As school exclusions rise, we need tackle root causes of children's bad behaviour - everyone should get an education

5 September 2024, 15:01 | Updated: 5 September 2024, 15:03

Suspensions and exclusions in England are continuing to rise. Schools and teachers are doing their best, but as today’s ‘Who’s Losing Learning’ report reveals, many thousands of children are losing learning.

They are missing out on the education that most of us take for granted and their life chances will be diminished as a result.

Many of them are our most vulnerable children. Poorer children, children known to social services, children with Special Educational Needs and/or mental ill health, and children from ethnic minority backgrounds are affected disproportionately.

Over recent years I have heard so many stories of vulnerable children who have fallen out of school and into danger – groomed by ruthless criminals or gangs and becoming involved in violence and the criminal justice system. I’ve spoken to people in prison who say that school exclusion was a dangerous turning point for them.

There are also many thousands more who are losing life chances – leaving school with poor or no qualifications with all the consequences that has for future employment, health, and happiness. There are enormous costs to the taxpayer too.

Of course, these problems have existed for many years, but as the report highlights, the fallout from Covid and the disruption to in-school learning has made many of them even worse over the last few years.

We can continue to watch as more and more children spend more and more time out of mainstream education, or we can start to tackle some the root causes. We need solutions, and to work to create a more inclusive system. Many schools and multi academy trusts are already leading the way, showing it can be done. They move mountains to provide appropriate support to all their students and their families and reduce exclusion dramatically.

We are developing our own proposals for what an inclusive school means, led by Multi Academy Trust leader Jonny Uttley. We start from a belief that all young people should be treated with equal value, and all should receive a high-quality education and the right support regardless of their background or need. 

This should not be controversial, but for many children this is not what they experience. A perverse system of accountability has developed that has rewarded some schools who have gamed the system for better Ofsted grades and exam results by avoiding, discouraging, or moving on children with more challenging needs.

An inclusive system that works harder to keep children in school is not going soft on bad behaviour. Nor does it mean high standards and achievement should be compromised. Every child needs a school that is calm, where behaviour is good and which is full of committed, highly skilled teachers who feel safe and supported. There are already many schools trying their best to make this happen, but we need to support them, and we need consistency across the education system.

A new Government offers opportunities for achieving that and I am encouraged by the direction of travel. Just this week Ofsted announced it is looking at introducing a new measure of inclusion into its school inspections.

This has the potential to be a gamer changer but is only a first step. Our underfunded and overstretched SEND system needs a major boost. Families who are struggling need more support, child poverty needs to be tackled. We need far better alternative provision. School funding and support needs to reflect the challenges going on in communities and within families.

Achieving this is going to be a tough task, but it is a necessary one if we are to move away from a system that writes off too many children before they ever reach adulthood.

Anne Longfield CBE is Executive Chair of the Centre for Young Lives and former Children’s Commissioner for England