The government should introduce legislation to monitor when a pupil has been moved out of school to ensure vulnerable children are “visible” and accounted for, researchers say.
For every child that is permanently excluded, 10 more “invisibly move out” of their school setting, according to a paper written by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) think tank and charity The Difference, which champions inclusion.
Less visible practices that schools use to move children around the system - including “managed moves”, directing pupils off-site and internal isolation - are not published in national data, the joint paper says.
The report calls for the Department for Education to introduce an amendment to its Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill that requires “oversight of all pupil movements off site and off roll”.
‘Revolving door’ of managed moves
About a third of pupils who are moved around the school system between Year 7 and Year 11 go to an “unknown destination”, according to the paper, citing previous research.
DfE data published last year revealed that managed moves have more than doubled from 2022 to 2024, with the Education Policy Institute warning at the time that the system “lacks oversight”.
Today’s paper says: “It is currently not possible to assess which schools are inclusive on a national basis using official published data. Data on suspensions, exclusions and absences tells only part of the story.
“Hidden beneath these statistics are numerous unseen ways children are moved around the system.”
It warns of a “revolving door” of managed moves - which are permanent transfers of pupils from one school to another - in the school system.
The report adds: “There is no national data collection on managed moves, for example, which means these pupil movements are largely invisible.
“Pupil movements disproportionately impact the most vulnerable children, with those living in poverty, identified with special educational needs, and those known to social services, being more likely to move than their peers.”
11.5 million days of learning lost in one term
An analysis for the report suggests that children lost 6.8 million days of learning in the autumn term before Covid-19 (2019-20) due to suspensions and unauthorised absences.
This rose to 11.5 million days in the same period in 2023-24 - an increase of 67 per cent, it reveals.
The report sets out a 10-point plan to end a “crisis of lost learning”, which includes calling on the DfE to provide £850 million of additional funding for whole school inclusion over the next five years.
The government has already committed £740 million to create more specialist places in mainstream schools.
’Our education system is failing’
Efua Poku-Amanfo, research fellow at IPPR, said: “Children can’t learn if they are not in school or are in some other way lost from the classroom or unaccounted for.
“Since the pandemic, huge swathes of children have never returned, are being excluded or are mysteriously absent.
“Without urgent action to tackle lost learning, we risk failing the most disadvantaged children - those who could gain the most from an inclusive education system.”
Kiran Gill, associate fellow at IPPR and CEO and founder of The Difference, said: “Our education system is failing the children who need it most. Despite school leaders’ efforts, the system works against them.
“The consequences - rising mental health issues, youth violence and risks to national growth - should concern us all.”
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