Education Secretary urged to protect excluded children from exploitation
Fiona Simpson
Friday, April 8, 2022
A coalition of children’s charities has called on the Education Secretary to better protect children facing school exclusion from child criminal exploitation.
The charities, led by Just for Kids Law, and including the NSPCC, The Children’s Society and Barnardo’s, have written to Nadhim Zahawi stating that “statistics show a clear connection between exclusion from school and entry into the youth justice system”.
-
Online Safety Bill: Five key measures aimed at protecting children
-
Legal Update: Rights over exclusions
More than 8 out of 10 children in custody have been excluded, figures from HM Inspectorate of Prisons show.
The coalition is urging Zahawi to make changes to the Department for Education’s guidance on exclusions and behaviour to ensure it includes better information for teachers on how to spot the warning signs and risk factors for child criminal exploitation.
Both head teachers and governing bodies should also consider whether a child at risk of exclusion may be showing risk factors for exploitation as part of their decision to exclude, the charities add.
The coalition’s letter states that “government guidance on ‘searching, screening and confiscation’ could also be strengthened by including much stronger reference to the primary need to safeguard children”, following the Child Q case, which found that a 15-year-old girl was strip-searched at an east London school while on her period.
“We believe that a focus on safeguarding is equally important in guidance to schools on exclusions and behaviour,” the charities say.
Louise King, director of policy and campaigns at Just for Kids Law said: “It’s crucial that, when head teachers are faced with the decision about whether to exclude a child, they take into consideration what might be happening in that child’s life, including the possibility that their behaviour is a result of child criminal exploitation.
“Our suggested changes to Department for Education guidance will help ensure that schools meet their safeguarding duties and break the cycle of exploitation by allowing a vulnerable child to stay in school. We urge the government to make these straightforward amendments to keep children safe.”
