School exclusions rise by fifth in England in past year, study finds

Posted on September 5, 2024 by Admin

Increasing amounts spent on educating pupils outside mainstream ‘where quality and safety is less guaranteed’

Suspensions and exclusions from schools in England went up by more than a fifth in the past year, according to analysis of live attendance data in a new report that raises concerns about children being shifted out of mainstream education into alternative provision.

Research by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) found that cash-strapped councils are spending increasing amounts on educating pupils outside the mainstream schools “where quality and safety is less guaranteed”.

Fifty English secondary schools suspended more than a quarter of pupils after pandemic

Posted on August 25, 2024 by Admin

Exclusive: Children in disadvantaged areas three times as likely to be sent away as pupils in wealthier places

Fifty secondary schools in England suspended more than a quarter of their students after the pandemic, with children at schools with the most disadvantaged pupils three times as likely to be suspended as those in wealthier areas, according to analysis by the Guardian.

The proportion of schools suspending large numbers of pupils has risen sharply since schools were closed to many children during Covid, and teachers have struggled with deteriorating behaviour since they reopened.

Vulnerable children in England ‘safer at school’ than being educated at home

Posted on May 14, 2024 by Admin

Review of serious safeguarding failures finds young people from abusive environments ‘less visible’ to agencies

Children who grow up in neglectful or abusive environments are safer attending school than being educated at home, according to a review of serious safeguarding failures in England in which six children died and 35 were harmed in one year.

The report, by the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel, emphasised that while home education was not a safeguarding risk, it found that vulnerable children were “less visible” to safeguarding agencies than those regularly in school.

Students suspended even for short spells fare worse at GCSEs, study finds

Posted on March 13, 2024 by Admin

Charity says findings from schools in England show need for early intervention and fewer exclusions

Children who are suspended from school in England even for short periods see their GCSE results suffer, according to research that highlights the need for early interventions to reduce suspensions.

Pupils who had been suspended were found to be lagging a year behind their peers and on average were unable to achieve a standard pass in GCSE maths and English.

Fines for unauthorised absence from school in England to rise by 33%

Posted on February 28, 2024 by Admin

Daily registers will also be shared online with DfE as part of government drive to improve attendance

Taking an unauthorised family holiday is about to get more expensive, with the government announcing that fines for children in England missing school are to rise by 33%.

The education secretary, Gillian Keegan, is to overhaul the way local authorities fine parents for unauthorised school absences by bringing penalties “under a national framework to help tackle inconsistencies”.

Government to fund school ‘attendance mentors’ in worst-hit areas of England

Posted on January 5, 2024 by Admin

Latest attempt to tackle pupil absences criticised as failing to tackle the magnitude of the problem

The government is to make a new effort to repair sagging school attendance figures in England, with the education secretary to announce funding for “attendance mentors” in some of the worst-affected areas.

Pupil absences remain stubbornly higher than before the Covid pandemic, and during a visit to Liverpool on Monday Gillian Keegan is expected to announce plans for caseworkers to offer one-to-one support for pupils in 10 areas including Blackpool and Walsall, where rates of unauthorised absences remain far above national levels.

School leaders in England feel lockdown ‘broke spell’ of bond with parents

Posted on November 23, 2023 by Admin

Education experts agree with Ofsted chief that many parents now disregard rules previously taken for granted

Lockdown “broke the spell” that bound parents and schools together, according to school leaders and experts who have endorsed the Ofsted chief’s view that many parents now disregard rules on behaviour and attendance they once took for granted.

Delivering her last annual report as chief inspector of schools in England, Amanda Spielman said: “The social contract between parents and schools has been fractured by lockdowns and closures.” And she warned: “That social contract took years to build and consolidate and it will take time to restore.”

Senate report on school refusal recommends subsidised mental health care for students

Posted on August 10, 2023 by Admin

Labelled a ‘postive first step’ by the Greens, the report also recommends more support for parent groups and teacher training on attendance issues

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School students would get better access to mental health care and parent support groups would get more funding under the recommendations of a Senate inquiry to address the “alarming rate” of low school attendance.

The Greens, who initiated the inquiry last October, welcomed the Senate’s report as a “positive first step” and urged the federal government to work with states and territories to immediately begin implementing its recommendations.

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