Ellie Ames 09 December 2024

Devon proposes £21,000 charge for school exclusions

Devon proposes £21,000 charge for school exclusions image
Image: Devon County Council

Devon County Council has put forward plans to charge schools £21,000 for every child they exclude.

The local authority said the levy, proposed as part of a broader consultation on schools’ funding, would ‘incentivise schools with high exclusion rates to explore every possible avenue to keep children and young people in school rather than to pass the financial burden onto the local authority’.

The £21,000 levy was calculated based on ‘the cost of delivering on education, health and care plans (EHCPs), management costs and the potential for the local authority to provide alternative provision’.

Forecasting 247 permanent exclusions next year, the council has calculated it would generate almost £5.2m from the charge.

In March, Devon revealed it faced a £163m deficit on its high needs budget, and was since granted £95m through the Department for Education (DfE) safety valve programme.

If approved, the charge would come into force from 2026-27.

The DfE’s behaviour advisor, Tom Bennett, branded the proposal ‘appalling’ on social media.

He said: ‘No council should blackmail a school into not excluding. The safeguarding implications are horrendous. ‘This really, really better be crushed at proposal stage.’

Wrigleys Solicitors, a law firm that specialises in education, said charging schools for excluding pupils was not an approach councils could take ‘under the legal framework which governs school funding and exclusions’.

SIGN UP
For your free daily news bulletin
Highways jobs

Chief Executive

Ebbsfleet Development Corporation
up to £165,000
Ebbsfleet is one of the UK’s most ambitious regeneration projects, a 21st-century Garden City Ebbsfleet, Kent
Recuriter: Ebbsfleet Development Corporation

Play Ranger

London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and London Borough of Wandsworth
£38,976 - £47,229 (pro rata for part time post)
Play Ranger£38,97... Wandsworth, London
Recuriter: London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and London Borough of Wandsworth

Temporary Accommodation Officer

London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and London Borough of Wandsworth
£38,976 - £47,229 per annum
As with many other Boroughs in the capital, tackling homelessness is a high priority. The Temporary Accommodation Procurement Officer will be required to source new business to increase the supply of properties based on the demand by building relationship 90 Putney Bridge Road, Twickenham
Recuriter: London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and London Borough of Wandsworth

Partnership Co-ordinator - Voluntary & Community

London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and London Borough of Wandsworth
£43,545 - £52,767
Partnership Co-ordinator - Voluntary & ... Wandsworth, London
Recuriter: London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and London Borough of Wandsworth

Planning Support Officer

The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea Council
Up to £34359 per annum
Keep our planning service running smoothly, supporting the team that shapes the future of our borough.As a Planning Support Officer, you'll play a vit England, London, City of London
Recuriter: The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea Council
Linkedin Banner