Blackpool teachers are cracking down on bad behaviour as resort officially excludes the most kids in the UK
“We still have a lot to do.”
More children in Blackpool are being excluded from school for bad behaviour than anywhere in the UK, The Gazette can reveal.
New figures released by Dame Rachel De Souza, the Children’s Commissioner for England, in her latest report, show teachers across the resort are taking a hardline on disruptive pupils.
However, Blackpool Council questioned the figures and said rates of exclusions and home education across the resort “are falling while opportunities are increasing and, for the third year in a row, GCSE results are improving”.
Dame De Souza’s findings concluded that services for young people in England are in a ‘state of emergency’, and that many children face a ‘postcode lottery’ when trying to access help and support.
The report claims that Blackpool has the highest rate of school exclusions in England, with 46 exclusions per 10,000 pupils, compared to just one per 10,000 in Wiltshire, which has the lowest rate. Additionally, 8.3% of children in Blackpool are known to be missing from education, which is also the highest rate in England.
These concerning figures led to Dame De Souza declaring in her report that Blackpool is 15th worst place to be a child in England. Additionally, Blackpool is the third worst place for children to live in the North West, with only Liverpool (8th) and Salford (13th) ranked lower.
Blackpool Council spelled out a number of discrepancies in the report. The council told the Gazette that a Memorandum Of Understanding, agreed by all schools last year, has reduced exclusion rates from 33% and suspensions by 29%.
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Additionally, where the Dame De Souza said “8.3% of children in Blackpool are known to be missing from education”, the council also claims that the she is referring to numbers of young people- teenagers, not children – who aren’t in education, employment or training (NEET). Blackpool Council claims that just 0.33% of their c.18,000 children are missing from education. They also think it is unfair to directly compare Blackpool to Wilshire.
Cllr Kath Benson, cabinet member for young people and aspiration, said: “The report’s author, Dame Rachel de Souza, calls for a minimum standard for children’s services – Blackpool already far surpasses the minimum in this respect. Our children and families receive outstanding children’s services, as recognised by Ofsted this summer.
“Ofsted’s inspectors recognised the hard work going into improving outcomes, and the progress being made. Rates of exclusions and home education are falling while opportunities are increasing and, for the third year in a row, GCSE results are improving.”
The report comes just weeks after a Fylde coast dad hit out at Millfield Science and Performing Arts College in Thornton over their ‘authoritarian and sexist’ decision to exclude his daughter over her lack of a branded skirt.
David Allum hit out at Millfield when his daughter Chloe, 11, was put in inclusion for wearing an un-branded school last month.
But the Millfield headteacher Nicola Regan said “the school’s uniform policy was inline with the Department of Education guidance” and the school “remains committed to working positively with parents and carers to solve uniform issues.”
Today, it was also revealed Morgan and Sindall Construction, the developer of Blackpool’s £65m Multiversity, would be bringing their award-winning ‘Knowledge Quad’ to the town.
The Knowledge Quad is a multi-purpose training and learning facility located within a live Morgan Sindall Construction site which focuses on skills, education, employment and discovery, and will offer vocational learning to young people across the Fylde coast.
“We know that improving experiences for children and young people in our town needs wide-ranging investment. It’s one of the key motivating factors for our housing regeneration projects, Multiversity development, and town centre and Enterprise Zone investment schemes; all focussed on creating a thriving town,” Cllr Benson added.
“We still have a lot to do. But I hope these up-to-date and contextualised figures give everyone – young people, parents, schools and the wider community – some reassurance in the face of some challenging figures. Ofsted said we’re “raising the bar for children and families” and that’s what we’re absolutely committed to in Blackpool.”