Children with SEND disproportionately excluded from primary school, research finds

Chance UK’s latest research highlights that children with special needs or from poorer backgrounds are disproportionately affected by exclusion and suspension.

Some 70% of pupils excluded or suspended from primary schools were eligible free school meals, with 60% identified as a 'child in need’ by social services. Some 97% are classed as having SEND, according to researchers.

• Recalling the impact and value of Sure Start should be seen as a resource

• Let’s halve school exclusions by the end of the decade

The research also found that 91% of children permanently excluded in primary school did not pass their English and maths GCSEs. Almost two thirds of excluded primary school children were persistently absent by the time they reached Year 10.

Data from the Department for Education highlights that suspension rates for primary children are the highest since 2006, reaching 22,000 in 2022.

Vanessa Longley, chief executive of Chance UK, said: “When we have children as young as five being excluded from primary school then clearly something isn’t working. For the first time we can see the incredibly devastating impact that a primary school exclusion or suspension has on a child’s life and their school careers. We can’t wait until they reach secondary school to tackle this problem, we must get in early to support children who are struggling and who often have unmet social, emotional and mental health needs.”

Anne Longfield, former Children’s Commissioner for England and executive chair of think tank the Centre for Young Lives, said: “Our ambition should be for an inclusive education system that truly supports every child. Many schools are already doing all they can to make exclusion an extremely rare event, but this should be the default for every school. They cannot do it on their own and need direction and support from government and Ofsted. No education system should be writing off the life chances of any child with special educational needs, development problems, or vulnerable home lives before they've even got going.”

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) recently found that children eligible for free school meals who live near a Sure Start centre saw increased performance at GCSE by three grades, six times higher than children not eligible for free school meals.

Sure Start was also found to have led to a need for education, health and care plans at age 16 years old or above decreasing by 9%.

CYP Now’s May edition will contain an interview with the chief executive of Chance UK.