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WQ.72/2020
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR EDUCATION
BY THE DEPUTY OF ST. JOHN
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 25th FEBRUARY 2020
Question
Will the Minister advise –
- how many primary and secondary pupils were excluded from the class room in 2019 because of disruptive behaviour; and
- how many such pupils were placed on internal suspension (i.e. isolated in a room for a period of time without access to educational materials) in 2019?
Answer Background
Schools operate a rewards and sanction policy that is suitable for the age and learning stage of each pupil. For example, in primary school pupils may gain points or recognition for behaviour or actions linked to school values such as respect or kindness. In secondary school, this develops into rewards for academic or pastoral effort and achievement, as well as recognising community-wide involvement. Some schools operate a house system and award points for positive behaviours in this way, others use year groups or form aggregations.
Sanctions will usually begin with a verbal warning and may progress to loss of recreation time, usually at lunch or break time. If a pupil needs time out from their primary learning in the classroom, they may be taught in a smaller group or offered 1:1 support with another teacher or teaching assistant.
Schools can operate a referral system where pupils who are not settling well in their class are supported in a separate area with specialist support from pastoral and academic staff. In some schools this system will be referred to as an internal suspension, as it means that the pupil is supervised and supported in completing their study. At no point should a pupil be isolated in a room for a period of time without access to educational materials' as the questions suggests. Any pupil not working with their ordinary class should be supported with appropriate staff, resources or activities to meet their needs, be those emotional, behavioural or academic.
- The phrase excluded from the classroom' is taken to mean an external or fixed term exclusion where pupils may be suspended from school for between 1 and 15 days. For detail on this please see the Positive Behaviour, Exclusions and Part-Time Timetables Policy.
In the 2018/2019 academic year, 30 primary school pupils and 311 pupils at secondary school or alternative provision were given a fixed term exclusion. In total, there were 1,059 instances of exclusions totalling 3,408 sessions. The reasons for exclusions in Government of Jersey schools with the number of instances (not pupils) alongside is given in Table 1.
Table 1: Reason for fixed term exclusion from a Government of Jersey school and number of instances, 2018-2019
| Primary School | Secondary School | Alternative Provision |
Bullying | - | 9 | - |
Damage | - | 18 | <5 |
Drug & alcohol related | - | 34 | <5 |
Other | <5 | 118 | <5 |
Persistent disruptive behaviour | 30 | 251 | 5 |
Physical assault against a pupil | 25 | 162 | 10 |
Physical assault against an adult | 18 | 18 | 9 |
Racist abuse | - | 11 | - |
Theft | - | 6 | - |
Verbal abuse/threatening behaviour against a pupil | 7 | 24 | <5 |
Verbal abuse/threatening behaviour against an adult | <5 | 276 | 14 |
Total | 85 | 927 | 47 |
- Internal suspensions are served on the school site and are not treated as an external suspension from school. Internal suspensions may be more appropriate in cases where a pupil is subject to a Child Protection Plan, is looked after, or where the Head teacher believes a formal suspension might pose a safeguarding risk. Internal suspensions will reflect the behaviour policy of each school but will also be applied taking the individual needs and vulnerabilities of each pupil into account.
There is no central record of internal suspensions held at the Department.