Press Release

Pupil Referral Units

20 May 2008

Commenting on the Pupil Referral Units white paper published today, Christine Blower, Acting General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, Europe’s largest teaching union said;

“Pupil Referral Units get an undeserved bad press. They are the last resort for youngsters who, for whatever reason, cannot attend mainstream schools. Children and young people who find themselves in PRUs often present the greatest challenge to teachers. Teachers in PRUs do a great job in often adverse circumstances, including isolation from other local authority provision.

“Privatisation of education is never acceptable. The last thing PRUs need is to be outsourced to private companies. Such a move would only increase their sense of isolation from other schools.

“PRUs need to be part of local authority provision for children with special educational needs. Where local authorities have included PRUs as a central part of their strategy to provide behaviour support to other schools, their contribution is massively appreciated by teachers.”