(UK) Winsford: Local report shows special needs students at high risk for exclusion from school

July 22, 2020, Winsford Guardian: Children in Winsford and Northwich most at risk of being excluded from school https://www.winsfordguardian.co.uk/news/18598820.children-winsford-northwich-risk-excluded-school/ (West Central England) PUPILS with special educational needs are eight times more likely to excluded, a new report has revealed. Children who have been in care are five times more likely to be persistently absent. And girls are less at risk of formal exclusion which means that their absence is often not recorded. A new report produced in partnership with Cheshire West and Chester Council has provided some key insights on which pupils are most at risk of exclusion from school and presents recommendations on how to address these challenges. The document published by Social Finance, a not for profit organisation that creates better solutions to social problems, uses in-depth data analysis to combine insights across education, social care, deprivation and special educational needs…. To address the issue the council has worked with a range of multi-agency partners including schools to gather the data for social finance to analyse. The findings show that more than half of multiple fixed-term exclusions were experienced by less than a fifth of children. These children all have experiences of social care and/or have social emotional mental health (SEMH) needs. The report shows that pupils who are vulnerable due to their home circumstance, learning needs and/or SEMH needs are at greater risk of being excluded from mainstream education…. The report supports the Government’s findings of the higher risk of formal exclusion to boys, but points to a possible invisible trend of some groups of pupils, such as girls, getting informally excluded, meaning their exclusions lack the accountability built into formal exclusions…. The findings will be instrumental in re-modelling pathways, systems and support around school exclusions in west Cheshire as we work together to ensure that children and young people get the support they need to achieve their best. “It’s highly likely that this will be an issue for other local authorities across the UK and we hope that by sharing our findings we will help other councils target support better to children most at risk of being excluded.”