New report calls for action on school exclusion in England

The five-year ESRC-funded project, The Political Economies of School Exclusion and their Consequences, led by the University of Oxford’s Department of Education in conjunction with the universities of Cardiff, Edinburgh, LSE, and Queen’s Belfast, compared differential rates of school exclusions and suspensions across the UK.

The project found that school exclusions and suspensions have profound negative medium- and long-term consequences for affected pupils’ future job prospects, physical and mental health, and behavioural outcomes. Exclusions in England are much higher than in the rest of the UK and disproportionately affect pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), poor mental health, who live in poverty, with experience of children’s social care, and from particular ethnicities.

Dr Ian Thompson, Co-Principal Investigator and Associate Professor of English Education at the University of Oxford’s Department of Education said: “The Excluded Lives research project has highlighted that rising disciplinary school exclusions and high rates of pupil absence are symptoms of a crisis in education for many of our most disadvantaged young people. We need to build a culture of belonging in schools that values and includes every member of the school community.”

The new Equity by Design report – a collaboration between the England Excluded Lives Team, the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), the National Association of Headteachers (NAHT), and the Local Government Association (LGA) – highlights system-level factors that may be influencing the higher rates of school exclusion in England and provides policy and practice recommendations around developing school inclusion and reducing school exclusions in England.

Dr Alice Tawell, Co-Investigator and Researcher at the University of Oxford’s Department of Education said: “There needs to be a shift from the current policy focus in England on ‘the right to exclude’ to a position based on ‘the right for all to be safe’. This position will enable the needs of the other pupils and teachers, as well as the individual child, to be acknowledged and met, thereby ensuring the safety of all parties.”

The report highlights four key areas with a series of recommendations for developing systems that are equitable by design:

1. Shared Vision

• Develop clear and shared definitions of inclusive and relational practices.
• Equity embedded in policy language and discourse.
• Enshrine the right for all school members, children and adults, to be safe.

2. Shared Responsibility

• Broaden accountability to include and incentivise both high expectations and inclusive practice.
• Shared definition of anti-discriminatory schooling.

3. Collaborative Infrastructures and Systems

• Local area collaborative infrastructure models.
• Investment for equitable and targeted funding.

4. Cultures of inclusion

• Inclusive curriculum and assessment.
• Positive school cultures.

Pepe Di’Iasio, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “No school leader wants to be in the position of suspending or excluding a pupil, because they are only too aware of how damaging this can be. It is source of real frustration that the education system does not work equally well for all young people, and that the specialist support some pupils need to thrive at school is often inaccessible. Pupils only get one chance at a good education, and we need to work towards a system that is equitable by design in order to ensure everyone has the same opportunity for success and happiness in education and in later life.”

Rob Williams, Senior Policy Advisor at school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “These recommendations should help facilitate important discussions with key policymakers in order to reform and improve both the policy and practice around school exclusions – as well as ultimately reduce the numbers of children and young people who experience this life-changing process. Crucially, even in circumstances where all other avenues have been exhausted, exclusion must always trigger a comprehensive package of support for pupils. Every relevant sector must be equipped to play their part in helping children shape a productive and successful future.”

Cllr Arooj Shah, Chair of the Local Government Association’s Children and Young People Board, said: “The rising numbers of children not in education is hugely concerning. This is hard to tackle due a lack of council powers and resources, and flaws in an education framework ill-suited to an inclusive agenda. In the Spending Review, we are calling for a cross-government, child centred-strategy to tackle rising disadvantage and the wider factors contributing toward persistent absence of all children. This must include reforming the SEND system and expanding access to mental health support and youth services.”

There will be an online discussion of the Equity by Design report on 13 May 2025 at 5pm – 6pm.

Register for the online discussion.

Read the full report, Equity By Design – Our Children, Our Responsibility’: Policy and Practice Recommendations for Developing School Inclusion and Reducing School Exclusion in England.