properly and proportionately. We will continue to engage with key stakeholders including Just for Kids Law when revising guidance.
Schools must have due regard to the Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) statutory guidance, when carrying out their duties, to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. This guidance already provides information for all staff as to what abuse, sexual abuse, child sexual exploitation and peer-on-peer abuse look like, indicators to be aware of, what to do and who to report to, if they have a concern about a child.
On 1 September 2020, a revised version of KCSIE was published. This includes more detail regarding child sexual exploitation and child criminal exploitation in part one, which all staff should read. The guidance is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2.
It is right that, where it comes to individual cases, local professionals are best placed to decide on the measures to support victims and child perpetrators.
In addition, the department provided £7 million to the See, Hear, Respond service led by Barnardo’s which will deliver, among other things, street-based youth work to identify and support children at risk of harm outside of the home, including criminal exploitation. Additionally, the £13 million Trusted Relationships Fund (2018-22) funds 11 different local authorities across England delivering innovative approaches to supporting children and young people, aged 10-17 years, at risk of child sexual exploitation or abuse, criminal exploitation and peer-on-peer abuse.
The department is also funding a £2 million Tackling Child Exploitation support programme to help safeguarding partners in local areas develop an effective response to extra-familial harms such as child sexual and child criminal exploitation.
The Home Office has invested £70 million into Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) to help tackle serious violence in the 18 worst affected areas. VRUs are non-statutory partnerships which offer leadership and strategic coordination of the local response to serious violence by bringing together police, local government, health and education professionals, community leaders and other key partners to identify the drivers of serious violence and agree a multi-agency response to them.
This government is also investing £20 million this year to crack down on the county lines gangs who are exploiting our children and having a devastating impact on our communities. This includes investment to significantly uplift the law enforcement response to county lines, develop several wider national capabilities, and increase specialist support for young people and their families who are affected by county lines exploitation.
Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by Just for Kids Law, Excluded, exploited, forgotten: Childhood criminal exploitation and school exclusions, published on 26 August; and what plans they have to include new provisions to protect children vulnerable to exploitation in their forthcoming guidance on exclusions.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
It is critical for schools to be calm and disciplined environments, for pupils and teaching staff, and it is important that they remain as such.
There is no right number of exclusions, but we are clear that permanent exclusion should only be used as a last resort. Exclusion from school should not mean exclusion from good quality education or from support needed to reduce risk and vulnerability.
We are taking forward an ambitious programme of work on school behaviour and are working to rapidly improve the availability of good alternative provision, so that permanently excluded children and children at risk of exclusion receive high-quality education and support suited to their individual needs. We are also working with Ofsted to clamp down on off-rolling, which is never acceptable.
We will also revise guidance on exclusions to make it clearer and more consistent, so that head teachers have the information they need to use exclusion properly and proportionately. We will continue to engage with key stakeholders including Just for Kids Law when revising guidance.
Schools must have due regard to the Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) statutory guidance, when carrying out their duties, to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. This guidance already provides information for all staff as to what abuse, sexual abuse, child sexual exploitation and peer-on-peer abuse look like, indicators to be aware of, what to do and who to report to, if they have a concern about a child.
On 1 September 2020, a revised version of KCSIE was published. This includes more detail regarding child sexual exploitation and child criminal exploitation in part one, which all staff should read. The guidance is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2.
It is right that, where it comes to individual cases, local professionals are best placed to decide on the measures to support victims and child perpetrators.
In addition, the department provided £7 million to the See, Hear, Respond service led by Barnardo’s which will deliver, among other things, street-based youth work to identify and support children at risk of harm outside of the home, including criminal exploitation. Additionally, the £13 million Trusted Relationships Fund (2018-22) funds 11 different local authorities across England delivering innovative approaches to supporting children and young people, aged 10-17 years, at risk of child sexual exploitation or abuse, criminal exploitation and peer-on-peer abuse.
The department is also funding a £2 million Tackling Child Exploitation support programme to help safeguarding partners in local areas develop an effective response to extra-familial harms such as child sexual and child criminal exploitation.
The Home Office has invested £70 million into Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) to help tackle serious violence in the 18 worst affected areas. VRUs are non-statutory partnerships which offer leadership and strategic coordination of the local response to serious violence by bringing together police, local government, health and education professionals, community leaders and other key partners to identify the drivers of serious violence and agree a multi-agency response to them.
This government is also investing £20 million this year to crack down on the county lines gangs who are exploiting our children and having a devastating impact on our communities. This includes investment to significantly uplift the law enforcement response to county lines, develop several wider national capabilities, and increase specialist support for young people and their families who are affected by county lines exploitation.
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 steps he is taking to reduce the number of permanent school exclusions.
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: 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 Central)
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.