Ban permanent exclusions from primary schools, says ex-children’s tsar as figures soar

A new report has called for a ban on exclusion culture in primary schools, which it argues puts young people at risk of low attainment, serious violence and criminal exploitation.

The Commission on Young Lives, led by former children’s commissioner Anne Longfield, has also pushed for the removal of a child from secondary school to become “a genuine last resort” and proposed that school league tables include an agreed measurement of pupil wellbeing alongside exam results.

Ms Longfield said: “High aspiration, high standards and high expectations should always go alongside a sense of responsibility for all children. We should never be content with an education system that too often provides those who want to exploit children with a conveyor belt of vulnerable teenagers. An inclusive education system is a key weapon in our battle against them.”

The commission met with one mother whose five-year-old was excluded 17 times in one year, to which Ms Longfield responded: “A system that has no real accountability for a five-year-old boy being excluded 17 times in a year, or where a vulnerable teenager is out of school for months or even years, is not a system that is working for every child.”

Among a series of recommendations, the report suggests a ban on primary school exclusions from 2026, alongside support and resources for schools to provide specialist provision that keeps children on the school roll.

The commission also states that exclusion from secondary school should only be ruled following a programme of support and when it is signed off by the CEO of an academy school or MAT, or the DCS in a local authority school.

Concern for the disproportionate number of Black children who are not attending school or are excluded from school was also highlighted by the report.

It recommends that workforce strategies be implemented to increase the number of Black teachers in classrooms and in leadership roles and to promote a race-equality module to the core of all teacher training.

“Look behind the headlines of the tragic deaths, acts of serious violence and criminal exploitation of our young people over recent years and so often you see a pattern of children disengaging and falling out of school and into harm,” Ms Longfield continued.

“Not all children who leave mainstream school will be affected, but the statistics show that too many will – even more so if the child has special educational needs or is Black.

“These are the young people at the sharp end of an education system which has not always prioritised the needs of vulnerable children, and one that I believe could and should be transformed to ensure all children can succeed.”

She added: “We should celebrate the excellent outcomes our education system provides for most children, while being determined to change the fact that thousands of children in England are leaving school without good qualifications or are falling through gaps in the education system, putting them at greater risk of danger.”

The commission was also keen to set out how the culture of exclusions that has grown in recent years. Among a series of shocking revelations, data reveals that the number children excluded from school rose by 5 per cent in the autumn of 2019 when compared to the same period in 2018.

It also found permanent exclusion figures have seen a gradual rise from 5,082 in 2010/11 to 7,894 in 2018/19, before Covid. Even for the coronavirus-affected year of 2019/20, 5,057 children in England were permanently excluded.

Across a 10-year span, from 2010-2020, children aged 12, 13 and 14 consistently have the highest numbers of exclusions, which the report states are often the children most at risk of becoming involved with the criminal justice system.

As a result, the commission says it is challenging the culture of exclusion and encouraging a “more inclusive education system, holding schools accountable for excluding or moving children off the school role, but also providing them with the support and resources they need to keep children in school.”

Ms Longfield said: “Over recent years, we have seen the growth of an exclusions culture that perversely rewards removing some vulnerable children from the school roll. That must not continue. We need a new culture of inclusion and accountability, that recognises and rewards nurture and which sticks with children and families from cradle to career.

“This does not mean that our ambitions for academic achievement and high standards of behaviour should be lowered – far from it. Our ambition must be for all children to feel learning and achievement is for them, and to feel school is somewhere that they want to be.

“Inclusive schools and college around the country are already showing how it can be done. They are an anchor in the community, offering families and children the support they need to do well. But too often they are the exception because the system does not provide schools with the direction, support, and resources needed to deliver for every child. The Government’s Education White Paper and SEND Green Paper are a welcome change of direction towards this more inclusive system, though not yet with the necessary financial support.

“High aspiration, high standards and high expectations should always go alongside a sense of responsibility for all children. We should never be content with an education system that too often provides those who want to exploit children with a conveyor belt of vulnerable teenagers. An inclusive education system is a key weapon in our battle against them.”

Rev Steve Chalke, founder of Oasis, which hosts the commission on Young Lives, and runs 52 academy schools across England, said: “Our society will not flourish until we provide safe and inclusive education for all children and young people. Without it, not only will it be impossible to end the epidemic of teenage violence and exploitation, but we will never create equity of opportunity for every child.

“This is why Oasis hosts the Commission on Young Lives, and why we work, through our schools and youth work, for the inclusion of every child, every day.”