Daily roundup: Exclusion inequalities, the Budget and early years teachers

Children with special educational needs and those from ethnic communities are more likely to be permanently excluded from school than other pupils, according to research by the Children's Commissioner for England. The They Go The Extra Mile report makes recommendations to the Department for Education, the Teaching Agency and Ofsted. One recommendation is for exclusion rates from converter academies to be monitored carefully to ensure all pupils are treated fairly. Commissioner Maggie Atkinson said: “Children who need support to meet these expectations should be given it. They should not be written off because of their background."

The Budget has failed to help an estimated 600,000 more children who will enter poverty during the coalition's time in office, the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) has claimed. The Guardian reports that the organisation criticised plans announced by the Chancellor yesterday, such as raising the personal tax allowance to £10,000 and extra investment in childcare. Alison Garnham, chief executive of CPAG, said: "It's a great disappointment for struggling families that the majority of extra funds for childcare will be going to the wealthiest families."

The Department for Education (DfE) has launched a consultation on its proposed early years teacher standards. The proposals were set out in the DfE’s More Great Childcare strategy in January and are intended to improve the quality of early education. “Graduate leadership is the best way to give young children the best start in life, particularly those from poorer homes,” said childcare minister Elizabeth Truss. “In raising the status of the profession I hope more bright graduates will consider a career doing this profoundly important job." The consultation ends on 30 April.