Leadership

Youth Voice on School Exclusions

Emerging from the positive and negative experiences young people have shared in this report are some key principles to underpin a school system which has vulnerable young people at its heart.

School exclusions have left some children at increased risk of harm – with decisions too often taken without efforts to understand and address issues which may be affecting their behaviour, according to this report by The Children’s Society.

The report found that challenges like being moved into care, learning disabilities, knife crime and child exploitation, and experiences of bullying and racism could all affect children’s behaviour in school, leading to them being excluded.

Some young people told how they were then exposed to drugs and criminal exploitation in Alternative Provision settings, and how feeling bored at home and closures of community facilities like youth clubs left them vulnerable to advances by those looking to exploit them.

They felt this could have been avoided had they been supported to remain in school with help to address issues in their lives affecting their behaviour.

Children said exclusions had also affected their learning, leaving them feeling isolated and uncared for, as well as impacting their relationships at home, their self-esteem, hope for the future, well-being and mental health.

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