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Agenda item

Task and Finish Group Final Report: Exclusions and Off-rolling in Croydon Schools

To receive Part 1 of the final report.

(Report to follow)

Minutes:

The Chair of the Task and Finish Group, Councillor Jerry Fitzpatrick introduced the item and outlined details in a Presentation

Following the presentation, Members had the opportunity to ask questions

During the consideration of the recommendations, the Committee discussed the following:

  • It was difficult to evidence off rolling in schools the Local Authority did not hold school registers as it was not compulsory for schools to provide this data, additionally if it was provided there was no resource available to monitor in the way and level of detail required. There was however concerns on all level including central government of the issue.
  • It was important to understand the term ‘Off rolling’ in order to comprehend the issue it presented. There were currently several legal ways in which a child could come off the school roll. Off rolling is not a legal tern and it’s a school initiated removal of a child without having gone through the legal process.
  • On the issue of reintegration   back into mainstream school of children referred to Pupil Referral Units (PRU), there was no headline figure and in 2019 the number of children was extremely low.
  • Managed moves occurred for very young children and across the borough there appeared to be different practices within Fair Access Panels (FAP). Guidance on processes needed to be clearer to ensure practices were transparent and streamlined
  • The evidence showed very positive arrangements between primary schools, in particular the inclusion peer group working between schools to keep children in school which had resulted in very few primary school exclusions
  • There were some schools that stood out in the level of pupils that left the school and some schools that had high vacancies and as a result would accept children that had been excluded more readily. This in turn meant the schools faced multifaceted challenges as they may not necessarily have the expertise to deal with the challenges that come with the children.
  • There was evidence to support that a high proportion of children that went through managed moves were documented as having special educational needs, emotional and mental health issues, had experienced child sexual exploitation or gang activity as well as many other issues.
  • It was evident that the challenges faced by officers should be shared at school governor level as many were not aware of the challenges experienced by officers on gathering information or of trying to get headteachers to accurately share data.
  • It was encouraging that an information pack for parents and families on their rights was being developed

The sub-committee endorsed all the recommendations made

 

The Sub-Committee RESOLVED: To agree the recommendations as set out in the report:

Recommendations One to Six (to the Director of Education)

Recommendation One

 That the Scrutiny and Overview Children and Young People Sub Committee seek from the Director of Education an annual report on Exclusions and Managed Moves,   such report to be presented at an Autumn meeting and separate from the Standards report,   the report to include the following areas at least in relation to managed moves:

The number of managed moves agreed by the Fair Access Panel in the preceding academic year,  including the provision of data as to the following characteristics of the children concerned:  age,  gender,  free school meal eligibility,  national curriculum year, SEND provision,  ethnic group and level of deprivation - these are the characteristics which must be reported in respect of permanent exclusion

 

  • the number of managed moves from a mainstream school to a PRU or other alternative provision
  • the number of managed moves from a mainstream school to another mainstream school
  • the number of managed moves which broke down during the 12 weeks probationary period
  • an analysis of the reasons for the breakdown during the probationary period and information about the subsequent pathways of the children concerned
  • the number of children reintegrated from alternative provision into mainstream,  broken down into the number reintegrated who immediately prior to admission to AP had undergone permanent exclusion and the number reintegrated who immediately prior to admission to AP had undergone a managed move
  • in respect of managed moves to mainstream schools the number from each presenting school,  and the number to each receiving school
  • such information as the local authority may possess about the number of managed moves not passing through the FAP process,  including the characteristics set out in the first bullet point above
  • the chart of givers and takers (that is, for each school,  the number of children each school successfully presents to FAP,   and the number each school accepts)
  • the destinations of children who have been permanently excluded

 

Recommendation Two

The Director prepares a paper on managed moves for the consideration of key stakeholders in FAP which sets out factors perceived to conduce to both good and bad outcomes, and including some objective case studies

Recommendation Three

  • The Director instigates an independent evaluation of how participants perceive the collegiality of the managed moves process, and what might be done to enhance it.

Recommendation Four

  • The Director requests headteachers who are invited to the FAP to include information about the number of managed moves to and from their school in their termly report to their governing body, such as data to include all managed moves whether brokered through the FAP or in some other way.

Recommendation Five

  • The Governor Supports Team briefs secondary school governors on managed moves and provides guidance as to how they might scrutinise the issue.

 Recommendation Six

  • The Director requests that the headteachers notify the Local Authority of a maned move they have arranged other than through FAP, such notification to be provided by the headteacher of the presenting school immediately after a starting date for the move has been agreed by all relevant parties.

 

Recommendations Seven and Eight (to the Secretary of State for Education)

Recommendation Seven

  • There should be statutory or at least non-statutory guidance to school admissions authorities on the subject of managed moves.

Recommendation Eight

  • There should be consideration of whether paragraph 3.16 of the statutory guidance for school admission authorities should be extended to refer to managed moves so that (the suggested inserted words are highlighted) the relevant part reads as follows:” no school should be asked to take a disproportionate number of children who have been permanently excluded from other schools, who display challenging behaviour, who are placed via the Protocol, or who have been admitted as the result of a managed move

 

               Recommendations Nine and Ten (to Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Schools)

Recommendation Nine

  • The secondary school inspection framework should encompass managed moves

Recommendation 10

  • Consideration should be given in the HMCI’s Annual Report to the provision of an overview of how schools are using managed moves

 

Supporting documents: