Growing numbers of pupils at risk exclusion and ‘falling off the radar’ as schools return to normal

Published

4 years ago

September 8, 2021

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Growing numbers of children are at risk of being excluded and “falling off the radar” as schools return to normal following the pandemic, experts fear.

Analysis of recent government data shows the problem was worsening before the pandemic but there was a lull while schools were closed because of the virus.

Department of Education figures show that in the autumn term before the first lockdown general exclusions were up 5% and primary school exclusions rose by 20%.

However, evidence suggests this could soon be replaced with a spike in exclusions as children return to school, with problems at home bottled up and likely to prompt bad behaviour.

It comes as the former children’s commissioner launches a new initiative to stop what she calls a “conveyor belt” of vulnerable children falling into the hands of gangs and criminals.

Anne Longfield told Sky News: “We know that COVID has dealt a real blow to those kids – the vulnerabilities that they’ve experienced at home; addiction, domestic violence, have increased and lot of them also aren’t connecting back into school so they are at risk of falling off the radar.”

Ms Longfield is today launching The Commission on Young Lives which aims to work with other youth groups to design a new national system to prevent children from becoming involved in county lines and gangs.

The commission warns that even before COVID hit in March 2020, almost 15,000 children had been referred to social services over gang fears in the previous 12 months – a rise of 4,000 on the previous year.

Those working with vulnerable children are seeing increasingly severe problems – more domestic abuse, greater food poverty, more children struggling with mental health problems, and a resurgence in knife crime that has led to more teenagers turning up at A&E with stab wounds.

Part of tackling the issue will be deciding how to stem the rise in school exclusions.

“Since lockdown ended there have been rises in exclusions in the local authorities we work with,” says Kiran Gill, founder of The Difference – a project that tries to prevent school exclusions through teacher training.

Ms Gill also cites increased instances of domestic violence and worsening mental health problems as aggravating factors.

She adds: “We need to reverse this trend because only 4% of excluded young people are likely to get a pass in GCSE English and maths and even by the age of 20 young people are unlikely to have the literacy and numeracy needed to access the labour force.

“Therefore it’s no surprise they are much more likely to be involved in the criminal justice system.”

The Difference runs what it calls a Leaders Programme which places teachers from mainstream schools into Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) for excluded children so they can learn how to better understand their problems and keep them in the system.

English teacher Daniel Cain-Reed who joined the programme is now teaching at a PRU run by Haringey’s Learning Partnership in North London.

He told Sky News: “I don’t think I ever felt my mainstream school [was] always best placed to offer those young people and their families the support that they needed, and that is something I have definitely learned.

“I feel a lot more knowledgeable, and when I go back I will help my mainstream colleagues to be more pre-emptive and spot the signs of perhaps trauma – to identify the risks that some people might experience and mitigate that so children can continue to be successful in mainstream schools.”

He added: “I think I have definitely noticed young people being excluded far more at a far younger age as well too, and when it happens at a younger age it’s a real challenge for staff to build that resilience back up.”

At the PRU in Harringay, we met year 10 student Miriam Khadir, 14, who was excluded from two secondary schools for “persistent disruptive behaviour”, although that phrase underplays the complexity of what happened.

In Miriam’s view, her teachers never explored the root causes of her problems.

She said: “If you are you are happy to explain anything that’s wrong at home to your school it makes life easier.

“Let’s say something happens at home. You come into school, and you are upset, and if you can let all that anger and upset out (with a support worker/teacher before the lessons) then you are happy to go in to learn you’ve got a good mindset and you are ready to get some education.

“But if you come in, there’s no one to talk to you, there’s no support, you go into a lesson [and] you’re not ready to learn.

“You’re still upset from what’s going on at home. Therefore, the child’s not going to be ready to learn. Not every child needs a mentor but some do need help to express what’s going on at home.”

Computer science teacher Kalpana Jegendirabose is also on a two-year placement on The Difference programme with Haringey Learning Partnership.

She says: “We have more opportunities [at the PRU] to have conversations with the children here and actually sit with them. Those things wouldn’t necessarily have happened in mainstream because the timetables are so strict – there isn’t any room for actually having those conversations.”

Miriam is now entering her first year preparing for GCSE’s and hopes to buck the trend of children failing after falling out of mainstream education. She’s now engaging more in lessons and has a love of history.

She responded to being excluded from school by raising £2,500 to open the first library in her pupil referral unit.

The opening this week was attended by local MP David Lammy and children’s author Michael Rosen.

It seems that Miriam’s exclusion was mainstream’s loss. How often is that the case?

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One of two prisoners mistakenly released hands himself in

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1 hour ago

November 6, 2025

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One of two prisoners mistakenly released hands himself in

One of the two prisoners mistakenly freed from HMP Wandsworth has handed himself in.

William “Billy” Smith, 35, was wrongly freed from the prison earlier this week but, after a three-day manhunt, Surrey Police have confirmed he handed himself in on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the search for sex offender Brahim Kaddour-Cherif continues. He was also mistakenly released from HMP Wandsworth on 29 October.

Smith was sentenced to 45 months for multiple fraud offences at Croydon Crown Court on Monday, but was mistakenly released later the same day.

Sky News understands that his release came about because of a court error, telling the prison his custodial sentence was a suspended one instead.

A correction was initially sent to the wrong person, and by the time it got to the right place, he had left.

Surrey Police said: “We are cancelling our appeal to help find wanted 35-year-old William Smith who was released in error from HMP Wandsworth on Monday, November 3. Smith handed himself in to HMP Wandsworth today.”

Smith seen waving and smiling

He was filmed returning to the prison by ITV News. Footage showed Smith waving and smiling as he approached the prison’s entrance, where he then spoke to staff.

Justice Secretary David Lammy, who came under fire while standing in for Sir Keir Starmer at PMQs, posted a response on X: “William Smith is back in custody. The spike in mistaken releases is unacceptable.

“We’re modernising prison systems – replacing paper with digital tools to cut errors. We’re working with police to recapture Brahim Kaddour-Cherif.”

Justice minister Alex Davies-Jones said prison chiefs were being summoned for a meeting on Thursday and a team of digital experts had been tasked with overhauling the “archaic” paper-based system of prisoner records.

The Prison Governors’ Association (PGA) described releases in error as “neither rare nor hidden”, but said the scale of them was “deeply concerning”.

In total, 262 prisoners were released in error in the year leading up to March 2025.

Hunt for second prisoner

The Metropolitan Police has continued to appeal to the public over the whereabouts of Kaddour-Cherif, 24, who the force believes is still in London just over a week after his release.

“He is believed to be in London and has links to Tower Hamlets and Westminster. If you see him, please call 999 immediately,” the Met said on social media.

The Algerian national was in the process of being deported after he overstayed his visa. It is understood he is not an asylum seeker.

He was serving a sentence at Wandsworth for trespass with intent to steal, but had previously also been convicted for indecent exposure.

His release came just five days after the high-profile release of migrant sex offender Hadush Kebatu from HMP Chelmsford in Essex.

UK

Man who killed ‘Good Samaritan’ after ploughing into him with car during wedding brawl jailed

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1 hour ago

November 6, 2025

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Man who killed 'Good Samaritan' after ploughing into him with car during wedding brawl jailed

A man who murdered a “Good Samaritan” by driving into the middle of a wedding brawl has been sentenced to 26 years in prison.

Hassan Jhangur has been jailed for murder after he ran into Chris Marriott, 46, in his car, leaving him trapped beneath.

Jhangur used his Seat Ibiza as a weapon after a fight between two families at his sister’s wedding reception on 27 December 2023.

He first drove into Riasat Khan, the father of Hasan Khan – the man who had just married Jhangur’s sister following a row between the families.

The impact threw him over the bonnet, then he crashed into a group of four people that included Mr Marriott.

Mr Marriott had stopped to help one of Jhangur’s sisters, who was lying in the road unconscious in the Burngreave area of Sheffield.

Off-duty midwife Alison Norris and Jhangur’s mother and sister were also injured, Sheffield Crown Court was told in July.

Jhangur, 25, then got out of the car and stabbed his new brother-in-law Hasan several times in the head and chest.

The court heard Jhangur later told police: “That’s why you don’t mess with the Jhangurs.”

In July, he was found guilty of murdering Mr Marriott a year after another set of jurors failed to reach a verdict.

Jhangur was also found guilty of wounding his brother-in-law with intent but cleared of his attempted murder.

He was further convicted of four charges of GBH with intent, relating to Alison Norris, Ambreen Jhangur, Nafeesa Jhangur and Riasat Khan.

Today, the judge told him: “This was a deliberate and senseless act of hot-headed and wanton violence resulting in the tragic death of Chris Marriott and life-changing consequences for many others.”

Jhangur’s father, Mohammed Jhangur, 57, of Whiteways Road, Sheffield, was found guilty of perverting the course of justice after he concealed a knife.

Mr Marriott’s widow, Bryony Marriott, wiped away tears as she read a personal statement to the court about the father-of-two.

‘He had a compassionate heart and loved helping’

She said: “Chris was genuine, kind and loving. He was reliable, trustworthy, affectionate and gentle.”

Mrs Marriott added: “Chris was someone people felt comfortable and safe with, and was great at being a friend.

“Chris was a man of faith, and his love for God and for people shone through in what he devoted his time to.

“He had a compassionate heart and loved helping, supporting and empowering others.”

UK

Expensive, noisy and delayed – but is the Army’s new fighting vehicle any good?

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1 hour ago

November 6, 2025

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Expensive, noisy and delayed - but is the Army's new fighting vehicle any good?

Expensive, noisy and eight years late, but the British Army finally has a new armoured fighting vehicle that troops could deploy to Ukraine in the event of any peace deal.

The nearly £10m Ajax – weighing more than 40 tonnes – is as heavy as a Russian tank and potentially vulnerable to cheap Russian drones.

Yet it is being billed by the UK as a “next generation” fighting machine, equipped with cameras, protective armour and a 40mm gun, with bullets that can rip through concrete.

Luke Pollard, the defence procurement minister, talked up the fleet’s potential while acknowledging that the £5.5bn procurement has had its issues.

This includes excessive noise and vibrations coming from the vehicles that left 17 soldiers requiring treatment for hearing loss.

“It is an incredible platform. It has got the ability to perform tasks that its predecessors could not,” the minister said, having just gone for a spin in an Ajax during a visit to a General Dynamics factory in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, where the vehicles are being assembled.

“After all the problems it may have had in the past, we have put those to bed now.”

The Ministry of Defence on Thursday declared what is known as initial operating capability for Ajax has been met.

It defined this as the ability to deploy a squadron of 27 vehicles on operations from a pool of 50. The total number of delivered Ajax vehicles is 165.

They come in six variants, with the main type designed for reconnaissance and fighting.

The army has ordered a total of 589 of the various models, which it expects to receive by 2030.

It marks the first new armoured fighting vehicle to enter service in almost 30 years and is replacing ageing gear that dates back to the 1970s.

Launched more than a decade and a half ago, the Ajax programme was meant to achieve its initial operating milestone in 2017, but this date has been repeatedly pushed back.

The most serious delay occurred when testing was paused after soldiers suffered hearing and other injuries because of loud noise and vibrations coming from the vehicles.

It is why anyone who uses Ajax today must wear specially secured hearing protection.

So, what’s it like?

Sky News was among a group of journalists that were invited to ride around on one of the vehicles at a test track on the factory grounds.

The vehicle is very loud – though soldiers said this would not impact its ability to conduct its primary mission of reconnaissance.

They said Ajax is fitted with clever cameras and sensors that can spot a target up to five miles (eight kilometres) away.

However, there is clearly the potential for enemy drones to detect the Ajax in return if it were pushing towards enemy territory in a warzone like Ukraine.

The vehicle’s armour is designed to protect against such a threat. But officials said the fleet has yet to be fitted with electronic countermeasures, even though this kind of equipment is fundamental for any operation in Ukraine to help jam enemy drones.

When could it be deployed to Ukraine?

The UK, France and a coalition of more than 30 allies have pledged to deploy to Ukraine to help secure the peace if Kyiv and Moscow agree to some kind of ceasefire – a goal Donald Trump has been trying to achieve, but one that seems vanishingly unlikely for now.

However, Mr Pollard signalled that Ajax could be in the mix of any British offering to the mission.

“We’re not yet setting out precisely what capabilities we would deploy to Ukraine in the event of peace, largely because we don’t know when that peace will come, and we keep our military units at a state of readiness, and we rotate through them,” he told Sky News.

“But when we have the ability to deploy incredibly capable platforms like Ajax and the brilliant men and women trained to use it to its fullest effect.

“There’s a clear opportunity for us to be able to enhance NATO’s capabilities on the eastern flank and any coalition of the willing deployment potentially in the future.”

Lance Corporal of Horse Andrew Rawlinson, 32, of the Household Cavalry Regiment, who is an Ajax commander, said he would be happy to deploy to Ukraine if asked.

“The squadron that I work in, they’re all good to go,” he said.

“We’ve been training on it now non-stop pretty much for a good two years to get to the IOC [initial operating capability] level and I think everyone’s content, knows their jobs and would be happy to roll out.”

Asked whether Russia should be worried, he said: “Yeah, sure.”