The Conservatives would introduce a legal “presumption” that pupils who bring knives to school or assault their classmates or staff be permanently excluded, the shadow education secretary has said.
Laura Trott also said she would make alternative provision “independent” of councils, enforce that all AP must be registered and introduce automatic absence fines for pupils who don’t show up to their placements.
Trott told the Conservative Party conference in Manchester today that the party’s “blueprint to improve discipline” would build on the “work of the last Conservative government”.
‘One knife and you’re out’
Trott told delegates the blueprint “starts with being honest about the need for permanent exclusions. We can’t shy away from setting clear boundaries for excluding pupils when they’ve been extremely violent or are carrying a knife.
“This is not about giving up on those children. It’s actually the opposite. Children must learn that actions have consequences. That’s just how the world works.”
She said that “under the Conservatives, our policy is simple, one knife and you are out. If you assault a teacher, then you are out. If you sexually assault someone, then you are out.
“If you’ve been expelled from not just one but two mainstream schools, then it’s clear that mainstream classrooms just aren’t for you.
“If children bring knives into the classroom, they shouldn’t be there. If they are violent, then they shouldn’t be there. And under the Conservatives, they won’t be there.”
Current statutory guidance on exclusions states that the government “trusts headteachers to use their professional judgment based on the individual circumstances of the case when considering whether to exclude a pupil”.
The guidance lists “examples of the types of circumstances that may warrant a suspension or permanent exclusion”, which include assaults on staff and pupils and the “use, or threat of use, of an offensive weapon or prohibited item that has been prohibited by a school’s behaviour policy”.
Heads under ‘pressure not to exclude’
Asked by Schools Week about the proposals at a conference fringe event, Trott said the policy would be “a presumption in favour of” permanent exclusion in those circumstances, which she said was aimed at “strengthening headteachers’ hands”.
She said she heard “time and time again” about heads coming under “pressure not to exclude”, for example from local authorities.
“So the idea of this is to set a norm, to set a presumption. Obviously, there will be exceptional circumstances, but the aim is to change the way things are at the moment.”
The Conservatives have tabled an amendment to the government’s schools bill to attempt to introduce such a presumption, Trott added.
The amendment would require pupils excluded for the reasons above to be “relocated to an environment that is more suitable to their challenging behaviour, such as a [pupil] referral unit or alternative provision or similar”.
More AP places needed
During her speech, Trott heaped praise on “specialist alternative provision”, where staff work “with extraordinary dedication to turn around the lives of children”. When done well, she added, “it’s a quality of education that can be tailored to their needs”.
But she said the country needed “more places like this. It’s clear to me that there is not enough high-quality alternative provision, and as a result, disruptive pupils are being kept in mainstream education for far too long.
“Our blueprint will create more high-quality places in alternative provision, reducing disruption for the many who suffer from it, and delivering specialist support for the few who need it.”
The party was approached for clarification on what funding would be made available to create more places.
‘Every academy chain partnering with AP’
Trott added that “every local area should have specialist provision”, and that “girls should have separate provision from violent young men.”
And she said that “we should push standards up through every academy chain partnering with one. We should make alternative provision independent of local authorities”.
It is not clear if she meant that the party would force council-run pupil referral units to become academies. As of January, there were 159 PRUs in England, compared to 121 AP academies.
The party was approached for clarification.
‘Every provider registered and inspected’
Trott also added that “we should make sure that every provider is registered so that every setting is inspected by Ofsted, so there is proper accountability and rigour, especially in those settings for some of the most disadvantaged and challenged children”.
A report by the children’s commissioner for England Dame Rachel de Souza found there were 24,325 children in unregistered AP in 2023.
The shadow education secretary also called for absence fines to be “issued automatically” for children who do not turn up to alternative provision to ensure “they’re not slipping out of sight and into criminality”.
Current rules, introduced by the Tory government, state that schools must consider absence fines if a pupil misses 10 sessions or more. It is not clear how the Conservatives’ approach would differ.
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