"What next for 451 permanently excluded children from education?" - Burnham and Williams

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Wed 18th Jun 2008

Speaking ahead of this afternoon's debate on temporary exclusions of pupils in schools across Wales, Welsh Liberal Democrat AMs Eleanor Burnham and Kirsty Williams call for better substance misuse guidance for schools and more opportunities for the many children permanently excluded from education.

Eleanor Burnham, WLD spokesperson for Children and Young People, said:

"I am deeply concerned by today's shocking statistics that Wales has highest levels of teenage drinking in Europe. Even more startling statistics show that 8.4% of children permanently excluded from schools are expelled because of issues relating to drugs and alcohol.

"This equates to around 38 children, many of these children under 16, being permanently excluded from education and not being given their opportunity to learn and develop. The number of fixed term exclusions is worrying, of course, and there will always be a some unruly children who will need to be excluded but I firmly believe that we need to give children a second chance.

"A stronger role for PSE in our schools is part of the answer. Substance Misuse is not only damaging to their short term health, but also to their long term prospects."

Kirsty Willaims, WLD spokesperson for Education, said:

"Whilst I am very concerned about today's shocking statistics about the alcohol problem amongst Welsh children, I am worried about the 8% of children permanently excluded from schools who slip out of the education system.

"If we accept that we need to teach all our children and equip them for the future, then we cannot simply ignore those who we have not been able to teach so far. We need to ensure that there is alternative provision for these children from the point at which they are excluded, as every child from five to 16 has the legal entitlement to the national curriculum.

"We need to deal with the large number of teachers and professional who have little or no training in managing behaviour issues. We should ensure that schools have sufficient staff members who are trained not only to deal with these situations in the classroom, but also outside the classroom to ensure that the response is firm and punitive but reasonable.

"I hope we can use these ideas to develop a constructive and compassionate approach to tackling unruly pupils and disciplinary problems."

Ends

Notes:

Research by Jenny Randerson AM recently uncovered that once child under eight is being admitted to a Welsh hospital every month after drinking alcohol.