A study investigating the prevalence, practice and perspectives of the use of internal exclusion in mainstream secondary schools

Internal exclusion (IE) is thought to be a common disciplinary practice in secondary schools, yet there is a dearth of research investigating the strategy. There are no statistics confirming the number of schools utilising IE and no independent analysis of how many pupils are placed in IE, how long they stay there for, and what they do. This study makes an important contribution to the literature by developing an indication of the prevalence of IE and the practices operationalising it, and by gathering school staff and EP perspectives about the use and efficacy of the strategy. The research adopted a mixed-methods design and reports on quantitative data arising from two surveys: a school staff survey (n=94) and EP survey (n=83), and qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with school leaders (n=9). Results show that IE is a highly prevalent strategy used across England, but operationalised in different ways. The research found that internal referral patterns are typically stable or increasing which, coupled with perceptions that the same pupils regularly repeat IE, serves to challenge the fundamental assumption that IE acts as an effective deterrent against poor behaviour. A main theme in the data was a belief that SEND pupils attend IE more frequently than their peers. This, and other findings, have important implications for policy and practice which include: an urgent need for clarity in government guidance, evaluation of the impact of IE and a review of the IE environment. With three-quarters of school staff indicating that EPs are used to support with behaviour, the profession could potentially play a significant role in assisting schools with IE. Typically, though, EPs tend to be restricted to supporting at the individual level and can be side-lined in systemic policy decisions related to IE. Recommendations following the main findings from the study are summarised in a guidance framework. It is hoped that this will help support schools and EPs in navigating the complexities of IE processes in an ethical and evidence-informed way