Press Release

Under-funded local groups 'helping young black people change their lives after school exclusion'

15 September 2005

African-Caribbean young people who have been excluded from school are gaining vital help to continue their education from voluntary projects in their communities. But their dependence on poorly funded local groups in turning round their lives highlights a continuing lack of support from statutory education services, according to a research study for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

The study, being launched today at the House of Commons, was based on in-depth interviews with 33 African-Caribbean young people in London and Nottingham who had been excluded. It finds that for many the experience had acted as a 'critical moment', making them re-assess their lives and find new determination to get qualifications for work. All but three of the 15- to 19-year- olds were in education or employment when interviewed.

Nevertheless, the young people expressed a strong sense of injustice about their exclusion, believing that black pupils were punished more severely than their white peers for behaviour problems. Most also said they had found themselves in 'educational limbo' after their exclusion, without any immediate alternative to school.

Some blamed a drift into crime on being left with nothing constructive to do. Interviews with parents and carers also revealed the stress that exclusion had placed on families. Most parents continued to provide emotional support, but in some cases the strain had led to a breakdown in family relationships.

The researchers, from Nottingham Trent University and the University of Nottingham, found that in addition to their relatives and friends, young people had found support from their communities, sympathetic teachers, social workers, agency workers, mentors, religious groups and alternative education projects.

Although not established to provide a support service for excluded pupils, community-based voluntary groups had played an important part  in advising young people and their families, assisting with appeals against exclusion and helping young people to access further education, or career and employment advice. The local organisations, which included education, crime prevention and youth work projects, felt they were filling a vacuum created by a lack of statutory provision.  They all emphasised the important role of the community in enabling excluded young people to find their way back into education and helping them to redress the racism they felt existed.

Professor Cecile Wright of Nottingham Trent University's School of Social Sciences, a co-author of the study, said: "AII the young people we spoke to described exclusion from school as a traumatic experience that led to a loss of dignity and self-respect. But in most cases it was followed by the development of a resilient sense of self and a positive black identity that motivated young people to disprove low official expectations and prove their worth.

"But it was families and dedicated workers in community-based groups, usually depending on short-term funding, who had helped young people to make that critical change in their lives. This leads us to conclude that the single most effective thing that policy makers could do to reduce the negative impact of school exclusion would be to offer central support and secure funding to these community groups."

She added: "Although the exclusion statistics for black pupils are improving, they are still four or more times more likely to be permanently excluded than white pupils. This makes it imperative that funding is made available to train everyone involved in the exclusion process to ensure greater awareness of the way that race influences the relationship between teacher and pupil. There also needs to be on-going, integrated support for excluded pupils to ensure successful reintegration into mainstream education, seizing the opportunities for positive change that this study has revealed."