By Gavin Mackintosh-
The British government has pledged to shake-up the alternative provision sector to hold schools accountable for the pupils they exclude after a landmark review.
The long-awaited Timpson review into exclusions has been published today. It makes 30 recommendations for the Department for Education to safeguard the interests of disadvantaged pupils so that exclusions are used fairly. The review is necessary to ensure pupils are given maximum opportunity to develop a future and not loose it on account of expulsions.
It is still important for the government not to forget the importance for expulsions to be a useful alternative when a situation demands it.
Education secretary Damian Hinds said the government will accept all the recommendations “in principle” and will extend support for AP. The DfE will also launch a consultation on how to strengthen accountability around exclusions later this year.
Hinds said he would “continue to back headteachers” in using exclusion as the “final option”, but said exclusion “should not be considered the end point for any child; it has to be the start of something new and positive – with Alternative Provision(AP) offering smaller class sizes and tailored support.” The initiative is in itself positive if used correctly.
Timpson says there is “much variation in the quality of the offer within AP, with not enough support to attract high-quality subject specialist staff, invest in good facilities or remove the stigma attached to being educated in these settings”.
Alternative provision services run by academy trusts, including the Schools Company Trust closed down after a series of safeguarding failures and financial mismanagement has faced much criticism. and the
Hinds plans to enhance the quality of Alternative Provision in the autumn, and help providers “attract and develop high-quality staff” through a new AP workforce programme. Of the 30 recommendations accepted by the DfE, four relate specifically to AP, including promoting the role of providers and recognising the best AP schools as teaching schools. He said the British government will also invest in and developing “high-quality inspirational leaders” and invest in “significantly improving” AP buildings.
Timpson wants schools to be provided with incentives or reward schools for taking responsibility for the needs of all children, using permanent exclusion only when nothing else will do. The report said:
“It cannot be right to have a system where some schools stand to improve their performance and finances through exclusion.”
ACCOUNTABLE
Timpson said there was a necessity for the government to do more to understand the scale and impact of off-rolling. Analysis produced for the report found that 78 per cent of permanent exclusions issued in 2016-17 either had special education needs, those who were classified as ‘in need’ or were eligible for free school meals. Statistics show that 11% of permanent exclusions were issued to pupils who had all three characteristics
The report found that in 2016-17, 94 per cent of mainstream primary schools in England and 43 per cent of secondaries did not issue any permanent exclusions, 47 secondary schools (0.2 per cent of all schools) issued more than 10 that year. And although 43 per cent of mainstream schools did not issue any fixed period exclusions, 38 schools issued over 500 each in the year.
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said he was pleased the report supported the right of school leaders to exclude pupils “as a last resort” and warned that any move to make schools accountable for the results of excluded pupils would need to be “carefully considered to ensure it is sensible, fair and fit-for-purpose”.
Barton believes the issue of school funding “has not been given anywhere near enough weight” in the report or the DfE response. He argued that lack of funding is causing schools to cut back on support staff who would otherwise be able to provide early intervention to pupils with challenging behaviour.
He also criticised the DfE for being “woolly” in its commitments to boosting the availability of high-quality AP, and said the report’s recommendations for improving AP are important not just for providing the best possible education for excluded pupils but also because “it is not reasonable to make schools responsible for the outcome of excluded pupils if they struggle to access good AP”.
“The government’s vague assertions over these matters are not good enough,” he added.