More placements for excluded Nottingham school children ‘could only be a sticking plaster’

Loxley House in Station Street, where Nottingham City Council
Loxley House in Station Street, where Nottingham City Council is based
By Anna Whittaker, Local Democracy Reporter

Funding for extra places to support children in Nottingham who have been excluded from school could only be a ‘sticking plaster’ on the problem, one headteacher has warned.

The council says the number of permanently excluded school children and young people aged 7-11 has increased by 31 per cent in the last academic year.

There is also a 10-year high of permanent exclusions in the area.

Councils must make arrangements for suitable full-time education, known as alternative provision, for pupils who are permanently excluded from schools or excluded from pupil referral units.

The Labour-run authority says the Raleigh Education Trust is the only trust to offer such places for this age range in the city and more are urgently needed.

At present, there are 42 placements at the trust’s Denewood Academy in Radford, and the council is now seeking to introduce an extra eight places temporarily at a cost of £179,519.

The financing of the places was discussed by councillors at a meeting of the Schools Forum on Tuesday, June 27.

But one member of the forum, Judith Kemplay, headteacher at Melbury Primary School in Bilborough, said she was concerned the move was a “sticking plaster”.

Nick Lee, director of education services for Nottingham City Council, said it is a “very fragmented system”.

Mr Lee added: “We’ve had 123 pupils excluded this year, last year we had 112, the year before 93.

“This year we’ve had 18 primary exclusions compared to last year’s 11 so we’ve seen an increase in the primary exclusion situation.

“Denewood is our only Key Stage 2 facility for permanently excluded children.

“It will allow Denewood to recruit additional staff and bring stability in the face of rising exclusions.

“We also believe that children on site will have a greater chance of reintegration.”

Mr Lee added an after-school club pilot will be trialled with academies with higher exclusion rates in the cities to engage young people “in a more constructive way”.

He said: “As a system, there’s work that we need to do that reflects the post-Covid situation and the challenges we have.

“We’ve all seen issues around attendance, mental health and other behaviours support issues. As a city, we need to come together to address these issues going forward.”

But Ms Kemplay said: “I am worried that this is a sticking plaster and it’s going to be ongoing, and in two years we’ll come back and ask for another £179,000.

“Is this time to really look at some ways of stopping these exclusions?

“We don’t seem to be moving on with this.”

Mr Lee said: “We certainly need to look at how best we are using the most effective interventions.

“We are all faced with the challenges in this city of the cost of living impacts and huge pressures within families.

“I hope it’s not a sticking plaster but I am mindful that we are dealing with a set of very challenging circumstances.

“What I’m trying to do is to glue back a very fragmented system.”

Sheena Wheatley, representing trade unions, added: “Whilst we’ve got the levels of poverty amongst our families, there will be increasing pressures on services.

“Whilst those services continue to be cut, schools will come under increasing pressure.

“We’re rearranging the deckchairs on the TItanic in terms of the funding.

“We need stable, higher levels of funding to meet the need that we’re coming across.

“I don’t know what else we can do. I don’t think that money is being wasted. There is a real drive to do the best we can with the funding we’ve got.”

The council also says it is awaiting the outcome of a Free School bid submitted by the Raleigh Education Trust and, if successful, the bid would add 100 more alternative provision places in the city.