Excluded pupils ‘abandoned by schools,’ MPs warn
2 min read
Pupils excluded from school are being failed by the education system, MPs have warned.
In a new report, the Education Select Committee blasted the lack of support available for excluded pupils, branding the current system a "Wild West" approach.
Committee chair Robert Halfon said: "We face the scandal of ever-increasing numbers of children being excluded and being left abandoned to a forgotten part of our education system which too often fails to deliver good outcomes for these young people.
"Parents and pupils face a system which isn't designed for their needs, too often being left to a Wild West of exclusions.”
The report raised concerns that some schools could be excluding kids to boost exam results, and said no accountably was being taken for pupils’ needs once they had been moved out of mainstream lessons.
It also suggested schools were becoming too reliant on both formal and informal exclusions and were too quick to move difficult pupils to referral units or into home education.
The Committee called for a "bill of rights", which would give parents more information about their entitlements if children are removed from lessons.
And it suggested schools should have greater incentives to keep difficult pupils within formal education.
School Standards Minister Nick Gibb said: "The number of children being excluded is lower than it was 10 years ago, but exclusions should only ever be used as a last resort.
"The rules are clear, that they should always be reasonable and justified. Where pupils are excluded, the quality of education they receive should be no different than mainstream settings.
"We are taking a range of actions to drive up the quality of alternative provision, and have launched an external review to look at how exclusions are used, and why certain groups are disproportionally affected.”
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