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To: Gavin Alexander Williamson Secretary of State for Education

Abolish School Exclusions in the UK

We’re calling on the Secretary of State and the Department of Education to commit to the total overhaul and subsequent removal of the current discriminatory school exclusions policy in place in England.

Why is this important?

In the UK we exclude around 8,000(APX) pupils each year

We are 3x times more likely to exclude Black Caribbean Pupils

SEND students are also hard hit

In 2011 the Government changed the way in which schools were held to account for the permanent exclusions they decided to issue. The Independent Review Panel (the only Independent part of the school exclusions appeal process) could no longer allow (reinstate) a pupil to return back to the school if they deem the exclusion to have been wrong.

The removal of such a vital safeguard to protect young people from putative and discriminatory sanction used by Headteachers across the UK- allowed for a steady normalisation of the exclusion figures of children to loom at around 7,800 each year. We believe this should not be the norm. In Scotland, last year they only permanently excluded 3 pupils.

The Government’s disregard for the outcomes of young people has led to this community coalition demanding the complete removal of the ability to exclude children from schools.

The Secretary of State is failing its international Human rights obligations of ensuring non- discrimination, and its obligations under the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

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United Kingdom

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2020-10-01 18:15:43 +0100

50 signatures reached

2020-09-25 19:20:43 +0100

25 signatures reached

2020-09-25 09:54:48 +0100

10 signatures reached