Sky News
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Exclusive: Schoolchildren moved out of mainstream education without being officially excluded
Posted
October 16, 2018
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5:22Now PlayingSchool children are being moved out or “off-rolled” from mainstream education without being officially excluded, according to research by Sky News.
It found that the Government’s official exclusion figures are misleading and local authorities with the lowest ‘official’ exclusion rates actually have high levels of ‘informal’ exclusions.
Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) are centres for excluded children.
The number of children in PRUs has risen by 10% in two years to a total of 16,732 pupils in 2018.
In some PRUs around England and Wales, up to half of the pupils are in a gang according to the commissioner.
She told Sky News: “It’s easier for gangs to be able to access vulnerable children if they are all in one place, so in my view they need to remain as far as possible in the mainstream school.”
School minister Nick Gibb said: “The number of children being excluded from school is lower than it was ten years ago but we are clear exclusions should only ever be used as a last resort, and must be reasonable and justified.
"Where pupils are excluded, the quality of education they receive should be no different than in mainstream settings."
He confirmed a review is ongoing which is ‘looking at how exclusions are used and why certain groups are disproportionally affected’.
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