Figures reveal sharp increase in school exclusions for violent behaviour in Portsmouth

The most recently published Department for Education figures showed that between 2016 and 2018 the number of Portsmouth children excluded for physical assaults against pupils increased from 175 to 267 while exclusions for attacks against adults increased from 240 to 328. Over the same period, exclusions for verbal abuse and threatening behaviour against children and adults increased from 94 to 187 and 396 to 566 respectively.

The figures came as no surprise to Sharon Peckham, deputy head teacher at Isambard Brunel Junior and Meredith Infant Schools.

Mrs Peckham said: ‘I’ve been a member of senior leadership in schools for over six years and within this time, I have been pinched, kicked, hit, had my hair pulled, called every name under the sun, slapped across the face, been spat at and had countless objects thrown at me including chairs and a school bell. During my career I have also witnessed one-to-one support staff with many bruises.’

It’s a story familiar to Portsmouth teacher and National Education Union president, Amanda Martin, who is concerned by the rise in violent behaviour.

Ms Martin said: ‘No one should be exposed to violent or threatening behaviour in school – whether that be a teacher or pupil. Last year I was bitten and had things thrown at me. Both of these pupils had Education Health Care Plans and had complex issues but it’s difficult to deal with. Prior to last year I had experienced no such incidents.’

The figures are part of a bigger picture of behaviour concerns with the number of fixed-period exclusions in the city’s secondary schools having doubled over a three-year period. In the academic year 2015/16 there were 714 fixed period exclusions which more than doubled to 1,494 in 2017/18. The fixed-period exclusion rate – the percentage of the school population with one or more incidents of suspension – in 2018 was 16.83 per cent compared to 8.44 per cent in 2016. The national average in 2018 was 10.13 per cent.

Stewart Vaughan, headteacher at Priory School, believes one of the reasons for the high number of fixed-period exclusions is a city-wide ethos not to permanently exclude.

Mr Vaughan said: ‘While none of us feel comfortable with the rise in fixed-period exclusions the city is below the national average for permanent exclusions. We have a commitment to modify behaviour which can result in continuing to deal with more challenging behaviour rather than simply permanently excluding students.’

The Priory School headteacher, who has overseen a reduction in his own school’s exclusion rate, cited a decade of austerity and the increasingly inclusive nature of schools as potential reasons for the increase.

‘The squeeze on the High Needs budget means we now have students in mainstream schools who in the past would have been educated in special schools. While the overwhelming majority of children in the city are well behaved we have certainly experienced a rise in a minority group of challenging students. The situation is compounded by a decade of austerity which has meant cuts to some of our most valuable services which would in the past have provided early intervention for children with complex needs,’ added Mr Vaughan.

Primary schools have experienced a similar story with the number of children being sanctioned with fixed period exclusions increasing from 266 to 451 during the same period.

Mrs Peckham agreed the increase is a result of budgetary constraints and a lack of external support to deal with children with complex needs.

‘Schools desperately need more support from specialist, external agencies, however this outreach is ultimately funded by schools. Dependent on need, top-up funding can be available after a lengthy application, however often there is no additional funding for these services,’ said Mrs Peckham.

External support for schools revolves around government organisations such as social services and the NHS to provide professionals such as trained counsellors, care workers and educational psychologists.

Mrs Peckham added: ‘The trouble with a multi-agency approach is that many of these organisations are poorly funded and massively over stretched. Sadly, education has followed the same privatisation path as the NHS. Academisation has impacted on the local authority, where resources and funding have dwindled.’

It’s a sentiment shared by Ms Martin who commented: ‘Budgets have been an issue which has led to increased class sizes and pupil teacher and teaching assistant ratios and a lack of trained professionals to support children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). There’s also an issue of an increasing number of experienced teachers leaving the profession resulting in a high concentration newly qualified and inexperienced teachers in the classroom.’

Simon Graham, headteacher at St Edmund’s Catholic School which has the lowest secondary exclusion rate in the city, believes the rise could potentially be due to restrictive curriculum changes ‘imposed on schools’ which has led to more disengaged students.

Mr Graham said: ‘The increase in exclusions may be attributed to some extent to the curriculum changes which have been imposed on schools over the past few years. There are less vocational courses available for students to follow and a directive for more academic learning. This one size fits all does not suit all young people. We continue to offer very broad option choices at GCSE level, providing a high level of challenge and engagement. As a result of this our exclusions have remained the lowest in the city for a number of years at secondary level.’

Mrs Peckham, who along with head teacher Lucy Carroll has recently turned round the behaviour at her own school, believes to reduce the number of exclusions the Local Education Authority needs to address the underlying cause as to why children generally exhibit poor behaviour in the first place.

‘Poor behaviour is merely a child communicating that something is wrong,’ she said. ‘A child can often struggle to regulate their emotions as a result of a very unsettled family life. The city would greatly benefit from academies and the local authority investing much more heavily into children’s mental health. We need to see a vast increase in school counsellors, play therapists, home outreach, educational psychologists and school nurses.’

Additionally Mrs Peckham feels more needs to be done to ensure children with more complex needs are afforded the one to one support they so often require.

‘We also need to find a way of retaining the amazing adults who work across our city as emotional literacy support assistant, behaviour support assistants and one to one support assistants,’ added Mrs Peckham.

The local education authority said that last year’s fixed period exclusion rates in primary schools, which are not yet publicly available, have shown a ‘significant decrease’ on the previous year but remained concerned by the continuing increase in secondary school exclusions.

Cabinet member for education, Cllr Suzy Horton, said: ‘We are aware of the increase in exclusions in secondary schools in the school year 2018-2019 compared to previous years. Schools and the local authority work in partnership to ensure that services are available to assist schools in working with all pupils, including educational psychology, multi-agency behaviour support and restorative approaches.’

Cllr Horton stressed the council is working hard to reduce the number of fixed period exclusions and violent behaviour in the city’s schools.

‘Schools work carefully to ensure the health and safety of staff and pupils is paramount, by assessing and reviewing all young people experiencing difficulties. The council is supportive of this approach to ensure alternative arrangements and provisions are available as appropriate. Evidence shows that multiple exclusions are not effective in addressing behaviour and attendance issues and the council is working closely with schools to ensure a consistent city-wide approach to reduce the number of fixed period exclusions,’ she added.