Exlcuding pupils from schools is the decision of head teachers and governing bodies.  In Stockport, as was discussed at the Council’s Children and Young People’s Scrutiny Committee last night, the numbers being excluded are higher than we’d expect.

There are times when a young person needs to be excluded, for their own good and that of other pupils and staff.  But excluding too many children too quickly, without trying everything else first, is just passing the problem onto someone else and quite possibly doing more harm than good.

In 2005-2006, Stockport headteachers excluded 1498 pupils for a total of 8858 days – much higher than other similar areas.

By 2008-09, after a great deal of work, 1006 pupils were excluded for a total of 4214.5 days.  Much lower, but there’s still more work to do.

From the Council’s side, the work has been driven by the Secondary Behaviour Review, running since 2007, that’s been working to help headteachers find ways to help problem children without excluding them or disrupting school for other pupils.

You can read the full report, in the Children and Young Peoples’ Scrutiny Committee agenda, here.