The Relationship Between Exclusion from School and Mental Health
Charlotte Goddard
Tuesday, October 31, 2017
Researchers from the University of Exeter set out to examine the links between permanent and temporary school exclusions, and children's mental health.
- Report: The Relationship Between Exclusion from School and Mental Health
- Authors: Tamsin Ford, Claire Parker, Javid Salim, Robert Goodman, Stuart Logan, William Henley
- Published by Psychological Medicine, August 2017
SUMMARY
The latest government figures show 6,685 children were permanently excluded from school in 2015/16, up from 5,785 the previous year. The number of temporary exclusions went up from almost 303,000 in 2014/15 to just under 340,000. Meanwhile, childhood psychiatric disorders affect between eight and 18 per cent of the school-age population, according to previous research.
Researchers from the University of Exeter set out to examine the links between permanent and temporary school exclusions, and children's mental health. They analysed data on more than 5,000 school-aged children, their parents and their teachers, taken from the British Child and Adolescent Mental Health Surveys 2004 and 2007. Of the sample, 3.9 per cent - 183 children - had been excluded from school. Of those, 86 children had been excluded once, 36 twice and 60 three or more times with data on the number of exclusions missing for one.
The study found children with learning difficulties and mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum conditions were more likely to be excluded from the classroom than their peers. However, the researchers found the relationship between school exclusion and mental health went both ways: children with psychological distress and mental health problems were more likely to be excluded in the first place but exclusion also predicted increased levels of psychological distress three years later.
Children who had been excluded were consistently found to have experienced high levels of psychological distress as measured by the strengths and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ). Average scores for children reporting exclusion in both 2004 and 2007 were around 18 - above the cut-off point for clinical intervention at 16 - while scores for those who had never been excluded were much lower at around seven. Statistical analysis shows average SDQ scores increasing for those who had not been excluded in 2004 but had been excluded by 2007 and scores decreasing for those who were reporting exclusion in 2004 but not in 2007.
IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE
While current guidance focuses on early identification of mental health problems in schools, the report suggests this is counter-productive if schools lack the budget to support recommendations made following diagnosis. Previous work carried out by the same research team found children were actually more likely to be excluded when their poor mental health was recognised by teachers and parents.
Providing timely support for children with challenging behaviour may prevent exclusion from school as well as future mental health disorders. It could also help teachers' productivity and school effectiveness as there is a link between children's behaviour and teachers' mental health.
Lead author Tamsin Ford, who practises as a child and adolescent psychiatrist as well as carrying out research, said exclusion can be a counter-productive punishment for children who really struggle at school as it removes them from an unbearable situation with the result that on their return to school they will behave even more badly to escape again.
FURTHER READING
Psychiatric Disorder or Impairing Psychopathology in Children who have been Excluded from School: A Systematic Review, Claire Parker and others, School Psychology International, August 2014. A study of whether school-aged children with mental health issues are more likely to be excluded from school than those without.
"He Was Excluded for the Kind of Behaviour That We Thought He Needed Support With…" A Qualitative Analysis of the Experiences and Perspectives of Parents Whose Children Have Been Excluded From School, Claire Parker and others, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, February 2016. Research based on interviews with 35 parents of 37 children aged five to 12.
Mental Health Difficulties and Children at Risk of Exclusion from Schools in England: A Review from an Educational Perspective of Policy, Practice and Research, 1997 To 2015, Ted Cole, University of Oxford, June 2015. A paper looking at how schools can best minimise exclusion.