A group that represents most of Southwark’s secondary schools has praised the council’s efforts to stop exclusions – but has said its members will not sign just yet.
The Southwark Association of Secondary Headteachers (SASH) members want more protection for teachers in the charter before they commit to the charter, which they were involved in writing.
In a statement, they said: “The Charter explicitly states that there are ‘rare instances where exclusion is unavoidable to safeguard children’. SASH members agree with this position but would like to amend this aspect of the Charter to include ‘where the safety and well-being of staff is put at risk’.”
SASH members added that they were working with council officers to get the wording of the charter changed.
As the News reported this week, Southwark Council aims to be the first local authority to bring school exclusions down to zero.
Exclusions are already significantly down in Southwark in recent years – from 49 in 2018, to to 36 in 2019, to just ten in 2020 – although this was during the pandemic. Children in Southwark are now less likely than kids in the whole of the UK to be excluded from school.
However, poorer children, children with special educational needs, and black children are still much more likely to be excluded than their peers.
The charter has been praised by some, including former children’s commissioner Anne Longfield, but had criticism from others.
Government education advisor attacks Southwark exclusion policy
Cllr Jasmine Ali, Southwark’s education chief who presented the charter to the council’s cabinet meeting on Monday (July 18), came under fire on Radio 4 on Thursday morning (July 21) from a government educational advisor, who said eliminating exclusions could harm other children.
Tom Bennett said: “What the charter clearly states is that for any behaviour short of the most extreme behaviour, like knife crime and so on, schools should probably consider not excluding.
“Now that sounds fine in principle but there’s lots of misbehaviour short of criminality which absolutely harrow and ruin the life chances of children in schools and all children have got the right to a safe, dignified learning environment which is calm and staff do too.
“Exclusions are a necessary part of that process. In other words, we may not wish to exclude children – it’s a necessary thing to do.”