(UK) Call for alternative schools for students expelled for behavior problems

Sept 6, 2019, iNews: Government will prioritise new free schools for expelled children https://inews.co.uk/news/education/government-free-schools-expelled-children/ Education Secretary Gavin Williamson says that applications to set up 'alternative provision' schools will be prioritised The Government’s free school programme should focus on creating schools for children who have been expelled from mainstream education, the Education Secretary has said. Gavin Williamson said that applications to set up “alternative provision” schools for children who have been expelled or are at risk of exclusion would be prioritised, along with schools for those with special needs. The free schools programme was founded by Michael Gove when he was Education Secretary, and gives parents and other groups the power to set up government funded schools outside of local authority control…. He said that Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants a “new wave” of free schools for pupils with special educational needs…. Mr Williamson has pledged to back headteachers in cracking down on poor behaviour – including sometimes expelling students. However, he said a “society that writes children and young people off as a problem to be managed, often before they’ve become teenagers, is not solving anything”…