The charter, which is currently backed by 17 borough councils, has been described by the VRU as “a partnership between young people, schools and local authorities to help tackle rising suspensions and absenteeism that has led to thousands of children losing out on learning - and becoming at greater risk of exposure to violence”.
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Interview: Maureen McKenna, education expert advising London’s VRU
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Legal update: Advocacy and school inclusion
It has been created in collaboration with young people and professionals and is based on four key principles:
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Embedding equity and diversity
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Students as active citizens
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Being adaptable and reflective
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Beyond academic achievement
Another key strand of the charter is a new £1.4m partnership between the Sadiq Khan’s VRU and UNICEF UK that will provide children’s rights resources and training to support inclusive practice and engagement for all state-funded school and education settings in London for the next four years.
School’s achievement in putting the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child into practice within the school and beyond through the partnership will be recognised with a UNICEF Rights Respecting Schools Award.
Figures show that the equivalent of 1,430 children lost learning in London each day in 2021/22 due to suspension or persistent absenteeism – up 71 per cent on pre-pandemic levels in 2018/19.
A 2019 report from Ofsted found that children excluded from school were twice as likely to carry a knife, while separate research highlights one in two of the prison population were excluded as children.
Launching the charter at Khan’s An Inclusive Education for All Young Londoners conference, held in central London, Khan told attendees that the charter is “not a zero-tolerance approach to exclusions or suspensions […] because there may be times when exclusion or suspension is necessary for the safety and wellbeing of children and staff”.
“My violence reduction unit has led the way, working in partnership with young people, local authorities and schools to develop a Charter that prioritises education in our city that is fully inclusive, fair and available to all.
“Of course, this approach requires investment and that’s why we’re investing £1.4m in a partnership with UNICEF UK to provide further training and resources to support our hardworking teachers to embed inclusion which we know keeps young people in school, safe and able to thrive,” he said.
Speaking to CYP Now, he added: “We know that if you’re excluded from school, you’re twice as likely to carry a knife and we know there’s a correlation between school exclusions and violence.
“I’m not going to pretend that the charter is a silver bullet by itself but it’s part of a package of steps that we have got to take to show we respect young people and make sure that they’re supported.”
Lib Peck, director of London’s VRU, said: “We know that children and young people are safer in school. It’s why tackling all forms of school exclusions and driving up attendance is core to the violence reduction unit’s prevention work.
“London’s Inclusion Charter is a commitment to change that promotes and invests in inclusive practice. Children’s rights and the experience of teachers is at its heart.
“There are already lots of schools and local authorities demonstrating inclusion and its flourishing. Our work has been about building momentum to help support that and to realise our ambition of a London-wide Charter that prioritises inclusion, belonging and safety.
“Our partnership with UNICEF UK and funding for its Rights Respecting Schools Award for every education setting in London is our commitment to supporting the principles of inclusion in the Charter so that young people are safe and are given the opportunity to flourish.”
The charter was developed by the VRU and its Young People Action Group with expert advice from Maureen McKenna, formerly the director of education at Glasgow City Council, where she oversaw a 90 per cent drop in school exclusions – both permanent and temporary – over 14 years. Over the same time period, violence in Glasgow’s education settings was also reduced by half.
