Welsh Conservatives today called for a cohesive strategy from the Welsh Government for children taught outside the school environment.
Last year, 3,500 pupils were taught outside the school setting, usually due to exclusion from school or parents actively taking the decision to educate their children at home.
Figures published earlier this year revealed that of the children in Wales educated outside of the school setting, 90% have special educational needs, 70% are entitled to free school meals and 75% are boys.
There are concerns that excluded children may not be receiving the sufficient teaching hours or the resources to keep up with their peers.
Angela Burns AM, Shadow Minister for Education, said, “While many parents take a proactive step to educate their children at home, the majority of pupils educated outside the school environment have been excluded, often due to undiagnosed special educational needs.
“While there are often well-intentioned reasons to exclude an unruly pupil who is disrupting the education of other students, it can make it even more challenging for those excluded pupils to achieve their potential.
“Sustained exclusion can feed disillusionment not only from education, but from society and a drift into anti-social behaviour.
“Children are being left behind today and too many are simply not able to catch up, to be a part of tomorrow.
“For those children where no alternative is possible, we would like to see increased emphasis on reintegrating these pupils back into mainstream education so they can benefit from the social and academic experiences common to others.
“These children should be facing the challenges of secondary education, not simply facing challenges.
“Pupil Referral Units are supposed to be a revolving door enabling a child to return to mainstream education. But if a child has SEN and their needs are not met by that mainstream school then how will they be reintegrated?
“We would like to see more communication between schools and Pupil Referral Units so that schools understand they still have a responsibility on the future direction of that child’s life. Schools and communities should not have to fear that the performance of an individual excluded pupil will affect their reputation or banding.
“Local authorities should not be allowed wiggle room. The mandatory period in which local authorities are required to deliver education to excluded pupils should be reduced. But with enforcement must come support, monitoring and consistency across Wales, across schools, across years.
“Under no circumstances should any child under the age of eight be excluded from a school. Rejection of any kind at such a tender age can serve as a ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’ where the child comes to accept that they do not belong, that they are not good enough and they are not accepted.
“The links between exclusions, poverty and special educational needs are undeniable and we need a strategy from the Welsh Government to ensure that no child is left behind in the race to raise standards.”
