Labour set to part out faculty punishments together with suspensions

Labour is set to modify the punishments that can be set by schools, which could see the end of isolation booths, suspensions and behaviour rules.

The changes, which education leaders say are on the table, are being considered as a way of helping more vulnerable children who may misbehave or become disruptive due to problems at home or undiagnosed ADHD or autism. 

Some educationalists are pushing for the  inspection regime to change so that schools are not solely judged on academic results, but rather how well they serve their local community. 

There is a concern that schools achieving lower down in the results tables are not being considered in terms of how many pupils they have with additional needs, or that parents of children with special educational needs are being advised to move to another school rather than being supported.

Anne Longfield, a former children’s commissioner and founder of the Centre for Young Lives, which has been working with the Labour government on this issue said something needed to change to help vulnerable children.

She told The Guardian: ‘Looking at the data and talking to young people it is clear that a large group of kids have been made to feel school isn’t for them and that has to change.

‘I’ve talked to kids who weren’t able to cope with all the rules, who kept ending up in isolation, and some children said it was happening week after week.’ 

Those who support the reforms point to ‘shocking’ new data that show school suspensions reached a record high in 2022/23.

The number of pupils temporarily removed from classrooms soared by more than a third – 36 per cent compared to the year prior with 786,961 suspensions on record.

According to the Department for Education,  it is the ‘highest recorded’ number of suspensions in a single academic year.

However suspensions aren’t the only form of reprimand on the rise, with exclusions up by nearly half.

Nearly 10,000 students were permanently kicked out of classrooms across the country, up from 6,485 exclusions in the previous school year.

These shocking figures comes as concerns were raised regarding challenging behaviour in classrooms after the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Before COVID-19, the rate of exclusions were ‘relatively stable’ and were gradually increasing over last decade, the Department of Education said. 

However the recent rise in permanent exclusions and suspensions have been attributed to ‘persistent disruptive behaviour’.

Education minister Stephen Morgan said: ‘These shocking figures are a wake-up call about the problems that have grown in our schools in recent years.

‘They put into sharp focus that too many pupils are being held back by their background and that our education system is failing to meet the needs of children with additional needs.

‘Every pupil deserves to learn in a safe, calm classroom and we will always support our hard-working and dedicated teachers to make this happen.’

He said the Government is ‘determined to get to grips with the causes of exclusions’ and he said it has already committed to more mental health professionals in secondary schools, free breakfast clubs in primary schools, and earlier intervention in mainstream schools for pupils with special needs.

Mr Morgan added: ‘But we know poor behaviour can also be rooted in wider issues, which is why the Government is developing an ambitious strategy to reduce child poverty led by a taskforce co-chaired by the Education Secretary so that we can break down the barriers to opportunity.’

Temporary bans from school also peaked in the Summer as 276,000 suspensions recorded in that term alone.

This was an anomaly as  suspensions are usually higher during autumn. 

Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: ‘School leaders only ever suspend and exclude pupils as a last resort and, therefore, this rise would appear to reflect the increasingly complex needs and challenging behaviour we are seeing in schools and across wider society.

‘Behavioural issues are often a result of poor mental health or unmet special educational needs.

‘We desperately need the new government to work alongside the education profession to put support systems in place that ensure young people get the help they need to stop these problems from escalating.’

He added: ‘It’s vitally important that there is investment in education and family support services to ensure children get help as soon as they require it and behavioural issues do not spiral to the point where suspensions and exclusions are the only option left available to school leaders.’

Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said: ‘The fact that we’ve reached this headline figure of record suspensions and exclusions should be a deep concern to everyone involved in education and it will be another stark reminder to the new Government of the scale of the task ahead of them. 

‘One thing is very clear, we cannot go on as we are.

‘Schools work incredibly hard to support children and use suspensions and exclusions as a last resort, but they cannot be expected to address the full range of complex root-causes that can often lead to disruptive behaviour in the classroom.’

Beth Prescott, education lead at the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) think tank, said the figures were ‘truly shocking’, adding there ‘is a pressing and immediate emergency unfolding across our schools.’

But Tom Bennett, the Tory government’s behaviour tsar, who is contracted to remain in his role until 2025, believes imposing discipline in schools is essential for both teachers and pupils and has championed stricter sanctions.

He said: ‘Removal rooms are essential in a school with any level of challenge so that students who seriously misbehave can be temporarily removed from the classroom to a designated safe, monitored space to calm down, talk to pastoral team members, or carry on with their work away from the lesson they are disrupting.’

In a previous interview from 2022, Bennett said that schools employing a zero-exclusion policy risked ruining the life chances of other pupils and may expose them to ‘indignity and harassment’.

He also said exclusions ‘are a necessary part’ of keeping children safe and ensuring they have a ‘safe, dignified’ learning environment.