Evaluation of Education Provision for Children and Young People Educated Outside the School Setting

Ymchwil gymdeithasol Social research Rhif/number: 37/2013 Evaluation of education provision for children and young people educated outside the school setting Final report Sdf Evaluation of education provision for children and young people educated outside the school setting Dr Gillean McCluskey, Dr Gwynedd Lloyd, Professor Sheila Riddell, Dr Elisabet Weedon and Dr Mariela Fordyce Views expressed in this report are those of the researchers and not necessarily those of the Welsh Government. For further information please contact: Joanne Starkey Knowledge and Analytical Services Welsh Government Cathays Park Cardiff CF10 3NQ Tel: 029 2082 6734 e-mail: [email protected] Welsh Government Social Research, 2013 ISBN 978 0 7504 9115 0 © Crown copyright June 2013 WG19029 Table of contents Executive summary 1 Overview 1 Context of the research 2 Key findings on school exclusion 3 Key findings on education outside the school setting 4 Recommendations 7 1. Introduction 12 The structure of the report 16 2. Research design and methods 17 Methods 18 Policy and statistical analysis 18 Interviews with key stakeholders 18 Survey of local authority representatives 19 Interviews with children, young people, their families and professionals 21 Participants in the research 24 3. The Welsh context 27 Introduction 27 The policy context in Wales 27 Inclusion and exclusion 31 Exclusion and equality 32 Exclusion and children’s rights 33 Welsh Government policy on the use of exclusion 34 General principles 34 Permanent exclusions 34 Fixed-term exclusions 35 Unlawful exclusions 35 The provision of education during exclusion 36 Exclusions and appeal 36 Managed moves 399 Rates of exclusion 39 Education other than at school: the context 39 Conclusion 42 4. Findings: exclusion from schools in Wales 44 A changing national picture 44 Variation across authorities 45 Reasons given for exclusion 48 Patterns of exclusion and disproportionality 49 The application of the guidance on school exclusion 51 Variable patterns of exclusion 51 Reasons for exclusion 52 Education and support provided during exclusions of up to 16 days 53 Education and support provided during exclusions of more than 16 days 53 i Use of multiple fixed-term exclusions to make a case for permanent exclusion 55 Unlawful exclusion 56 Managed moves 58 Operation of pupil discipline committees 58 Independent appeal panels 59 Addressing inconsistency, improving policy and practice 60 Monitoring and challenging through use of data 61 Communication and collaborative working 63 Training and development 65 Support for individual pupils at risk of exclusion 65 Improving appeal processes 67 Summary 67 5. Findings: education provision for children and young people outside the school setting 70 The context for change in EOTAS 71 The national picture 71 Pupil referral units 75 Individual pathways/14–19 provision 81 Independent, voluntary sector and other provision 83 Issues in delivery, planning and commissioning of EOTAS 84 Access to EOTAS 85 Diversity of provision 87 Curriculum 89 Behaviour management and relationships 91 Reintegration 94 Involvement of families 98 Leadership and management 98 Funding and cost-effectiveness of EOTAS 100 Place of registration 102 What is ‘good’ practice in EOTAS? 103 Conclusion 107 6. Conclusion 110 The effectiveness of the exclusion process 111 The effectiveness of delivery, planning and commissioning of EOTAS 113 Effective strategies to reduce exclusion 124 Summary 125 Recommendations 126 Bibliography 131 Appendix 1: Further statistics 137 Appendix 2: Exclusion data monitoring exemplar 141 Appendix 3: More detailed case studies 154 ii Appendix 4: One approach to behaviour in EOTAS settings 169 Part 1: Positive behaviour support 169 Section 2: Positive behaviour support 169 Section 3: Risk assessment 172 Section 4: Reporting and recording 173 Part 2: Use of restrictive physical interventions 173 Section 1: Introduction 173 Section 2: Defining restrictive physical interventions 174 Section 3: Legal issues and responsibilities 175 Section 4: Emergency physical interventions 176 Section 5: Supporting prevention of restrictive practices 177 Section 6: Debrief 177 List of tables/figures in the main report Table 1: Interviews with children, families and professionals in EOTAS 23 Table 2: Participants in the research 25 Figure 1: Permanent exclusion in Wales, at two-year intervals, 2001/02 to 2010/11, rate per thousand pupils 46 Table 3: Permanent and fixed-term exclusion from maintained secondary schools, by local authority, 2011/12, rate per thousand pupils' within authority 47 List of tables/figures in the appendices Table 1: Pupils educated other than at school, Wales, 2009–2012 138 Figure 1: Percentage of pupils educated other than at school with special educational needs (SEN), 2009–2012 (percentage of all EOTAS pupils) 138 Figure 2: Percentage of pupils educated other than at school ntitled to free school meals (FSM), 2009-12 (percentage of all EOTAS pupils) 139 Figure 3: Average number of hours that EOTAS pupils are scheduled to attend educational provision, 2011/12 i Table 2: Number of pupil referral units by local authority 1998/99–2008/09 140 iii Executive summary Overview In 2011, the Welsh Government commissioned a research team from the University of Edinburgh to examine the process of exclusion from school in Wales and the delivery, planning and commissioning of education provision for children and young people educated outside the school setting (such provision is commonly known as EOTAS; education otherwise than at school). The research team was also asked to make recommendations for policy development. The research followed on from issues and recommendations in the National Behaviour and Attendance Review Report (Welsh Assembly Government, 2008), the Review of Education Other Than At School (WAG, 2011a), the Behaving and Attending: Action Plan (WAG, 2009b) and the Behaviour and Attendance Action Plan 2011-13 (Welsh Government, 2011c). It was of obvious importance to collect robust evidence of the nature and extent of exclusion from school and provision for those educated outside the school setting, so that a clear and reliable picture could be established and recommendations made for future policy development. The research was conducted using statistical and policy analysis, interviews with key stakeholders, a telephone survey and interviews of local authority representatives and interviews with young people, their families and a range of professionals working with children and young people educated outside the school setting. The advantages of a mixed method approach such as this are well documented and have been used successfully in previous research in this field by the research team. While there are always limitations about the claims to be made from different kinds of data, the overall picture emerging here is one which indicates that some good progress has been made in implementing the recommendations of these reports but that significant issues remain. 1 Context of the research A number of critical issues emerged from the National Behaviour and Attendance Review Report (Welsh Assembly Government, 2008), the Review of Education Other Than At School (WAG, 2011a) as well as recent reports from Estyn (2011; 2012) and voluntary organisations in Wales (Butler, 2011). These issues included: • Variation between local authorities in implementing Welsh Government guidance on school exclusion. • Significant variation between schools in the policy and practice of managing actual and potential exclusions. • Evidence of unlawful exclusion from school. • Some educational provision which was not properly monitored. • Some pupils educated outside the school setting were not receiving an appropriate education. • Variation between authorities in the quality of the curriculum and behaviour management approaches in educational provision outside the school setting. • The lack of reintegration back into schools after exclusion and from education outside the school setting. The Welsh Government published new guidance on exclusion from schools and pupil referral units in October 2012, replacing guidance published in 2004 and 2006. This guidance emphasises that the school’s general approach should be in line with the specific duties set out in the Equality Act 2010 and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). According to this revised guidance, policy and practice on exclusions should promote: …the wellbeing of pupils, advance equality of opportunity between pupils, and tackle inequalities and discrimination (Welsh Government, 2012a, p.7). 2 The Welsh Government has expressed concern over the comparative underachievement of Welsh pupils in relation to other countries (Andrews, 2011). Exclusion from school and EOTAS are both associated with educational failure, lack of subsequent employment or training, and offending. They are critical areas for Government interest. Key findings on school exclusion • Rates of both permanent exclusion and fixed term exclusions decreased in Wales in 2011/12. Exclusions of six days or more had been decreasing for some time, whereas rates of exclusion for five days or fewer had been increasing until 2011/12. • Three-quarters of excluded pupils were male. • Pupils with special educational needs accounted for just over half of all exclusions during 2011/12. • There were 817 fixed term exclusions of five days or fewer, and 76 exclusions of six days or more, of ‘looked after children’. • Rates of exclusion varied

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