Schools kicking out kids to get better exam results

• Record levels of school suspensions – and exclusions on the rise
• System encourages schools to exit underperforming kids in Year 11
• Highest rates of suspensions and exclusions at large Multi-Academy Trusts

New analysis from the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) today reveals the risk that schools are deliberately excluding children to improve exam results.

It has found that school performance pressures are “cultivating a culture which perversely incentivises the removal of lower-performing pupils.” This leads to a huge annual spike of Year 11 admissions to Pupil Referral Units shortly before January. If pupils are removed from school in this period, they will not compromise its overall performance data, as it is before the date from which their results would still be attributed to the school.

The CSJ’s twin reports, “Suspending Reality” highlight how pupils who experience suspension or exclusion are disproportionately from disadvantaged backgrounds, as pupils eligible for free school meals are now five times more likely to face permanent exclusion. Disadvantaged pupils often face additional barriers to their education, including lack of access to food, proper clothing and books, which creates huge challenges to their learning. Just 1 per cent of excluded children go on to achieve five good GCSEs including English and Maths. After pupils leave education, excluded pupils are also far more likely to be economically inactive aged 25 and have far higher rates of involvement in crime.

The CSJ’s research reveals record levels of annual suspensions with over half a million recorded in 2021/2022, while permanent exclusions are also on the rise, with a total of 6,495 recorded.  Its analysis reveals that on average, rates of exclusion are highest in secondary schools that are part of multi-academy trusts (MATs).  Academies comprise some 80 per cent of secondary schools.  Secondary schools within MATs have an average suspension rate of 17.7 and permanent exclusion rate of 0.18, rising to 24.3 suspension rate and 0.2 permanent exclusion rate for larger MATs. In contrast, local authority secondary schools exhibit lower rates with an average suspension rate of 10.8 and permanent exclusion rate of 0.15.  The CSJ’s research shows that larger MATs face a particular range of challenges, including taking on failing schools often with entrenched behavioural problems.

The CSJ raises concerns about the current accountability system which appears to unintentionally disincentivise an inclusive culture across the education system. In recent years, educators and academics have raised growing concerns over school performance pressures which perversely reward the removal of lower-performing pupils.  Maintaining a sharp focus on academic performance is crucial but should not come at the expense of the most vulnerable pupil groups.  As part of its inspection process, Ofsted should be able to identify schools looking to sustain their academic levels by excluding students.

The CSJ also reports that young people are disengaging from mainstream classrooms in ways that official data collections fail to capture, meaning that the situation is worse than reported. As many as 59 per cent of pupils in alternative provision (AP) have never been permanently excluded but arrived through other routes. ‘Off-rolling’ – the practice of removing a pupil from the school roll without using a permanent exclusion, when the removal is primarily in the best interests of the school, – and so-called “managed moves” may account for some of these transitions to AP, but the lack of transparency has resulted in these exits remaining unexplained.

Commenting, Andy Cook, Chief Executive of the Centre for Social Justice said:

“Our research supports what many parents who work with our front-line charities have been saying for years, namely the practice of schools dumping kids in Year 11 to sustain their performance data.”
“Suspensions and exclusions have an important role to play, but all the evidence tells us that going to school is key to a brighter future for our kids.  A system which effectively rewards schools for exiting academically underperforming students – often those who need school the most – is not acceptable.”

Edward Timpson CBE KC MP, said:

“Exclusion from school—and thus exclusion from a proper education—makes profound and lasting impacts on the lives of young people.

“While schools need to be able to use exclusions where appropriate, there are huge variations and inconsistencies both in how exclusions are used, and in the levels and quality of support given to the children who need it most.
“Most concerning of all—as the CSJ has uncovered in its research—is the practice of ‘off-rolling’: when a school removes a child from the school roll for reasons that do not represent the child’s best interests. I uncovered anecdotal evidence of this when writing my 2018 Review of School Exclusion, as did Ofsted, and we agree that it is never acceptable.

“There is a clear need for an improved understanding of the scale of the problem of off-rolling, to understand what is behind rising exclusion rates, and to build an education system that is genuinely working to support every child in benefitting from their education—confident that they will receive the support they need to thrive and progress.”

Andy Carter MP, Chair of the APPG on School Exclusions and AP, said:

“Amidst the rising number of school exclusions and crisis levels of school absence – with the pandemic further exacerbating pre-existing challenges in the education system – the need for a genuinely inclusive agenda has never been more urgent. Policy makers and educators alike must work to ensure that every child is able to fully access and engage with their education. 

By investing in proactive measures within the school setting, we can disrupt the cycle of exclusion and empower educators to provide tailored support to students who can be facing a multitude of challenges.”

The CSJ makes several recommendations for meaningful reform:

1. Inclusion should be added as a fifth key judgement in Ofsted inspections. Inclusion should carry significant weighting in Ofsted School inspection guidance and this weighting should be reflected in inspections.
2. The Department for Education should introduce a national inclusion framework for schools and academy trusts. The framework should include a clear definition of inclusion, as well as guidance for school and MAT leaders on how to support pupils to overcome any additional vulnerabilities that may prevent them from engaging in education in mainstream classrooms.
3. Launch a consultation on proposals to replace one-word judgements with a report card. The Department for Education should launch a consultation on how to reform the school accountability framework, to ensure that it considers all aspects of the school.
4. School League Tables should be reweighted to take all pupils into account, proportionate to the amount of time that they spend enrolled at the school.
5. The Department for Education should create a National Parental Participation Strategy which should create a new duty for schools and MATs to focus on parental participation and publish parental participation plans.