The Department for Education (DfE) has agreed in principle to 30 recommendations put forward in the Timpson Review of School Exclusion,
Based on extensive consultation with parents, schools and LAs, the Timpson review highlighted the pupil and school characteristics which are associated with greater risk of exclusion. Alarmingly, 78% of pupils who are permanently excluded have special educational needs of disabilities (SEND), are classified as in need, or are eligible to receive free school meals; 11% of permanently excluded pupils have all these characteristics.
Also identified are four fundamental drivers of policies and practices around exclusions in schools, including:
- differences in leadership, standards of behaviour and culture in schools
- lack of consistency around the management of poor behaviour
- few incentives for schools to take responsibility for pupils at risk of being excluded
- a lack of safeguards to “protect children against informal exclusion and … off-rolling”
The review bolsters our understanding of current practice, underlining the considerable variation in how effectively exclusions are used. It concluded that action is required to ensure that permanent exclusions are used appropriately.