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Press Release

ATL COMMENT ON ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION PROVISON FOR YOUNG PEOPLE EXCLUDED FROM MAINSTREAM SCHOOLS

20 May 2008

Martin Johnson, deputy general secretary at the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) said:

“We are pleased the White Paper recognises that the staff who work with the often delinquent and damaged youngsters in pupil referral units are heroic, and far too frequently have to work in unsuitable accommodation. However, ministers must remember that young people’s problem behaviour does not start with exclusion from school, but starts before and is why they have been excluded.

“The Government needs to do more to clarify the conflict between reintegrating young people into mainstream education and long-term alternative placements. These require very different approaches, and the outcomes sought need to be agreed locally.

“Unfortunately the Government has marred its honest and realistic report by insisting on making space for providers with a profit motive. This is also not the right place for proposals about so-called studio schools which would suit a different kind of pupil.

“The Government also needs to ensure funding follows pupils whatever the length of a placement. Any measurement of pupil performance and the success of training units needs to include personal and social skills such as reliability, personal hygiene and self-presentation, and these should be measured and credited on a par with achieving exam passes.

“The Government needs to recognise that the current curriculum in pupil referral units may entrench disadvantages among these pupils who could benefit from studying diplomas and gaining work-related skills instead.

“And staff safety should be paramount so restraint training should be compulsory, and there needs to be joint working between staff in pupil referral units, schools, youth workers and the police.”



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Association of Teachers and Lecturers

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