CSJ launch new report

21 September 2011

The CSJ's new report on the need for early intervention has recently been released, entitled 'No Excuses: A review of educational exclusion'. The report exposes the extent to which some children feel unsafe in schools, and the impact of gang culture on their behaviour and education.

The report, launched on Monday September 12 with Nick Gibb, the Schools Minister, in attendance was the work of a group of expert eductation providers, a leading UK schools lawyer and Chance UK's CEO Gracia McGrath OBE. The CSJ are now urging ministers to use it as a blueprint for radical reform on exclusion, in line with its commitment to transform education in failing schools.

CSJ Executive Director Gavin Poole said: "It is tragic that 320 young children were excluded below the age of 8 between 2009-2010". The report calls for a "standardised, simplified and cohesive approach to helping vulnerable young people in place of the current patchwork of arrangements. Mainstream schools, PRUs and alternative providers from the charitable and private sectors should develop better and more detailed knowledge about the circumstances and needs of individual pupils."

The CSJ report identifies a number of deep-seated factors that cause disruptive behaviour often leading to exclusions in response. Family breakdown and domestic abuse are among the causes. The report cites previous CSJ research showing that a child not growing up in a two-parent family is 75 per cent more likely to fail at school. Lack of nurture and communication in the first three years of life when the human brain is developing rapidly is cited as another underlying cause of later severe behavioural problems.

Key recommendations from the report include:

· Government and Ofsted must address the issue of unofficial exclusions and promote transparency

· Electronic education passport model

· Reaching and engaging parents with the voluntary and community sector:

· Dedicated police officer engagement in schools should become more specialised, and joint training (with schools) should be provided

· Effective conflict resolution training should be provided for head teachers and as part of initial teacher training and Career Professional Development

· Restorative justice approaches should be promoted in all secondary schools and research should be conducted with respect to its use in primary schools

· Recommendations to assist teachers cope with the impact of disruptive behaviour

· The Government should recognise the specialist skills that are required to work with pupils with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties (BESD)

To find out more, or to read the report in full, visit the Centre for Social Justice website. http://www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/

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