To think this is completely unacceptable - school exclusions?

[Spewathon]

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/jul/10/rise-in-school-exclusions-in-england-including-among-children-under-six

I work as a TA. I think it’s understandable. The level of violence and aggression from children is what is completely unacceptable.
Some children are in the wrong setting and endanger the health and safety of staff. They need to be in a different setting. The education of the other children in their class can be severely affected.

Why do you think it us unacceptable? I think schools needed to take a firm stance on violence towards other people and property.

I was a teacher for 20 years. When I read something like this my mind goes to the majority of children in these classes who are just trying to learn and get on. They deserve to be able to do that without other children constantly disrupting the classroom.

I CBA to read the article, but why do you think it's unacceptable and do you work in a primary school?

Why is it unacceptable? Would you like your children's lessons to be completely disrupted by foul mouthed, aggressive, violent, bullying children?

What is unacceptable? If a child cannot follow rules that keep people safe then a suspension needs to happen.

I wish the school i teach at would suspended more pupils as some of them are awful. Most with equally awful parents.

This ⬆️

No. Ive been a teacher for 20 years, if you were one you would know we have gone far too far the other way, in attempting to include kids who are ruining education for the other 29.

I don't think it happens enough tbh. Not in my ds' school anyway. He's been punched in the stomach, had furniture thrown at him etc by a classmate. Yes, the classmate is ND, but that doesn't mean other children have to tolerate the behaviour whilst a solution is being worked out.

Why do you think it is unacceptable op?
School staff should be able to go to their work without being assaulted. School children should be able to go to school without being assaulted.

I think it's good if they are excluded quickly if disruptive, bullying or violent. Not fair on the decent well-behaved kids.

If children can't behave properly and respectfully in school, why should teachers be subjected to that.

Parents are to blame for this rise in expulsions, not the schools.

My kids school just had a student punch a teacher, one punch. That teacher fell, hit her head, had a seizure and puked all over herself in the middle of class. The other children ended up witnessing something really traumatising, let alone the poor teacher.

This kid was 10!!! I mean, what the fuck. That kid better be expelled, and preferably prosecuted.

I think its unacceptable because I know at least half of excluded children have SEN and I think its higher at primary level. The majority of these exclusions could be avoided with proper sen support or by children being placed in more suitable settings.

I don't think being excluded from mainstream should be the pathway to special school. The pathway should be smoother and not involve not coping in mainstream to the point an exclusion is the only option. I clerk exclusion panels and nearly all of them involve a long period of time of a child not coping and a lot of outside agencies being too overworked to take them on. Its normally quite clear the child should have been scooped up by these services earlier and transitioned to a better environment in a non traumatising way.

Read this thread to see what teachers have to put up with and what support they get (or rather don't get) from some parents

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5338168-wibu-if-i-complain-about-this-teacher?page=3&reply=144403999

Can you explain why unacceptable? In most cases there will have been so much work, money spent on preventing a permanent exclusion. I have sat on exclusion panels and been provided with packs that can run to hundreds of pages detailing the work, communication, agencies involved etc before an exclusion has had to happen. Very much a last resort

Teacher of 31 tears in secondary school. Retired early yesterday. The forgotten people are those who are able to behave yet are not allowed to concentrate due to disruption. Something must be done.

This and all the other posts saying the same. Why is it that some seem to think sacrificing the education and physical/mental wellbeing of 29 children to allow 1 child freedom to 'express themselves ' is acceptable? The quicker children and their parents are able to see that life isn't a 'oh bless... Jimothy communicates by smashing the shit out of people' the better.

Its yet another first time poster that posts a link without even a comment and then fucks off. Don't bother replying, it is highly unlikely she'll be back.

My son was excluded the second week of primary school, he had just turned 4 youngest in the year and was essentially in fight and flight. We moved him schools and the new school put the right support in place and now he has just finished year one, passed his phonics screening 100% even though he missed half of the reception school year as was on a part time table. (He has been in full time for all of year one)

For a lot of these kids they just need the right support to thrive but schools don’t have the resources or don’t care. His first school is a cofe academy and clearly weren’t interested in helping him

Just about to say same @KrisAkabusi probably another harvester of 'aren't mnetters evil and mean!!'

@hellotomrw what was he excluded for? Was he violent or aggressive?

It usually takes a LOT to get to exclusion stage having exhausted other options. Therefore it's serious and the last option, schools are pressured to keep them as much as possible.

I work in a mainstream primary school in a Leadership role.

We are now trying to support more and more children with SEND who, ten years ago, would have been in specialist schools, without a doubt. But we do not have the funding or resources of a specialist school. When we tell the LA that we are not the right setting for a particular child, that they are hurting staff and other children and we have tried everything but we cannot meet their needs, that they need a specialist setting where they can hopefully not just be 'managed' but thrive, we are just told to get on with it basically.

We also have children who are living in unsafe and unpredictable home environments and consequently their behaviour in school is unsafe and unpredictable too. These children, ten years ago would have been on Child Protection plans. Now the thresholds for Children's Services intervention are so high, school are told to offer "early help" (which the parents 9 times out of 10 we've already tried and parents won't engage with), the parents are signposted to some online courses on managing their child's behaviour and we are told to get on with it basically.

It is getting near impossible to recruit and retain decent Teachers and TA's. We cannot afford to lose the ones we've got because they are going home every day with injuries, or spending all day being sworn at or spat at. Not to mention the mental health impact and educational impact on children who are witnessing upsetting incidents and having their learning constantly disrupted. The decision to exclude children is never taken lightly and in my school it is always a last resort after every other avenue has been explored, but we have a duty of care to our staff and we have to think about the safety and wellbeing of all children.

He was yes. But hasn’t been aggressive for 18 months now. The school setting just terrified him and it was somehow the way he found worked to make people leave him alone because he was so overwhelmed. Suspected asd and adhd but the waiting lists are so long.

He was with a childminder 3 days a week and preschool 2 days a week before starting school and had no aggression or issues there at all, it was a surprise to everyone. Just the large noisy school setting really seemed to upset him. He would never lash out now, he is much older and understands but when he first started school he was effectively still a toddler and reacting before he could even process or think.

Exactly.

It's a last resort after schools have done everything they can, but the outside services aren't there to back the school up and many of the chikdren should have been in a more suitable setting from the outset.

Its not that the children shouldn't be excluded in the circumstances because staff and pupils need to be safe, but it shouldn't have ever got to that point. We should have functioning social services for instance (im not having a go at the last social worker standing).