(UK) Bedford: Disabled students expelled at double nat'l average

July 6, 2022, Bedford Independent: Number of SEND children excluded from schools in Bedford is double national average https://www.bedfordindependent.co.uk/number-of-send-children-excluded-from-schools-in-bedford-is-double-national-average/

S. England

The number of students with educational health and care plans in Bedford borough being excluded from school is double the national average.

Chris Morris, acting chief officer for education, SEND (Special Educational Needs and/or a Disability) and schools infrastructures, said it was a statistic the council was not proud of….

Councillor John Wheeler (Conservative, Wootton Ward) said: “I have sat on a few of these exclusions, and it seems to me one of the reasons is the lack of support for that particular child….

Mr Morris replied: “I vehemently and really strongly want to make sure that we should never be permanently excluding a child so they receive the support they should be getting….

“We shouldn’t have a system where you have to fail to make sure that you get the support,” he said….

The lack of local special school places may be a factor for the Bedford Borough’s permanent exclusions for children with education health and care plans being higher than the national average, a report on borough’s SEND Provision in Mainstream Schools said.

The report showed that 14.2 per cent of pupils in schools in Bedford borough had identified Special Educational Needs and/or a Disability, which is lower than the national average of 16.6 per cent.

Of the children with education health and care plans (EHCP), 50.1 per cent were educated in a mainstream provision compared to the national average of only 40.1 per cent.

Subject to recruitment, the council will have a new SEND advice line running from September for schools to ensure their pupils are getting the right support.

Chris Morris, acting chief officer for education, SEND and schools infrastructures