Hundreds of children with special needs suspended from schools in County Durham last year

Hundreds of children with special educational needs (SEN) were suspended from schools in County Durham last year.

In the 2017/18 academic year , 431 SEN pupils faced 'fixed term exclusions' with 160 in primary schools and 271 in secondary schools.

Over the same period, 142 pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) faced more than three suspensions the same year.

The figures were revealed to councillors at Durham County Council's Children and Young People's Overview and Scrutiny Committee on Thursday, February 28.

While service chiefs said the county bucks the national trend for exclusions, they admitted more work needs to be done.

Strategic manager for SEND and Inclusion on the council, Paul Shadforth, said working with parents, pupils and schools was key to tackling exclusion rates.

He told the meeting: "If you look at where we're at in Durham you will see we're slightly better than the national picture but still that's not where we want to be.

"Although it's a small percentage, if we're using fixed term exclusions to improve behaviour and we have done it three times within one calendar year, perhaps that's not the best method for improving behaviour."

Of the 75,000 school aged population in County Durham, one in six have SEND.

Currently, SEND children have needs met with SEN support plans (11.4% of the total SEND population) or educational healthcare plans (ECHP)for children with more complex needs (2.9%).

A council report, presented to the committee, states the aim of an exclusion "should always be to draw attention to the behaviour and try and prevent it from happening again."

It reads: "Permanent exclusions are given when a young person does something against the school's behaviour policy that the school and it's governing body consider so serious that the child or young person is no longer allowed to attend the school."

The meeting heard there has never been a permanent exclusion of a young person with an EHCP.

In 2017/18 however, a total of 21 pupils with SEN support plans were permanently excluded - an action which is always used as a "last resort".

To tackle the issue, Durham County Council and schools have a range of schemes to support pupils at risk of exclusion including early intervention and providing alternatives.

As a result, there has been a 13% reduction in fixed term exclusions and a 5% drop in permanent exclusions in County Durham between 2016/17 and 2017/18.

At the meeting at Durham Leadership Centre. Coun Ivan Jewell questioned whether children with SEND were being placed correctly.

Mr Shadforth, responding, said that SEND pupils should be able to access their nearest education provision and that all schools or centres should make "reasonable adaptations".

"In some instances that lack of adaptation or lack of identification has resulted in an exclusion," he said.

"For me it's not about making sure that they move into the right placements, it's about making sure that everyone has the right offer.

"We're doing a great deal of work in terms of supporting schools and enabling them to do that, and we have a statutory and legal responsibility to do that.

"For me, we need to make sure that our schools are able to meet the needs of our children and young people, have the right resources and the right skills and can make the right adaptations."

Coun Andrea Patterson also asked for reassurance on the future of high needs block funding which covers provision for children with SEN.

This followed Durham County Council bosses plugging a £5.6million budget shortfall in its 2019/20 budget due to funding changes.

Mr Shadforth said the system faced challenges around resources and demand but was "moving in the right direction".

Plans for future including developing a 'High Needs Sustainability Plan' and the creation of a working group around SEND inclusion.

He added: "We recognise there's a need for system change to bring some of that money back into a manageable amount."