Things are Hotting Up!

Excluded from School is Active! It has been a very busy few weeks as we settle in to being full-time. I will share with you some highlights below, however, I think it is important to comment on some recent events in the world of education. I was sent the following article found here, by a friend, which talks about the 540,000 suspensions in the last two school terms. I wonder what these suspensions are achieving? There are lots of teachers and head teachers on this mailing list, please, send me your thoughts with examples if you have any, as to the pros and cons of suspensions. At present, before you wonderful people persuade me otherwise, my opinion is as follows.

It is a bit like Groundhog day. Except, I do not think we are making accomplished pianists. I think instead it is simply lazy policy that gradually increases the problem. Nothing has changed since I was at school in the 90s. In all my exclusions, my only punishment from them was the negativity. In reality, I was happy not to be there. It also normalised for me not being in school, which led to truancy. Though I sense that school took that as a free suspension. More conscientious parents have to take time out of work, losing income in addition to the lost learning of the child, which will no doubt impact their income in years to come, too.

This all begs the question, is a suspension a punishment? If so, how many until we recognise it is not working before doubling down with a permanent one? Is a punishment alone an appropriate mechanism to improve behaviour? (I am partly thinking of Rousseau’s Confessions and his desire to be caught and punished as a child for stealing) And are there really times when a school cannot do anything else? What is the impact on young people of an educational institute which ought to represent the finest in intelligent and dynamic thinking, simply giving up and hoping that something will magically change in their absence?

Here is an example. I read on X recently that the ‘Behaviour Expert’ in the DfE quoted in the above article, was supporting a school for suspending a girl for wearing black shoes. I will include a picture of this below, so you can see how absurd the difference is.

Ms Smith's daughter was sanctioned for wearing the shoes on the left, which are almost identical to the pair on the right which had been acceptable for the past two years.

The same individual recently expressed concern over lost learning through in-term holidays and is part of a coterie of more conservative education professionals on X who frequently opine that schools only have one job, which is to teach. Though apparently, they can operate as fashion police! It is absurd in my view, that the young person could not have been sent home with a note at the end of the day. Uniform standards are fine and good, but is man made for the sabbath or the sabbath made for man? Let me know your thoughts.

There is also another concerning trend I have increasingly noticed recently. The rise in job postings for ‘inclusion managers’ and a conference for ‘internal alternative provision’.

In the spirit of how we do things here, I will share my experience of an internal exclusion. For some seemingly minor infraction, most likely associated with my ADHD, I would be placed on an internal exclusion. I remember the ‘Sullivan Room’, a sort of back office behind the reception desk of my primary school, replete with filing cabinets and a single brown table and grey plastic chair. The view from the window, was of the playground, which as part of an internal exclusion, I would not be attending. I took my ‘breaks’ and lunch in that room and only left if I asked to go to the toilet, whereby I would have to be escorted by a rather visibly inconvenienced member of staff. Time moved so slowly, I would make bargains with God that the next time I looked at the clock, the hands would have moved forward. No miracles here I am afraid, just more Groundhog day. I sometimes had whole weeks like this with no mercy.

Turning up to school to report to isolation, I gradually lost my zest for learning, which was most strong at primary. I did what work I was given, quite quickly, but absent class engagement, there was nothing else to do and not every subject gave me work to do anyway. I certainly did not have a teaching assistant with me. At breaks, I would watch the other children playing outside and hope they would not see me through the window and mock me, I felt too fragile in there and knew I wouldn’t be able to respond. Thankfully, they never did, but the ignoring of me was equally impactful. I cannot remember having a single friend at that school.

One of the impacts I reflect on is how I sometimes have as a mental default that I would be better off staying out of the way and behind the scenes. My therapist referred to this feeling as a conceptualisation of myself as an ‘outsider’. He was right, and I have been counter cultural ever since. There is lots of research on this phenomenon, a classic is Learning to Labour, if you are interested. We all know the impact Covid had on child development, but do we know the impact of internal exclusions? If you or your child has experienced this, have a conversation and get in touch. I fancy some regulation.

Check out this recent article on time moving more slowly for children. Really interesting. I have the picture of the clock in the Sullivan Room genuinely burnt into my brain.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/future/article/20240906-does-time-go-slower-for-children

So it seems to me that we need some change. At the end of Groundhog Day, Bill Murray, recognising that his efforts to bed his colleague (definitely uncomfortable viewing in 2024!) are failing no matter what he tries. He allows himself to scrap his agenda and see the person for who she is, thus falling in love with her. They both awake to a new dawn. It is time for re-think and to start seeing individual children for who they are and who they can become rather than just if they are convenient for us in the moment. They have been somebody yesterday and they will be somebody tomorrow, no matter how long you wish to suspend that reality.

With senior leaders championing these lazy policies of suspension and separation, is it any wonder that prisons are full? I was on the radio last week discussing prisons and rehabilitation and of course, I mentioned young people excluded from school. If we do not change, if these fancy advisors do not change, are we sleepwalking into becoming a penal colony? It is shocking how much the taxpayer spends on both excluding a child and putting someone in prison. Does the debate need to move on to how much we are willing to spend on punishment alone? Like with suspensions, people after a sentence are not magically rehabilitated. Indeed, we currently have a record high of reoffending.

I argue that it is a lot cheaper to support good organisations in the third sector which meet people’s needs, than it is to lock people up and do nothing. This is at top end, at bottom end, early intervention can be done in school and does not need to cost the earth either. I have developed a training which can help schools with this.

This was my first foray into live radio, it was last minute and I must say I was nervous. I was told it would be a discussion with a former government special advisor and chair of the Adam Smith Institute. He was a great speaker and very erudite, I am pleased to have had the experience and to come out unscathed! I do regret that I had not prepared the figures for Abandofbrothers which is a 76% reduction in offending behaviour. I am learning! It is my contention though, that suspensions and exclusions become a self-fulfilling prophecy for prison in what we know is called the ‘Pru to Prison Pipeline’. I am looking forward to taking a grinder to this on TV next month, stay tuned for updates!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0022jrz

I had a wonderful time in Birmingham with Robin Hood MAT, talking about the power of relationships in education. It is so encouraging to see mainstream schools embracing inclusion with their full heart and soul. The leadership team told me that I could easily have been one of their students.

I wish I had been.

"The feedback for your session was amazing and clearly touched that same nerve in everyone as it did with me.

A common theme was not just how your story has inspired them to do better, but also reminded many of why they became a teacher in the first place".

Check out their website to see how mainstream schools can do better:Home | Robin Hood Multi Academy Trust (robinhoodmat.co.uk)

I had an impactful day at the Alternative Learning Trust EDI conference last week. I was privileged to deliver a reflective session on the myriad of issues faced by excluded children, such as culture, identity, race and neurodiversity. I was struck by how engaged and committed to improving the staff of the trust were and I think I would still be answering questions now if I didn't have a train to catch!

I just loved how the CEO set up the day as a "Brave Space" and this meant I could get really real about racism within BAME communities and internalised racism. Real factors in the lives of excluded or at risk children.

It was also fantastic to learn from Joshua Okunlola how a model of transactional analysis can be deployed to ensure we see people in their race fully, instead of 'marshmallowing' them or retreating into colour blindness. He facilitated and held an incredibly valuable and important conversation that allowed people to open up and share opinions, including myself after reflecting on the nature of my personal relationships.

I left inspired and resolute.

This trust genuinely does Alternative Provision brilliantly. I am looking forward to visiting one PRU in the trust that has a boxing ring and a full-time coach. One of which was telling me how class engagement has shot up since it was installed! Those of you that know my story know that it was martial arts that led me into academia.

Check out their website here :https://www.alternativelearningtrust.org.uk/

This work needs more reach!

EDI for Excluded Children requires specific attention as the damage can quickly become systemic and irreversible.Get in touch if I can help.

I met with an inspirational man who runs Riverside Education in Birmingham. He has been very supportive of me deciding to go self-employed and his ambition is infectious! Abide came to this country as an immigrant and has now set up 5 unique pupil referral units that consider the varied needs of young people excluded from school, from remote learning to learning on a farm. I am very excited to be delivering training for Riverside and there will be more on them and and Abide in October. In the meantime, check out their website and Abide’s inspiring journey on Audible!

https://riversideeducation.co.uk/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gift-Dr-Abide-Zenenga-ebook/dp/B0B788C8QT

It was my birthday recently, and I thought I would make a joke. Here is my ‘school cake’ that I made.

I am aiming for a first online focus group on Monday the 7th at 6:45pm. This is for parents to share their experiences. Please join the Facebook groups or get in touch if you are interested in a parent/family group to share experiences of exclusion, a lived experience of exclusion group (not necessarily formal exclusion from school) and an academic/professional group.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/485211433689144

Support needed

I do need support and welcome anyone with ideas to get in touch.Research is important and very easy for people to do, so let me know if you can help there as this will help advocacy work.Many offered to volunteer and I am wondering if those people could help me reach out to schools in different ways?If you know of any schools, conferences etc that may want me to come and speak, train or consult, please put me in touch.
Finally, I have joined something called ‘buy me a coffee’ which you can find here. This is essentially a small way that you can donate to help me work to improve the experience and outcomes of people excluded from school.

Final thought

I was re-watching Sir Ken Robinsons TED Talk this week, and I just had to share the top comment with you: “It's incredibly upsetting how old is this and how everything is still the same.”

If you have not seen it, it is a must watch: Do schools kill creativity? | Sir Ken Robinson | TED - YouTube

Speak soon, Tier