DEPARTMENT FOR
CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES News Release (2008/0095) issued by
The Government News Network on 20 May 2008
The Schools
Secretary Ed Balls has today announced plans for a major overhaul
of how some of society's most troubled and challenging young
people are educated and how we can tackle poor behaviour at a much
earlier stage.
Ministers are determined to ensure that excluded youngsters do
not end up in crime or unemployment. Around two thirds have a
special educational need and today's White Paper will ensure
they receive the support they need to turn around their behaviour
and get their learning back on track.
The new plans, backed with £26.5m, will see a radical
transformation of alternative provision as it currently exists.
Ministers will pilot new types of schools and programmes for young
people who are educated outside the mainstream. Plans include:
closing the poorest performing Pupil Referral Units (PRUs);
encouraging more use of innovative private and voluntary sector
providers; publishing performance data for both alternative
education providers and for local authorities for the first time;
and a new emphasis on early intervention to prevent the need for exclusion.
Ed Balls said:
"Whilst behaviour is good in most schools, for most of the
time, it is still a key concern that parents raise with me. That
is why we are doing more to improve behaviour across the board.
"Of course Heads must exclude pupils where their behaviour
has overstepped the mark in a serious way, and young people and
their parents must face up to the consequences of their actions,
but we must also do more to help schools address poor behaviour
earlier. We can then help them to access the right support before
the behaviour spirals out of control and reaches the point of
exclusion, so that young people causing problems can get back on track.
"This will be better for the individual, better for schools
and better for society as a whole. The £15,000 a year spent on
educating an excluded child can be better spent on avoiding the
need to exclude in the first place. Currently only 1% of pupils
educated in alternative settings will get five good GCSEs. This is
simply unacceptable.
"Many excluded pupils go on to be unemployed or on the wrong
side of the law. If we are to tackle crime then these are the
young people for whom we must provide a better quality of education.
"Many alternative settings offer an excellent standard of
education but there is a significant minority that are simply not
up to scratch. We want these to improve or close. We want local
authorities to hold competitions for running settings and
encourage more organisations to come forward with the best and
most innovative ideas. This could include using more private or
voluntary sector providers or using studio schools as a
preventative measure where young people at risk of exclusion work
in a business based environment. No ideas will be refused consideration."
"What matters is that we have high-quality alternatives to
schools with a focus on attainment and good behaviour which will
enable pupils to adjust back into mainstream education wherever possible."
Kevin Brennan, Minister for Children, said:
"It is not just excluded pupils who are in alternative
settings. This White Paper is also about how we educate young
mothers, pregnant girls, pupils with serious and ongoing illnesses
and those with extreme phobias and fears.
"Alternative provision has for a long time not had the same
status or recognition as mainstream education. We are determined
that this must change and that alternative settings keep pace by
sharing in the multi-million pound rebuilding programmes, having
staff with better training and equal recognition as those in
mainstream settings, and by ensuring that the outcomes of young
people they teach are properly monitored and reported.
"However, schools cannot do this alone. Our strategy for
improving alternative provision goes hand-in-hand with our
emphasis on personal and parental responsibility. The primary
responsibility for good behaviour sits with young people
themselves, and with parents and families. The best alternative
provision can support their motivation and commitment, but it is
not a substitute. This is why we are determined to work with young
people and their families to take our strategy forward."
Sir Alan Steer said:
"I am impressed by the vision and focus of the White Paper.
It is inspirational and when implemented will do much to address
the issues in this sector."
Martina Milburn, Chief Exec of the Prince's Trust, said:
"The Prince's Trust works with many young people who
have been excluded or are at risk of exclusion from school. We
warmly welcome this White Paper, which should make a real
difference to many vulnerable young people, their families and
communities. We believe that the third sector can make a big
contribution to educational provision for young people who have
been excluded or are at risk of exclusion from school, so we are
very excited about the new pilots and hope the Prince's Trust
will be involved."
New measures include:
* opening ten new pilots including one that will take over from a
failing Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) and a possible studio school
that will offer a business-based education and will act as a
preventative measure before behaviour deteriorates;
* shutting
down failing and poorly performing PRUs, with more powers for
ministers to intervene where there is underperformance;
*
breaking down barriers to new ideas and innovative alternative
provision by ensuring LAs hold a competition for replacement
settings and invite tenders from voluntary and private
providers;
* publishing performance data for pupils in
alternative settings and asking OFSTED to take account of any PRUs
in special measures in an LA in its comprehensive area
assessments;
* a requirement for LAs to ensure every pupil in
alternative provision has objectives for educational outcomes, a
minimum curriculum entitlement and a plan to be reintegrated into
mainstream education wherever possible;
* ensuring that PRUs
are not overlooked when it comes to capital funding; and
*
remitting the School Teachers Review Body to look at pay and
conditions for staff in alternative settings to ensure better
training and equal esteem with staff in mainstream settings.
This comes after ministers asked Sir Alan Steer, a behaviour
expert and Head, to review progress since his 2005 report on
behaviour and discipline in schools. He will look at behaviour
partnerships which will be key in ensuring that alternative
provision is effective and ensure that young people are not simply
excluded and forgotten about. Schools work together to tackle poor
behaviour and to reintroduce those who are ready to mainstream education.
The White Paper today follows a range of improvements to powers
and tools for dealing with poor behaviour which include:
* reasserting the right to use force to remove pupils from a
classroom;
* giving teachers the legal right to search pupils
they suspect of carrying a knife;
* allowing teachers to use
screening methods such as arches and wands;
* giving teachers
a legal power to discipline meaning that they can give detentions,
confiscate items and punish pupils even if the parents do not
support the action; and
* raising the bar on behaviour so that
passing OFSTED inspections will require a higher level of
discipline from pupils with structured action from staff to tackle
poor behaviour.
Specifically on PRUs the Government has:
* issued guidance on suitable accommodation for PRUs to help them
better meet the needs of young people in effective facilities;
and
* made it a requirement for PRUs to have Management
committees established in accordance with regulations and guidance
so that key stakeholders groups can serve on them.
To improve the quality in alternative provision, the Department
for Children, Schools and Families will also gather together a
good practice guide that will be issued in the summer term.
Innovative alternatives to current provision could include:
* single schools, including special schools and academies,
running PRUs jointly with or on behalf of local authorities;
*
school partnerships running PRUs jointly with or on behalf of
local authorities;
* PRUs sharing sites and resources of local
schools and managed by local schools;
* external providers of
alternative provision (private and voluntary sector) running PRUs
jointly with or on behalf of local authorities;
* special
schools catering for pupils who would normally attend PRUs or
other types of alternative provision, and providing outreach
service to local schools; and
* e-learning and
"virtual" provision, particularly for pupils who cannot
attend school due to emotional or physical health needs.
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. Alternative provision is any type of education outside of the
mainstream school sector. Pupil Referral Units are one type of
alternative provision and are defined as Local Authority run
schools for excluded pupils. One third of pupils in alternative
provision are in PRUs and two thirds are in other alternative
settings such as hospital schools or charity run settings.
2. There are currently 70,000 pupils in alternative settings at
any one time of which 75% have a special educational need. There
are up to 135,000 young people spending some time in an
alternative setting in the course of a year.
3. Around half of pupils in alternative settings are either
excluded from schools or are at risk of exclusion. 60% are boys
and 91% are between the ages of 11 and 15. There are currently 450
PRUs in England catering for 25,000 pupils.
4. The consultation will end on 25 July. The White Paper can be
found at: http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/exclusions/alternative_provision_policies/index.cfm.
It contains case studies of the kind of provision we want to see
more of.
5. Exclusions are very rarely overturned; only around 1.5% of
permanent exclusions are over turned with the child returning to
the school.
6. In February 2007 we issued practical guidance on accommodation
and design for PRUs, with case studies of good practice. This can
be found at http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/management/resourcesfinanceandbuilding/schoolbuildings/schooldesign/Pupil_Referral_Units/
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