Agenda item

Nick Lee, Head of Access & Learning introduced his report on School exclusions to the Committee. He advised the Committee members that this report would give a more detailed view of the issue that was briefly touch on in minute 34. He highlighted the following points:

(a)  Primary school figures have been reasonably stable but are starting to creep up. Primary heads report dealing with more challenging behaviour at an earlier age. Secondary school figures are very high and have been for some years now;

(b)  The use of fixed term exclusion (exclusion of up to 5 days) has increased across primary and secondary schools;

(c)  In secondary schools the main reason for exclusion is persistent disruptive behaviour. This includes distraction in class, persistent incursion of rules, issues around behaviour that is challenging and seen as a continued rejection of the authority of the school all of which makes effective teaching and learning difficult. Other reasons for exclusion include verbal abuse of an adult, assault on a pupil, assault of an adult, drugs, damage to school property and bullying and/or racist behaviour;

(d)  In primary schools the main reason for exclusion is physical assault on an adult followed by disruptive behaviour, violence between pupils and damage to school property;

(e)  When a child is permanently excluded they go onto roll the Pupil Referral Unit (PRU). This unit has a physical capacity for 60 pupils, at the end of this last academic year there were more than 300 pupils on roll;

(f)  This large number of pupils on roll at the PRU means that many are being place in alternative provision, and greatly reduced the ability of the PRU to work meaningfully with pupils;

(g)  The cost of sending a pupil to alternative provision can be as much as £25,000 which is taken out of the schools budget. This is not sustainable as a city; 

(h)  An item will be taken to the School’s Forum to encourage wider sign up to the pilot, as discussed in minute 34 (p) which uses a tiered structure of I intervention including in-house provision and external services;

(i)  The aim is to tackle the issue with early intervention and prevention work. Work is being done at a primary and even at a preschool level to tackle challenging behaviour and to build capacity for continued work on the issue. Secondary head teachers have also expressed an interest in this approach;

(j)  The transition between primary and secondary schools is important and schools have reported that essential information on particular needs of young people has not been notified to the secondary school. There is a disconnect where older siblings are not identified and continuing family needs are not recognised because of this;

Following questions and comments from the Committee the following further information was given:

(k)  The schools involved in the pilot are representative of schools across the city. Bluecoat Beechdale had high exclusion rates in the past, there is a diverse intake of pupils from the inner city areas as well as from estates. It is typical of the wider community as is Nottingham Academy;

(l)  Good practice is not having very high exclusion rates. It is recognised that sometimes exclusion is the right thing to do, however only at the point that all other interventions and other options have been considered;

(m)  Better educational attainment leads to better outcomes for young people and fewer referrals to other agencies;

(n)  Not all use of alternative provision is unsuitable for pupils. Some pupils thrive in alternative provision with its broader curriculum. However alternative provision should be targeted and not used as a backstop;

(o)  A more realistic view of attainment and exclusion would be for schools to measure on a whole cohort, not just those sitting exams at the end of the school year;

RESOLVED to thank Nick Lee for his attendance and to note the content of his report.