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Pilot project to cut exclusions
A PILOT programme is being set up to beat Wigan’s worrying pupil exclusion problem.
Nearly 10 per cent of the borough’s secondary school students were removed from classrooms at some point last year.
More than 1,866 11-16-year-olds were suspended for a fixed period . . . the eighth highest in the region.
Now Wigan MP Lisa Nandy is backing a ground-breaking approach to prevent children being excluded. It is hoped that the lessons learned in Wigan could be rolled out across the country if successful.
The programme is a collaboration of five national charities and will be the first programme of its kind to work in local schools.
The Engage in Education programme will work with schools to mentor more than 600 children who are at risk of exclusion.
Ms Nandy, who worked for The Children’s Society before winning the Wigan seat for Labour, said: “While other initiatives exist to help young people who have dropped out of school, Engage in Education focuses on preventing these situations from arising in the first place.”
The programme will help more than 1,500 children between the ages of 11 and 16 over the next year and a half.
National research shows that 900 children are suspended from school every day for abuse and assault. And this leads to 13 daily permanent exclusions nationwide.
By providing access to professionally trained mentors, Engage in Education hopes to stem the rising number of young people not in education, employment or training, who are more likely to suffer poor educational outcomes, struggle to enter employment and become involved in crime.
The cost of placing a child in a pupil referral unit is £15,000. So by reducing the need for these services, Engage in Education could save schools and ultimately taxpayers, tens of thousands of pounds.
Engage in Education project co-ordinator for the county Amy Halliday said: “The mentors and keyworkers have the joint skills to really seek out what issues are facing each young person we help. It could be a communication barrier, a tricky situation at school or at home, maybe a bereavement. We’ll work to make sure that it doesn’t result in children losing out on their education.”
National Programme Manager at Engage in Education Steph Taylor said: “Engage in Education will help reduce the amount of time teachers have to spend out of the classroom. We believe prevention is better than cure and we will tackle problems before they escalate.”
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Comments
There are 7 comments to this article
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orbix
Sunday, October 9, 2011 at 05:59 PMI was around when the ban on corpral punishment went and you could feel the relief as news went around the school, No one I knew ever recieved the strap at that school before or after the ban. there was no need for the strap, all it does is psychologically frighten children badly behaived or not. you go to school to learn not to be terrorised every day.
MsMary
Wednesday, October 5, 2011 at 09:00 AMIn my opinion, discipline has collapsed, trendy teaching methods have failed and schools face a crisis. The teaching of old-fashioned literacy skills (as opposed to clearly failed “modern” teaching methods). The teaching of old-fashioned mathematics skills which have practical application to everyday life The teaching of a full curriculum of British history. This will instil in our young people knowledge of and pride in the history, cultures and heritage of the native peoples of Britain, and not the cherry-picked politically correct drivel being fed to children today.
cartmankenny
Tuesday, October 4, 2011 at 09:53 PMPost 2 - ABSOLUTELY SPOT ON. Reap what you sow as the saying goes. The N.U.T deserve all they are getting. Discipline (i.e. The cane) should be instilled at PRIMARY school and children from then onwards will have respect for the teachers. This is of course is dependent on parents backing up the teachers. Will it happen? I doubt it. Things have gone too far. The liberal, namby pamby brigade and the "Yuman Rights" left wing idiots have seen to that. God help the next generation who have to deal with the result.
cartmankenny
Tuesday, October 4, 2011 at 09:46 PMPost 3. Absolute rubbish. A debate on the left wing BBC radio2? Traumatised by corporal punishment?? For God's sake -grow up.
collie man
Tuesday, October 4, 2011 at 09:12 PMLeviticus, so you think schools should not have abolished the cane? Radio 2 had a debate on it last week and one caller was obviously still traumatised by the experience. I agree behaviour in schools must have deteriorated, but I went to a former grammar school and certain people 30 odd years ago were not scared of "the whack". It appears more kids than my generation have what I call "ultimate freedom", which is usuallly a bad idea by the parents and can be carried over to school and beyond.
leviticus
Tuesday, October 4, 2011 at 06:33 PMignore the soundbytes folks,as the report says' National research shows that 900 children are suspended from school every day for abuse and assault. And this leads to 13 daily permanent exclusions nationwide'. so these aren't just the 'poor innocent misunderstood children' that ms nandy and co would have you believe, they cause trouble which affects the studying of other children who want to learn and as such they deserve to be excluded, however i am not saying that they should be 'written off'' but educated in a more disciplined environment where they won't have the opportunity to disrupt other pupils education, the origins of the appalling yob culture we have today can be traced back to the n.u.t and it's successful campaign to outlaw corporal punishment in schools,(it is ironic to note that the biggest complainers about the lack of discipline in schools is the n.u.t ! ) and this has led to the parents of these 'unruly children' to instill it into their offspring that they can do virtually as they please with impunity, and things will only get worse if a crackpot politically correct scheme like this takes off, because there will be absolutely no deterrent at all, with the yobs doing as they please and the education of innocent children suffering as a result,
rockcottage
Tuesday, October 4, 2011 at 01:41 PMJust seen several young school girls hanging about on Foster Playing fields. 13.40 hrs. Its a regular thing and they're either wagging school or have been excluded. Its crazy excluding kids. Just set them up in a special 'boot camp' school. A kick up the rearside is what they need along with their 'parents' Charge the parents a tuition fee, that'll sort them out!
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