'Do Better' Council Told Over Isle Of Wight School Exclusions

Tuesday, 14 December 2021 15:43

By Louise Hill LDR

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 per cent 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, 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 — nine in secondary and one in primary — were permanently excluded, showing a 70 per cent 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.

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'Do Better' Council Told Over Isle Of Wight School Exclusions

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