School exclusion can have a detrimental effect on young people, their family and even their former school. In this blog, the effects of school exclusion on young people and the consequences on their mental health and education will be discussed. We believe that preventing school exclusion is better for young people and that school exclusion is not an appropriate intervention.
A disproportionate exclusion
In 2018, the Department for Education commissioned an independent report to further look into the disproportionate exclusion of particular student groups in UK schools. These groups include Black Caribbean males, Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) children, Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND) children and those who are eligible for free school meals (FSM) [1].
The report noted that many factors such as poverty, being bullied, being from a certain minority or ethnic group, life trauma and being exposed to a challenging home environment increased the likelihood of exclusion. [1]. The report highlighted that many of the students had a number of these factors affecting them, which could result in a ‘multiplier effect’ [1].
The report puts forward that school exclusions are a reflection of current societal patterns and prejudice. “Exclusions perpetuate society-wide stereotyping and discrimination, particularly along the lines of class, race, gender and disadvantage [1].”
Studies found that Black and GRT pupils experienced different treatment by teachers, which the young people noticed as ‘low educational expectation’ and unfair responses to misbehaviour or ‘behavioural transgressions’ compared to other races of pupils [1]. The research findings also found that treating children differently from their peers affects their sense of belonging and their prospective future as functional members of society [2] [3] [4]. Excluded young people could carry these negative feelings into adulthood, making them more vulnerable to criminal exploitation and mental health difficulties.
Therefore, to prevent these potential negative effects, promoting how pupils feel and ensuring that they belong in school, feel valued as an individual, and have healthy relationships between teachers and pupils will significantly improve the behaviour of students therefore reducing the likelihood of school exclusion [1].
Family and schools
Many of the studies evaluated found that social class shaped the parent-school relationship, with poorer or working-class parents being perceived by schools as being the ‘least effective’ in challenging decisions [1]. The school-family dynamic was described as ‘problematic’, and in general parent-school communication was reduced after primary school [1]. Parents felt unfairly criticised for their child’s behaviour but could not discuss this with schools or support their child through the exclusion process. Interestingly, research also found the reverse, where the parents blamed schools for their child’s difficulty adjusting to the school [1].
The Children’s Society, a charity that campaigns for the social rights of young people facing abuse and neglect [5], shares ‘Youth voice on school exclusions’. They found that school exclusion strains home life by negatively impacting relationships with family [6]. Young people expressed that they feel guilt seeing their parents and carers pressured with having to attend meetings with the schools about the exclusion process. Young people also shared that there was a lack of inclusivity, making it harder for their families and carers to access the exclusions procedure [6].
Young people also described school rules as ‘rigid’ and expressed how it was too hard to break the cycle of starting with multiple detentions, leading to isolation and an inevitable end with exclusions [6]. Young people feel that the school systems currently are ‘inflexible and ineffective in achieving real change’ [6]. If the young people who are directly affected by these systems can see that it is doing more harm than good, shouldn’t we listen and support their voiced concerns?
Prevention in schools
The Youth Endowment Fund published a review on a toolkit that showed examples of interventions to help prevent school exclusion [7]. This research aimed to understand whether a range of interventions helped keep children safe by supporting them to stay in school.
These include [7]:
- Counselling or specialist therapy from community mental health services.
- Activities to develop social-emotional skills such as self-regulation, relationship and communication skills, and decision-making.
- Therapeutic techniques to help students regulate their behaviour and develop appropriate coping strategies.
- Mentoring which pairs students with a mentor who can provide pastoral or academic support.
- Academic tutoring.
The results found that research on interventions to reduce exclusions is complex. There is promising evidence that effective approaches to prevent exclusions are useful. The review found that on average interventions aimed to reduce school exclusion reduced arrests and suspensions by a small amount. However, no data was recorded about the reduction on suspensions, which is useful as an indicator on reducing crime [7].
What schools can do
The independent report also highlighted that young people who were excluded from school were more likely to have behavioural difficulties, difficulties with peers and attention difficulties [1]. Excluded young people also had lower scores for positive well-being, emotional strengths and skills and support networks [1] [5].
To tackle the exclusion problem and the adverse effects on young people, the report gives a guide on alleviating these problems. Below are some of the suggestions:
- create a positive school ethos and culture to guide and support staff in understanding, identifying and managing behaviour in positive ways
- support families and children, using high-quality external provision as indicated
- focus on intervening early before problems become entrenched
- provide some pupils with ‘targeted’ support. This may include some respite
- from mainstream classes, and/or specialist one-to-one tuition or counselling [1]
Say It With Your Chest
Say It With Your Chest (SIWYC) is a non-profit organisation that works with pupils at risk of school exclusion. With ‘targeted’ support services such as 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 in workshops and mentoring sessions.
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 benefit from the specialised services that SIWYC can offer? Get in touch today to find out more about our services.
References
[2] https://thinkstudent.co.uk/effects-that-school-exclusion-has-on-a-student/
[3] https://www.bristol.ac.uk/alspac/news/2020/mental-health-school.html
[4] https://arc-swp.nihr.ac.uk/news/exclusion-from-school-can-trigger-long-term-psychiatric-illness1/
[5] https://www.childrenssociety.org.uk
[7] https://youthendowmentfund.org.uk/toolkit/interventions-to-prevent-school-exclusion/