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In a single stroke this reform prevented terrible scenarios where aggressive or violent students came back against a school’s wishes, and strutted around untouchable by chastened Heads. Do not underestimate the damage this did, nor the benefit to children and staff since the madness was ended.
However, all this progress is now at risk through an unholy coalition of anti-austerity campaigners, virtue-signalling politicians, charity lobbyists, and buck passing police leaders. Their message is confused and based on a zero evidence, but has a truthiness to it that is proving increasingly attractive to journalists and opinions formers (most of whom have never been to a state school or sent their own kids to one.)
They say that schools are expelling kids willy-nilly and that excluded kids are more likely to be involved in violence, gangs, and knife crime. Their argument therefore leads to an obvious conclusion: that schools should be prevented from excluding kids.
Forget that it’s anti-social behaviour and violence that leads to exclusions. Ignore the fact that schools are doing their best with kids damaged by dysfunctional families and poor quality children’s services. And definitely don’t mention that the logical outcome of what they’re proposing is that if the streets become “safer” it will be because dangerous children are in schools instead, putting millions of children and staff at risk.
The sad fact is that many people latching onto this now are doing so to pass the buck, bash the government, or push their own agenda.
Blamed for rising knife crime? “Not our fault, guv. They should be in school,” says the police chief. Want to blame the Tories? “Austerity closed youth centres and left kids on the streets to be groomed by gangs,” says Sadiq Khan. Struggling to get government grants? “These kids should be in schools so we can work with them,” say lobby groups.
It’s a powerful and compelling argument, but forgets the most important people that should be at the centre of any discussion about schools: the children and staff there. They will suffer if the government gives in to this lobby.
And when violence moves from the streets back into the classroom, politicians won’t even be able to claim that they didn’t know that this would happen –because this same policy mistake was made under Labour, for identical reasons, under pressure from the same lobbyists. Even more unforgivable is that we know what a big part of the solution is: stricter schools so we turn kids around before it’s too late, and more high-quality provision to do this if they do end up expelled.
There is everything to play for right now, but too few speaking out. Who will protect the silent majority in our schools?
Mark Lehain is the director of Parents and Teachers for Excellence and the former principal of Bedford Free School.
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