Understanding the surge in school exclusion in Wales

 

When is our educational system going to be designed to meet the need of our young people? There have been talks of educational reform in Wales for several years. Countless governments have struggled to curb the reality that Wales underperforms in schools, stuck in the outdated system of the mainstream 'one size fits all' approach. Young people are being failed by the system in Wales by the thousands. The costs to society of young people being failed in their formative years and teens is spiraling and it is about time real change was made so young people in Wales all have the opportunity to fulfil their potential.  

School exclusions is nothing new to me. With countless temporary exclusions plus permanent exclusion from 7 different educational facilities I have first hand experience of the trauma and difficulties it causes to a young person. Getting a ADHD and ODD diagnosis at 7 years old didn't have the impact it should have had. Mainstream education wasn't right for me and every time people attempted to put this 'square peg' in to a round hole the outcome was the same, another exclusion, more negativity on my record and more time wasted that could have been used to develop skills that i would be lacking in the future. 

There is a lot of information available on the pipeline from exclusion to prison, the educational outcomes and unfulfilled potential of young people who are very often products of their environment. 

The last time I was excluded from a school was 2001, some 23 years ago. As someone who now works with young people who are at risk of or are already excluded I was hoping the educational system had progressed enough to meet the challenges of young people who are just not cut out for the 'one size fits all' mainstream approach. Unfortunately the figures don't support this. 

The below stats are taken directly from the Welsh government and paint a grim picture of the current landscape (gov.wales)

Lets start with permanent exclusions. They have tripled over the last decade, only regressing during the pandemic when the majority of schools were closed. In 2022 the figure was rapidly rising to 0.5 young people (per 1000) being permanently excluded and this figure appears to be heading in the wrong direction. Many 2024 reports have shown significant increases again with one Welsh local authority showing a 39% increase in exclusion and one school alone showing 295 temporary and 3 permanent exclusions for the Autumn 2023 term resulting in 878 school learning days lost (Wales Online). 

If a young person is in receipt of free school meals they are four times more likely to be excluded. That's a bit high to be a coincidence. Even worse, if a young person has been diagnosed with ADHD their chances of exclusion are 406.4 per 1000 young people compared to the average 0.5% across young people. What do ADHD and free school meals have in common? Neither are within the young persons control. Additionally ADHD diagnosis amongst teenage boys has tripled in the last 20 years, so this isn't a problem that is just going to go away (www.nihr.ac.uk). 

If a young person gets that ADHD diagnosis they are far more likely to experience exclusion through no fault of their own. As a result of this they than fall into the lottery that is school exclusion. There are several PRUs in Wales doing really good work to support excluded young people, there are also some who have found themselves placed in to special measures due to struggling to meet the needs of the young people. The pipeline from exclusion to prison will only keep growing under the current system.

WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE?

When a young person enters a PRU or exclusion unit the aim is the same, qualifications above meeting future needs. I experienced it when i was young. It wasn't about developing skills, new ways of engagement or relevant activities, it's just how can we get them as many certificates or grades as possible. These young people have shown that they are not designed for the mainstream approach, so why are we trying something that has already failed the young person. There are reports that show that the smaller class sizes are beneficial but they wont do much on their own. 

If governments are not willing to rip up education and start again in mainstream, then they should at least be willing to do it in PRUs/SENs and any other facilities that cater for the excluded. This will require a multi-stakeholder approach, all working together to complement and support each other. The decision makes need to be those in the classrooms or working face to face with these young people as they are best placed to see what needs to be done. There needs to be a creation of an alternative learning curriculum, one that has the flexibility to cater for young people facing complex needs in our ever changing society. 

Individual development plans need to be more bespoke, let the young person have a say in what they want to achieve during their time in compulsory education, create a child centered approach. I can guarantee that if a young person is given that opportunity, the sense of ownership they will feel will enable much better engagement

The Welsh govt would do well to create a taskforce responsible for developing young person centred research to ascertain the needs and barriers young people need support with and come up with a long term, funded strategy to break the cycle of exclusion to prison and ensure that every young person has the real opportunity to fulfil their potential. 

The curriculum needs to focus not just on the school day but also what happens outside the gate during evenings, weekends and school holidays. Most importantly, the new curriculum needs to create opportunities. These young people very often see themselves as a bad lot, i certainly did. Their aspirations are curtailed by societies approach and attitude to them. By re-engaging them in the society they feel excluded from, we can look at effectively breaking the cycle. Opportunities range from professional and employability experiences using the Gatsby foundations research that highlights the positive benefits of good quality employability experiences. Ensure that young people leave school equipped with the skills, knowledge and belief to make informed decisions on their future. 

Opportunities to socially develop. Social development can very often be a huge barrier to excluded young people. They are often kept away from their mainstream counterparts and do not have the same opportunities to socialise outside of their small circles. Sport is the perfect vehicle for this. There are many reports confirming the positive impact of sports on mental and physical wellbeing but it still a criminally underutilised tool to engage with the excluded. One of my biggest regrets is that i was never properly engaged in a team sport, specifically rugby when i was younger. I genuinely feel that this would have had a positive impact on my life and potentially stopped me facing some of the challenges i did post-school. 

Many excluded young people will leave PRUs without ever representing their school in any type of sport. Their mainstream counterparts will have multiple options for sports engagement through mainstream sports and in some cases more niche smaller sports. When talking to young people in my role, very often it is the sport tournaments or events they truly remember, they are also far more engaging when we bring the ball out during sessions. 

The need to change our approach to including the excluded is growing and there needs to be a coordinated effort from all stakeholders to curb the growing societal issues before we as a society become overwhelmed by young people whos needs have not been met during their school years.