By Joe Locker, Local Democracy Reporter
Almost £200,000 could be spent on eight extra places to support Nottingham children who have been permanently excluded from school amid a surge in demand.
The number of permanently excluded school children and young people in Key Stage 2, which covers those aged between seven to eleven, has increased by 31 per cent in the last academic year, Nottingham City Council says.
Councils must make arrangements for suitable full-time education, known as alternative provision, for a pupil who is permanently excluded from a school or excluded from a pupil referral unit.
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.
A council Schools Forum report says: “Permanent exclusion rates in Nottingham city have always been high compared to national and local rates.
“Pre-pandemic, all secondary schools signed up to the Inclusion Model and rates of permanent exclusion looked set to drop.
“However, in a post-pandemic, cost of living-era the rates of permanent exclusion have increased again.
“The need for additional places for permanently excluded children now is
very pressing.
“Adding additional places on site at Denewood would allow much needed places to support Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 pupils.
“Children who are taught on site at Denewood have greater access to the school’s alternative provision task force, a multi-agency approach to supporting vulnerable young people, and are more likely to be reintegrated.
“Increasing the levels of reintegration of permanently excluded children back in to mainstream school is a key aim of both Raleigh and the local authority.”
In 2021/22, the council says 112 children were permanently excluded from school, including 11 primary school children and 101 children in secondary.
To date in 2022/23, 103 children have been permanently excluded
from school, including 16 primary school children and 87 secondary school children.
The final figure for this academic year “could be higher than last year”, the council adds.
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.
A review will be taking place in the summer term of 2023, which will seek to understand how the provision is used in the city and what the current gaps are.
In the meantime, the temporary provision will be required.
The financing of the places will be discussed by councillors at a meeting of the Schools Forum on Tuesday, June 27.
