The Isle of Wight Council ‘needs to do better’ when it comes to permanently excluding pupils from school, a senior officer has said.
Figures show permanent exclusions on the Island increased by 70% in the last school year — a statistic assistant education director, Brian Pope, would like to see reduced.
Speaking at the Isle of Wight Council’s children’s services and education scrutiny committee recently, Mr Pope, who works across Hampshire and the Island in the exclusion and inclusion team, said:
“I think when we have next term’s data it will make for an interesting debate.
“My concern is children who end up being excluded are in some of the most vulnerable groups: children open to social care; children who live in circumstances of relative poverty, on free schools meals; children on Education and Health Care Plans.”
It is an area of real focus for the council, Mr Pope said, and they ‘need to do better on it’.
A full report considering school exclusions, trends and current figures will be brought before the committee as early as March next year for examination and debate.
In the school year starting September 2020 and through to the summer in 2021, 17 pupils were permanently excluded from Island schools, council figures show. It is the highest number of permanent exclusions since the 2012/13 school year when, according to government figures, 20 pupils were excluded — 18 from secondary schools.
In 2019/20, only 10 pupils — 9 in secondary and 1 in primary — were permanently excluded, showing a 70% increase in the following year.
School’s disciplinary powers remained in place over the course of the COVID pandemic, with both school years affected by the outbreak.
A somewhat exaggerated response from the Council. Yes, it is a 70% increase, but in terms of numbers, it is an increase of 7 pupils. The baseline figure of 10, seems comparatively low, considering how many pupils attend school on the Isle of Wight.
My question would be: why have the schools found it necessary to exclude these pupils?
It is not something schools do easily. There must have been reasons why these pupils were excluded. If they were disrupting the education of other pupils, then I feel we must sympathise with the majority. I calculate that potentially 510 pupils could have been disturbed by the 17. Unfair!
It is absolutely right that children disrupting other children’s education are permanently excluded. As to which groups they belong to that is eminently predictable.
back in the 1970s you would likely see about 1 kid a year get excluded – so seeing one kid excluded from a primary in 2019/20 isn’t at odds with what you would expect to see in a normal functioning year – some kids are exceptionally quiet, docile and obedient, yet still intellectually challenged -some others are noisy, arrogant, violent little s*its and highly intelligent yet both are kept in school – you really have to go some to be kicked out.
These kids that are being excluded, what is being done to educate them? The parents probably need educating on how to bring up a child correctly. All children need to be taught right from wrong, what is acceptable and what is not, respect seems to be missing in society these days. Let’s all remember, it is the law that all children must receive an education. These forgotten, exclude kids will go on to break the law in later life. There needs to be a program for the parents/ parent and their children to attend which goes back to basics, address the issues of why the child was excluded from school and look at all aspects of these people’s lives
Not all kids will go on to brake the law
I was expelled at 14 im dyslexic and school life was hard for me
But getting expelled made me a better person
Im married with grown up children i own my own home iv never been on the dole and nrver been in trouble with the police.
My three brothers went all the way through school none of them are dyslexic so id say more of hes thick so lets get him out of school and tend to the brighter kids. This is exactly what it was like for me.