Exclusions inquiry emphasises plight of the most vulnerable pupils

Inequalities between the educational outcomes of different groups are well documented. But a formal inquiry into the school exclusions system published this week by children's commissioner for England Maggie Atkinson has again highlighted the plight of the most vulnerable pupils.

These include children with SEN statements, who are seven times more likely to be excluded than other pupils, and Gypsy and Traveller children, who are almost four times more likely to be permanently excluded than the school population as a whole.

The inquiry also raised concerns over "illegal exclusions", the fairness of the exclusion process and the effectiveness of alternative provision.

Head teachers speaking to the inquiry admitted using illegal unrecorded short-term exclusions to allow children to "cool off" and confessed to sending children home with the instruction not to come back to school until after a meeting has taken place with their parents. In such cases, informal exclusions were found to run for one week or more.