An exploration into the exclusion of children with SEND from primary school

The issue of school exclusion has made national headlines and is a complex topic that continues to be the subject of rigorous debate. This is unsurprising given the 60% increase in the number of children permanently excluded from school in England in the last five years (Partridge et al., 2020). It has been widely recognised that children with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) are disproportionately represented in exclusion statistics; alongside children from poorer backgrounds, children who are known to Social Care, and children from certain ethnic minority groups (Department for Education, 2012; Gill et al., 2017; Timpson, 2019; Ofsted, 2020; Partridge et al., 2020). This research study is an exploration into the exclusion of children with SEND from primary schools within a focus locality in England. The aim of this research was to investigate why children with SEND could be excluded from primary school and how the number of exclusions could be reduced, from the perspectives of school staff within the local area. It also aimed to compare and contrast the perceptions of staff regarding what constitutes grounds for exclusion in different schools. A case study design was used, with questionnaires and semi-structured interviews chosen to collect qualitative data from key staff in local primary schools. The data was analysed through the process of coding, which identified key themes for discussion and provided an analytical framework. The findings suggested that staff identified the key issues impacting on exclusion rates of children with SEND as being in relation to: funding and resources; access to specialist placements; support from external agencies; and training and support for staff and parents. Due to the small sample size and limited scope of this research, it cannot be generalised. However, it raises important questions about the funding and prioritisation of children with SEND, and makes several recommendations for future research