At least half of pupils excluded from school have a mental health issue and are being failed by an ‘unjust system’, a new report has found.
Analysis by the IPPR found one in two excluded pupils have recognised mental health problems, compared to 1 in 50 pupils in the wider population.
It argued that the system is failing these vulnerable children with only one in a 100 going on to receive five good GCSE grades.
Excluded pupils are also twice as likely to be living in care and four times as likely to grow up in poverty than other children. The study said a lack of specialised support was leading to a downward spiral of under-achievement.
Kiran Gill, IPPR associate fellow and founder of The Difference, said: ‘Theresa May says she is committed to improving mental health of young people. Addressing the most vulnerable children being thrown out of England’s schools is a good place to start. Because unequal treatment of mental health may be an injustice, but the discrimination of school exclusions is a crime.’
The IPPR is preparing to launch new proposals for a new teaching pathway for mental health experts to work closely with excluded children.
