The London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, has committed to providing 2 million pounds towards significantly reducing exclusion rates in London schools.
Why are exclusions becoming a ‘habit’ in schools?
In an article published on the 6th of September 2022 on BBC News [1], the director of the Mayor’s Violence Reduction Unit (VRU), Ms Peck stated that schools required additional support to reduce the number of exclusions.
“This isn’t saying schools aren’t doing a good job. It is really saying we know they need more support.”
Ms Peck – Director of Violence Reduction Unit
The funding was allocated to reduce school exclusions due to the success of the Glasgow City Council in reducing the number of exclusions in their schools. In ten years, Glasgow City Council had reduced exclusion by a staggering 88% [2], with a further notable 50% reduction in youth crime [2].
The former Director of Education, Maureen McKenna, observed that schools were excluding children out of ‘habit’. McKenna insists that this ‘habit’ needs to be removed within schools. However, a headteacher from a Barking and Dagenham school opposes a zero-exclusion policy as the pressure on teachers is too much, and there is often “no other alternative”.
The link between exclusion and violence
With the help of Scotland’s Violence Reduction Unit, Glasgow schools were able to change their approach to viewing and handling exclusions, disruptive behaviour and violence. Schools had additional training and as a result of the training they altered their viewpoint by treating crime as a public health issue which enabled them to look at the root causes of the problem [2].
The ‘School to Prison Pipeline’ is a process that explains how excluded students are more vulnerable to the criminal justice system [3]. To read more about this pipeline, check out our previous blog here! A 2022 survey undertaken by the government in prisons showed that 63% of the population of the inmates had been suspended or temporarily excluded from school, with 42% having been permanently expelled [4]. With such a large proportion of inmates having been excluded, it is undeniable that exclusions may do more harm than good to young people’s future.
The exposure to crime significantly increases once a young person is excluded—the likelihood of criminal activity and exploitation due to the challenging environment the excluded youth experiences after leaving education encourages them to partake in detrimental behaviour [3]. To learn more about the effects of exclusion on a young person, read our blog post, ‘Should primary school exclusions be banned?’.
“No faith in teachers”
A former three-time excluded student, Jade Barnett, now an advisor to the VRU, recounts her own experience. Barnett, during the time of her exclusions, was experiencing her parents divorcing and was living between homes. Teachers unaware and uninterested, she had felt “written off” and told she “would end up in prison or pregnant [1].” With a clear indication that schools and teachers are unequipped to recognise signs of hardship that affect ‘misbehaviour’ in class, the need for specialised and additional support from external organisations is at an all-time high.
Ben Lindsay, founder of a youth-orientated charity to end violence called Power the Fight [5], asked teachers about preventing exclusions by providing nurture and support from specialists such as therapists, psychologists and councillors. Lindsay asked if teachers would feel supported; most would say yes and want this additional support [1].
Who are we?
Say It With Your Chest (SIWYC) is a non-profit organisation that works with pupils at risk of school exclusion. With services like the Switch Ambassador Programme, SIWYC employs its expertise and knowledge to empower young people in secondary school and provide them with the tools to overcome obstacles. With our tailored workshops and mentoring sessions, we can provide your youth and youth-related workforce with the additional support they may need.
SIWYC also delivers training for school staff. The training gives staff, the skills and tools to support students with their behaviour. With our specialised content such as ‘Looking beyond the behaviour’, we provide interactive activities that look at the different reasons for challenging behaviour and share strategies that can put in place to reduce the likelihood of the behaviour.
Can your young people and staff benefit from the specialised services that SIWYC can offer? Get in touch today to find out more about our services.
References:
[1] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-62806187
[2] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-58757188
[4] https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmjust/483/report-files/48306.htm