Today’s blog looks at Minister Gibb’s comments at the Education Select Committee on Alternative Provisions.
Exclusions
Today, Tuesday, 1 May, Schools Minister Nick Gibb gave evidence to the Education Select Committee.
During the session Minister Gibb was pressed on what the department is doing for those children who are permanently excluded from school. He strongly hit back at suggestions that pupils excluded from schools are the ‘forgotten children’ in the UK’s education system, stating that vulnerable children in our system are the ones the department are most concerned about.
He also pointed to the department’s call for evidence on home education and plans to look into the reasons why some groups are disproportionately excluded from schools.
Schools and Standards Minister Nick Gibb said:
“The most vulnerable children in our system are the ones we are most concerned about.
"On the issues of exclusions, this needs to be put into perspective. Exclusions began to rise in 2014/15 having followed a period of decline.
“Even today both fixed-term exclusions and permanent exclusions are nowhere near the high they were 10 years ago.
"We want to improve the quality of education in alternative provisions."
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