Three Tory councils have refused to sign up to an ‘Inclusion Charter’ launched by Sir Sadiq Khan and aimed at reducing violence among young people.
The Inclusion Charter for London encourages schools across the capital to - where possible - reduce the number of pupils they are excluding or suspending, as the mayor’s Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) argues that removing young people from school increases their likelihood of becoming involved in crime.
However, a year after the charter’s launch, the Standard can reveal that Bromley, Harrow and Hillingdon councils have all so far refused to sign up to it. A fourth borough, Bexley, says it is only now in the final stages of signing up.
The three councils have declined to say why they have not endorsed the charter, though it is possible some are sceptical of its stated goal to “tackle the causes of all forms of exclusion... through a set of agreed guiding principles around inclusion”.
When the VRU announced in 2023 that it would be focusing on driving down school exclusions and absenteeism in the capital, it prompted criticism in Conservative circles, with some suggesting that it would be counterproductive for reducing violence.
The VRU hired Maureen McKenna, a former director of education at Glasgow City Council, to advise on the drawing up of the charter - with the goal of boosting “inclusive education” and driving down the number of children being excluded.
Neil Garratt, leader of the London Assembly’s Tory group, said that the focus on driving down exclusions was “Mayor Khan's latest bad idea”. He claimed that Ms McKenna had left a “war zone of school violence” in Glasgow, which “she now wants to bring to London”.
The VRU said at the time that she “brings experience of overseeing a fixed-term exclusions drop of 90 per cent over 14 years, which coincided with a 50 per cent reduction in violence”.
Even before the charter’s launch however, London already had the lowest rate of school suspensions and exclusions in England. In the autumn term of the 2023/24 school year, outer London had a suspension rate of 1.86 per hundred pupils, with inner London slightly higher at 2.23. This is in contrast to the national average of 4.13, while England’s North East region had the highest suspension rate, sitting at 6.77.
When the charter was launched in February 2024, it had the support of 18 out of London’s 33 local authorities - almost all of which were Labour-run. Over the last year, the VRU has persuaded a further 11 councils to sign up, bringing the total to 29.
The charter was published with the caveat that it “should not be seen as advocating for a zero-tolerance approach to exclusion or suspension as there will be times when it is necessary for the safety of children and staff”, adding that “headteachers and schools must have the right to decide”.
The Standard twice approached Bromley, Harrow and Hillingdon councils to ask whether there was a particular reason why they had not signed the charter, but none provided a response or acknowledged the request for comment.
Bexley Council told the Standard earlier this month that it “fully supports the principle of ensuring that young people remain engaged in education and receive the right support to help them succeed”. The authority added that it “will be signing up to the Inclusion Charter” and is “in the final stages of completing this process”.
Caroline Newton, the borough’s cabinet member for education, said: “We are committed to ensuring that every child in Bexley has the opportunity to thrive in education. We have carefully considered the Inclusion Charter and everything it is planning to provide for our young people and schools.
“We value the VRU’s ongoing work in this area and are committed to their Talk Matters and Difference Matters programmes.”
The VRU announced last week that it had secured a £9.4m investment from the Home Office to build on its youth work intervention programmes. The VRU said the new funding will enable it “to deliver key violence prevention work, which includes embedding teams of skilled and experienced youth workers in hospitals and in police custody, to offer support, guidance and a route away from violence for young people”.
