Your article states that suspended secondary pupils are “twice as likely to be out of work by 24” (Suspended secondary pupils in England ‘twice as likely to be out of work by 24, 20 August). The hopefully obvious explanation for this is that the behaviours that lead to suspension in young people are the behaviours that, if continued to adulthood, make it less likely to secure employment. Also, these behaviours in school can often go alongside poor application to learning.
I am a senior school leader in a comprehensive and I am clear that the act of suspension is not what causes poor life chances. It is the propensity for not respecting others, not working hard and not being willing to follow reasonable instructions that lead to suspensions and poor life chances. Many young people who are suspended do sort themselves out with help from family and school, and are successful in education and employment. But some unfortunately do not address these issues. Hence the correlation that your article describes.
The more useful question is what can be done to support schools and parents in helping these young people make better choices. Schools never want to suspend, but the safety and education of the 90% of students who conduct themselves well must be the priority.
Adrian Hartley
London
• Having been a teacher and Ofsted inspector, it seems to me that academy trusts’ claim that taking over schools in disadvantaged areas is the cause of high exclusions needs unpicking (Fifty English secondary schools suspended more than a quarter of pupils after pandemic, 25 August). These trusts are knowingly taking on challenging schools and relying on the easier, and cheaper, option of exclusions to deal with behavioural issues. They should have been developing strategies for inclusion and behaviour approaches, and this should have been part of the vetting process for taking over such schools.
All learners could be registered with a “home” school that has the responsibility of commissioning and quality-assuring their learning programmes, either on- or off-site, with pupil outcomes linked to that home school. Leaders of schools or academy trusts could then be seen to use their expertise for the benefit of all learners. Behaviour management by exclusion should be seen as a failing.
Kevin Buckle
Darlington, County Durham
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