Simon Woolley to join Inquiry panel into school exclusions

OBV’s Simon Woolley will join a panel of experts headed by Dr Maggie Atkinson, Children’s Commissioner for England as she launches the first Inquiry under Children Act 2004 powers into school exclusions

The Children’s Commissioner’s call for evidence to inform the School Exclusions Inquiry opened today for 12 weeks; and her Inquiry will conclude with her presenting her findings and recommendations in early March 2012 to Government.

Given the existing evidence base details substantial differences in exclusion rates between different groups of children, the School Exclusions Inquiry will examine a number of areas including:

• whether the system is consistent with children’s rights under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and;
• the decision making process up to the point of exclusion and whether public bodies are meeting their equalities duties. This includes under the Equality Act 2010 and Public Sector Equality Duty which will be extended to schools next year.

A number of characteristics or factors including poverty, special educational needs, gender, ethnicity and disability demonstrate large variations in exclusion rates. For instance, boys of Black Caribbean origin are 37 times more likely to be excluded than girls of Indian origin and pupils with special educational needs are eight times more likely to be excluded than others.

Dr Maggie Atkinson, Children’s Commissioner for England said:

I am proud to be able to launch the first Inquiry under the Children Act 2004 powers. Time and time again children raise the issue of exclusion with me and the evidence suggests this is an area we should pay particular attention to.

The consequences of being permanently excluded from school are substantial for any child. Many never re-engage with formal education. Today, 40% of 16-18 year olds not in education, employment or training (NEETS) have been permanently excluded.

Simon Woolley stated:

For many Black families the exclusion of their children has caused both trauma and worry that fairness isn’t always applied.

Our job will be to examine this and other areas to ensure we have a robust system that complies with the law and offers a framework that works effectively, and above all fairly. I am pleased to be part of the panel and look forward to making progress sooner rather than later.

The Inquiry Panel members are:

• Janet Mokades- Schools Adjudicator
• Robin Richardson, Educationalist and former director of the Runnymede Trust
• Ian St Rose, Service Manager of Leeds Reach, development
• Roy Blatchford, Director of the National Education Trust

OBV Staff Reporter