Recent statistics by the Department for Education reveal that for the fourth year in a row, exclusion rates in the UK continues to increase. This increasing trend should be stopped as children need to remain in school and receive at least a high school education.
To battle the tendency of rising exclusion rates in the United Kingdom (UK), the government has to look into ways to resolve the causes leading to such drastic measures as expulsion.
A school in Sunderland, Red House Academy, has managed to score a record high rate of expelled students in a single term. The educational institution has expelled more than two hundred and fifty-four students (254) out of a total of more than five thousand for the 2017-2018 term.
According to recent statistics, exclusion rates in the UK are on the rise, as more than forty schools have reported that they expelled more than one in five students during last years’ term.
The data also shows that there are two major academy chains, which constitute the most significant percentage of expelled students – Outwood Grange Academies Trust and the Northern Education Trust. Red House Academy is part of the Northern Education Trust.
What does exclusion mean and its implications?
The crux of the matter on rising exclusion rates in the UK is this:
Council support services for vulnerable families have been cut back meaning that schools are having to pick up the pieces. Schools only exclude pupils as a last resort and when all other avenues have been exhausted.
An exclusion means your child has been removed from school, usually because of behavior problems, and is not allowed to attend there for a certain number of days. This is usually a disciplinary action imposed by public schools.
However, if a child is excluded permanently, his name will be removed from the school register and he will not be allowed to return to that school at all.
Schools must keep a record of any exclusions and must follow a set of procedures when they exclude a pupil.
This means the school should always tell the parent the procedures that should be followed before the excluded child returns to school.
Government need to stop rising exclusion rates in the UK
Over the past several years, there has been a significant increase in the number of expelled students in the country. But why are exclusion rates in the UK rising?
According to specialists, some of the main reasons for this worrying tendency is the severe shortage of teachers in some school areas. Other possible causes include the worsened behavior of pupils and the lack of engagement from parents.
Schools are reported to have a future allocation of approximately two billion pounds (£2B). Is this for the media or truly a matter that was thoroughly discussed and laid out in terms of the national budget?
Increasing teacher’s salaries, and working on boosting teacher-parent relationships are just some of the possible solutions.
In many countries, education is not among the priority when allocating the national budget. Shouldn’t it be? Access to education can improve the economic outcomes of citizens and determine the prospects of future generations, especially in developing countries.
