Ofsted profiles exclusions

Research by the schools inspectorate found that of 69 infant and primaryschools selected for a study into school exclusions, 14 had reportedbehaviour from young children which had a sexual element. Eight of theseschools had excluded the child for a fixed period following the incidentand two said they were concerned about the lack of a response fromsocial workers after they had been notified.

The report called for the Department for Children, Schools and Familiesto publish urgent guidance for schools on identifying and responding tosexually inappropriate behaviour in young children.

Schools that had reported high levels of exclusion said that the causeswere behaviours such as biting, swearing, throwing chairs or violenceagainst staff. However, the report noted that schools that had notexcluded any children reported many similar incidents.

Researchers found that the 27 schools that had not excluded any childrenshared common characteristics. In these, great emphasis was placed onvaluing every individual and head teachers knew each family well. Theinteraction between staff and children was consistently positive, staffused a warm tone of voice to speak to children and to each other, andrewards were always more prominent than sanctions.