Sheffield school pupils exclusions crisis as rising numbers place “unsustainable demand” on service
The rising number of children being permanently excluded from Sheffield primary schools is placing “unsustainable demand” on a city service.
“Radical change” is being recommended to deal with the issue of rising numbers of children being expelled from both primary and secondary schools.
A meeting of Sheffield City Council’s children, education and families policy committee next Tuesday (September 2) will discuss the problem, which councillors are being told is placing unsustainable demand on the Sheffield Inclusion Centre.
A report to the committee says: “There is a growing recognition that a radical change is needed in how we address school exclusions to ensure all children belong, thrive, and attain.”
Sheffield Inclusion Centre, based in Spring Lane, Manor, works with children who have been permanently excluded and has eight sites across the city. Under the new plan, the centre will stop taking on primary children, freeing up spaces for secondary students.
The report says that Five Rivers Multi Academy Trust last year launched a site at Abbeyfield School, offering short-term alternative education provision for primary school children.
Using individual plans, it aims to re-engage children in learning, supporting families where necessary, working towards reintegrating children into schools within two to three terms.
The number of places at Abbeyfield will increase from 10 to 20 over the course of the new academic year. The Five Rivers trust is developing a new hub for six to eight pupils at Tinsley School and is partnering with the council to develop another hub for up to 15 children in the south of the city.
The report says:
“These expansions will mean that a total of up to 43 places for children will be provided across the city.
“It is hoped that in time not all of these places will be needed for children excluded from school and that the service can also be used as an intervention for exclusion prevention purposes.”
A budget of £260,000 for the Abbeyfield expansion has already been approved and the trust is covering the cost of work at Tinsley. The report says that estimated capital costs for the third hub are around £50,000.
Each place costs £30,000 a year because the high support needs of children require a staff ratio of 1:2. The cost of funding places will total £1.29m a year once the whole system gets underway.