Improving educational provision for children in adversity

Education is perhaps the most effective lever for social change. If society can give all young people, regardless of context or circumstance, the chance to develop the skills, competencies and values needed to achieve their full potential, we can change the world for the better. Sadly, we are not there yet. Pupils who appear challenging are often struggling because of the circumstances they find themselves in. Disadvantaged pupils and those in severe adversity tend to be removed from mainstream schools at a disproportionally high rate. Once removed, the alternative provision they are offered is frequently far from optimal.

The IntegratED programme in England seeks to help in two ways: by equipping teachers to support pupils with challenging behaviour to thrive in mainstream schools without compromising the rest of the class; and by improving alternative provision for children for whom it is the most appropriate option.

We work with multiple partners on this complex challenge, some operating at a school level, others at a strategic systems level aiming to bring about social policy changes through national and local government. All partners share their specialist knowledge and experiences with one another to amplify the impact, and an online knowledge hub has been built to centralise information and research from all partners and other interested parties. Two external evaluators have been commissioned to track progress, and we are in conversation with several other funders to expand the programme.

Children are usually challenging because they are living in adverse circumstances. Exclusion from mainstream school may sometimes be a necessary and helpful step, but it should be rare and fair – a last resort deployed with the best interests of the children at heart. And when it is deployed, the removed children should be placed somewhere which can offer them a quality education which meets their needs.