London Mayor ploughs £4.7m into tackling exclusions and violence in schools
Joe Lepper
Thursday, November 14, 2019
Schools in areas of London blighted by youth violence are to be handed £4.7m to prevent children from being excluded and to better protect them after hometime.
The money has been awarded through the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan's Violence Reduction Unit to help teachers to reduce violence and challenging behaviour and to better support pupils in high-crime areas.
The money will be used to train teachers and staff in identifying and supporting young people who are at risk of committing violence or being victims.
Peer support schemes and offering after-school activities are also included in the funding. Research released by the mayor this year found that violence incidents involving young people are more likely to happen at the end of the school day.
The action is seen as crucial to reducing the number of children who are excluded from school, who are at a greater risk of becoming involved in violence according to the mayor's research.
This found that excluded pupils are particularly vulnerable to exploitation from criminal gangs.
"Evidence shows that nine out of 10 young people in custody have been excluded. That's why London's VRU is investing in a package of measures to support schools to reduce exclusions and support young Londoners with the most complex needs," said Khan.
Supporting London’s schools is a crucial part of our public-health approach to tackling violent crime. This additional £4.7m funding will not only fund programmes to reduce exclusion rates, but provide vital support both to our teachers & vulnerable young Londoners in education.
— Mayor of London (@MayorofLondon) November 4, 2019
"The best way to prevent crime is before it occurs. We need a joined-up approach with local authorities given more responsibility over school exclusions and off-rolling to ensure they aren't misused."
The funding also aims to help pupils better cope with the transition from primary to secondary school. This includes offering summer schools and peer mentoring as pupils make this change in their education.
Khan backed the programme after he was impressed with the use of the Stepping Stones school transition programme in London secondary school Preston Manor.
Michael Callan, Stepping Stones co-ordinator at the school, said that the scheme has been able to identify pupils who are dissatisfied with school and then put in place sessions to build up their self-esteem.
"We have been able to work directly with identified individuals throughout the year in raising their own awareness, self-esteem, responsibility and aspirations," added Callan.
"The engagement of the students through this process has been amazing and positive. It has not only had a positive effect on their own class groups, but the year group as a whole."
Last month a report by the all-party parliamentary group on knife crime raised concerns about the risks that excluded children face from criminal gangs.
They called for a government review to find out why excluded children do not get the full-time education they are entitled to. Schools should also be more accountable for pupils they exclude, said MPs.
In September, Anne Longfield, the children's commissioner for England, recommended that police officers and youth workers be based in schools to protect children from violence.
Her report Guess How Much We Love You - a Manifesto for Children also called for a child and adolescent mental health counsellor to be deployed in every school.
