Education: Brighton probes exclusion factors

The city's children's trust wants to examine how to use joint working to gain a better understanding of the factors that lead to pupils being excluded.

Gil Sweetenham, the trust's assistant director, said: "Exclusion is normally a symptom of deeper issues. We need to do more to understand what the deeper issues are, how to recognise them and what to do."

The move comes as a law requiring parents to keep excluded children off the streets came into force last week. To coincide with the law taking effect, Children's Secretary Ed Balls said earlier intervention was crucial to improving behaviour.

But Jan Tallis, chief executive of the charity School-Home Support, said she was concerned the law would penalise struggling families. "Forcing parents to take time off with no notice could mean they risk losing their job and falling into a spiral of deprivation," she said.