| Independent Panel for Special Education Advice (IPSEA) | Defending children's right to special education provision | |
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The Exclusion from School Project |
The article that follows explains the need for IPSEA's exclusion project, which aims to support parents and carers of children with special needs who are excluded from school. The latest Government statistics show that two thirds of all children excluded from school have special educational needs - but IPSEA believes that this underestimates the true size of the problem. Permanent exclusionsThe October 2003 DfES statistics on schools for the first time show the total number of children with special educational needs (SEN), with and without statements of SEN, who are permanently excluded from school. In the past, only statemented children were counted. The new statistics show that of the 9,535 children permanently excluded in 2001/2, 5,826 (around 60%) had special educational needs. Fixed term exclusionsEven this statistic does not tell anything like the whole story. IPSEA's case work suggests that the numbers of children with special educational needs who are subject to fixed term exclusion far exceeds those permanently excluded -- and fixed term exclusions can be and often are repeated for up to a total of nine weeks in any one year. A sizeable chunk of any child's formal education. Informal exclusionsAdd to the uncounted fixed term exclusions the children with SEN who are informally excluded, i.e. where headteachers do not follow the formal procedures but somehow or other 'require' parents not to send their children to school, and we begin to see the huge size of the iceberg. The true figureIPSEA estimates the true figure for exclusions (permanent, fixed term and informal) of children with SEN (with and without statements) is in the region of 40,000 children at any one point in time. We have consulted independent experts who agree with our estimate. |
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Exclusion and special educational needsThe 2002 Audit Commission report referred to the overrepresentation of children with emotional and behavioural difficulties in exclusion statistics, but noted that little is known about the link between exclusions and other categories of SEN. IPSEA receives around 4,500 calls a year from parents/carers of children with SEN. Approximately 20% concern children who are threatened with being, or have been, excluded from school (permanently, for a fixed term or informally). Our casework records show that children are usually excluded as a result of their needs not being met and the Advisory Centre for Education (ACE) has reported similar findings. Usually, these are children whose needs arise from conditions which do not in themselves predicate difficult behaviour (e.g. dyslexia and many of the language and communication problems) but where the frustration they experience when their needs are not met causes challenging behaviour and/or anxiety and depression. Alternatively, they are children whose needs arise from conditions which do give rise to behaviour which can be difficult to manage in the classroom (e.g. attention deficit and hyperactive disorder and some autistic spectrum disorders), but which can be helped given appropriate provision. Unfortunately, the tabloid press tends to view 'special educational needs' as a trendy liberal euphemism for violent and disruptive pupils. In fact, only a very small proportion of children with SEN are violent, although many do present teachers with behaviour management problems, particularly if their learning difficulties are not properly addressed. |
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The dilemma for parents and carers |
Parents and carers face a minefield of options and decisions when a child with SEN is excluded. They must find answers to a wide range of questions:
The child's best interests require all these questions to be asked. But others also arise, some personal (How am I going to look after him during the day? What will the boss say when I ask for time off?) and some political (Is this how the Government expects its Inclusion Policy to work - children being included through the front door one week and excluded out the back door the next?) And commonly these questions arise against the backdrop of mutual resentment, with parents believing an exclusion to be unfair, being caused by the school's inability to meet their child's needs; and teachers believing that unreasonable demands have been made on them, due to inadequate resources and training. Advising and supporting parents and carers in this situation is almost always a lengthy and complex business, as IPSEA volunteers are well aware. |
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IPSEA's Exclusion Project |
In January 2004 IPSEA is to launch a three-year project aimed at providing an in-depth, expert advice/advocacy service for the parents and carers of children with SEN who have been excluded from schools. This will include advising parents on using the new protection disabled children have been given under the Disability Discrimination Act and supporting parents who wish to appeal to their LEA's Exclusion Appeals Committee. But the main focus, wherever possible, will be on helping parents and schools to work together to achieve re-instatement and more appropriate support for the child's special educational needs as early as possible. Thanks to a generous grant from the Community Fund, IPSEA will be training volunteers, as well as working with advice and advocacy workers from other voluntary bodies around the country. For further details, including information on joining the project as a volunteer, contact IPSEA (Exclusions Project), 6 Carlow Mews, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 1EA. |
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