While exclusion rates have dropped overall by 24 per cent since 1996/97,they have risen slightly in recent years. As a result, nobody quiteknows if this means behaviour is getting worse or heads are becomingtougher.
The reality of course is that behind these statistics are thousands ofall too familiar stories of children and young people struggling to copewith a range of social, emotional and educational challenges. Exclusionfrom school is often the final product of alienation and distress, andis a strong indication of future exclusion from wider society. This isnot to excuse bad behaviour in our schools, but to understand andaddress it.
A recent report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation highlighted theparticular circumstances of a small group of African-Caribbean youngpeople who faced the task of rebuilding their lives following exclusion.African-Caribbean girls are four times more likely to be excluded thanWhite girls, and African-Caribbean boys 15 times more likely than theirWhite counterparts.
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