Skip to content

A message from Matt Dunkley CBE:

10 January 2018 weekly update

10 January 2018

This week, Matt summarises the latest permanent and fixed-term exclusion data for Kent.

Exclusions

The latest data shows that there has been 18 permanent exclusions so far this academic year (Sep 17 to Nov 17), 10 fewer than in the same period last year.

  • 8 of them are Primary school phase exclusions (same as last year) and;
  • 10 are Secondary school phase exclusions (20 last year).

The latest rolling 12 month performance (Dec 16 to Nov 17) also shows a notable decrease in permanent exclusions compared with the equivalent rolling 12 month period in 2015-16, down 6 from 64 to 58 exclusions. Primary school phase exclusions accounts for 19 of the overall total (16 in 2015-16), and Secondary accounts for 39 of the overall total (48 in 2015-16).

This is very good news, showing an excellent result of our joint effort of the past two years to reduce and keep Kent’s permanent exclusion at the minimum level.

Fixed-term Exclusion:

The latest data for Fixed Term Exclusions show that there are 3,057 for the current academic year to November 2017, 744 more exclusions in comparison to same period last year. The majority increase is directly related to a significant rise in Secondary school phase exclusions, up 669 exclusions from to 2,469 this academic year. In contrast, Primary School phase exclusions has experienced a smaller increase, up 75 to 588 exclusions this year.

Latest rolling 12 month performance (Dec 16 to Nov 17) also shows an increase in fixed term exclusions compared with the equivalent rolling 12 month period in 2015-16, up 1,076 exclusion to 10,719 exclusions.

For the period November 16 to October 17, Primary phase school exclusions has increased by 319 to 2,124 exclusions compared with the same period in 2015-16, and Secondary school phase exclusions up by 757 to 8,595 exclusions.

While there is a national trend of a steady increase in fixed-term exclusion, Kent Secondary and Special Schools’ fixed-term exclusion rates are still lower (better) than the national average while Primary schools’ is higher.

Strong local collaborative working between the schools has helped keep Kent’s permanent exclusion rate below the national average. There are many examples of good practice showcasing Kent schools’ inclusive approach in actively finding good alternatives to the permanent exclusion of vulnerable learners. KCC Services and PRUs are committed to working in partnership with schools in their effort to improve all children’s outcomes, particularly in supporting those who are in care, with SEN or from the low income families.

Matt Dunkley CBE
Corporate Director
Children, Young People and Education