CEI’s evaluation of a UK initiative that aimed to reduce the number of students suspended or excluded from secondary schools has shown positive impacts on exclusion rates and has identified key recommendations for more inclusive education practice and policy.
The Excluded Initiative, launched by the Evening Standard in 2020 in partnership with John Lyon’s Charity and The London Community Foundation, supported eight London schools that had exclusion rates higher than the national average. The initiative reached 500 of London’s most vulnerable children over a four-year period (2020 to 2024), through bespoke on-site internal alternative provision – an umbrella term for interventions within schools that provide intensive support to children who face challenges within mainstream learning environments.
“Children excluded from school face very significant risks”, explains Jamie Rowland, CEI Advisor. “For instance, research suggests a strong correlation between school exclusion and interaction with the criminal justice system: one report found that nine of every 10 young men in youth offending institutions had been excluded from school.”
“School exclusion tends to be correlated with social disadvantage and other challenges. Children excluded are twice as likely to be care-experienced, four times more likely to be living in poverty, seven times more likely to have a special educational need or disability, and ten times more likely to have diagnosable mental health problems than children who haven’t been excluded.”
Each school in the Excluded Initiative was given the freedom to design and implement their own internal alternative provision with the aim of reducing exclusion, adapting this as it was tested. Schools came together with the funding partners each term to share learnings, challenges and successes, to further develop their approaches and respond to needs as they arose.
“The evaluation identified six features across all the schools that were key to successful internal alternative provision,” Jamie notes. “These factors for success were: consistent and strong relationships between staff and students, restorative conversations following conflict, intensive student support adapted to individual needs, work to improve students’ self-regulation and confidence, and regular and positive parent-school engagement.”
Over time, the rates of exclusion in the Excluded Initiative schools moved to be much more in line with those of a matched group of schools, based on Department for Education data. CEI’s evaluation also showed a reduction in the risk of suspension for many students after their time in internal alternative provision, and very few exclusions. Students and staff consistently described improved attendance, attainment and behaviour, and students described improved relationships with staff, peers and family.
Changes were also seen across the wider school environment, such as teachers gaining a better understanding of how to support students and ensure inclusive classroom environments, being able to seek advice from specialist staff, and teachers feeling more positive about their practice and profession.
“The number of school suspensions and exclusions has continued to grow across the UK over the past 10 to 15 years, and children with special educational needs and disabilities are disproportionately represented in these figures,” says Jamie.
“Being excluded from school is devastating for children and often sets a path of extreme vulnerability and very poor life chances. The root of children’s behaviour is very often trauma, a lack of safety in their home or community, mental health issues and unhappiness. Schools need approaches that recognise this and support all children’s learning.”
“The Excluded Initiative has provided much needed support to schools to assist marginalised and vulnerable children, and in doing so, has created more inclusive school environments. These schools demonstrate that there are strategies to support and empower students on the cusp of exclusion to change direction, so they can benefit from learning and ultimately be healthier, safer and happier.”
Key recommendations and identified factors for success
Key recommendations for practice
- Engage mainstream teachers: Giving teachers the capacity and responsibility to teach in internal alternative provision helps to keep students on track with their learning and provides valuable opportunities for teachers to develop more inclusive teaching practices.
- Keep links to mainstream education: Students in internal alternative provision should maintain connections with the wider school, including attending at least some mainstream lessons if possible, to keep them part of the school community.
- Plan for reintegration: A structured return to mainstream education is key to a student's future trajectory. This includes relationship-building with teachers, phased transitions, flexible behaviour policies, and the involvement of specialist staff.
- Consider parents/carers as partners: Schools should actively involve parents and carers in all aspects of provision, including referral and reintegration, keeping them informed and engaged to reinforce impact beyond the intervention setting.
- Embed the involvement of Senior Leadership Teams: Headteachers and senior staff should have a key role in provision, including line-management of intervention staff, participating in referrals and reintegration processes, and setting clear expectations for mainstream teachers.
- Build a whole-school ethos: A whole school approach to inclusion is essential. Training on topics such as attachment, trauma, and safeguarding helps all staff create a culture where every student feels supported.
Key recommendations for policy
- Provide more funding to schools for internal alternative provision and for its evaluation (either as part of main school budgets or through specific funding routes like the Excluded Initiative).
- Develop guidance relating to internal alternative provision: Clear guidance on quality features of and quality standards expected in provision is needed from the Department for Education.
- Support data-driven decision-making: Implementation was aided when schools used data and feedback to iterate their intervention and to monitor and support students’ reintegration and ongoing progress.
- Ensure sufficient and timely wider support from services such as mental health and social care.
More about the Excluded Initiative
More than half the children (55%) reached in the Excluded Initiative were eligible for free school meals (compared to 36% of all students across the eight schools involved), and more than a third (36%) had a special educational need or disability (SEN-D, compared to 16% across the eight schools involved).
Schools are increasingly establishing internal alternative provision for children at risk of exclusion. Internal alternative provision is typically implemented in spaces away from the mainstream environments but is driven by an ambition to support students’ re-integration, following support. School staff emphasise that internal alternative provision should be driven by principles of inclusivity and not punitive or rooted in isolating children with challenging behaviour.
The difference the Excluded Initiative made was examined through three different types of data: change over time in suspension and exclusion rates in the eight Excluded Initiative schools compared with a group of 30 schools matched on Department for Education data; school data comparing children’s outcomes before and after their time in the intervention; and qualitative interviews with school staff and students to capture their perspectives on change.
All three data sets indicate that the Excluded Initiative succeeded in reducing exclusions and suspensions.
School exclusions have risen across the UK since the Covid lockdowns of 2020-2021, however the rates at the Excluded Initiative schools are now more in line with comparison schools. This suggests the Excluded Initiative has overall had a positive impact on suspensions.
Access the Excluded Initiative evaluation report HERE
The Excluded Initiative: Final Evaluation Report was authored by current and former CEI staff Jamie Rowland, Dr Katherine Young, Emma Wills, Dr Sweta Gupta, Paola Castellanos and Jane Lewis, for the John Lyon’s Charity and The London Community Foundation, supported by the Evening Standard.