The pathways of excluded school pupils into (and out of) the criminal justice system

In this blog, ADR UK Research Fellow Dr Vickie Barrett explores the complex pathways of excluded school pupils and their interactions with the criminal justice system.

School exclusions are an integral part of the school system in the UK and are used extensively as a behavioural management strategy, particularly in England. School pupils can be excluded from school either on a temporary or permanent basis. School exclusions fluctuate over time; the most recent figures from autumn 2023/24 show the highest rates in recent years.

There are significant concerns about the negative social and economic impacts of being excluded from school on a short- and long-term basis, however.

What we know – and what we don’t

Which children are being excluded?

Children from certain backgrounds are disproportionally represented in school exclusion statistics. Boys, pupils with special educational needs, and children from specific ethnic groups face higher exclusion rates.

Additionally, excluded children often face identified vulnerabilities: an increased likelihood of being in care, being adopted, growing up in poverty, and experiencing mental health issues.

Rates of school exclusion vary geographically in England, but little is currently known about how this relates to offending patterns.

What happens to excluded children?

Previous studies have related a range of negative future outcomes to excluded school children, such as mental health issues, unemployment, and offending. However, such studies have used significantly smaller datasets.

Moreover, excluded school pupils are disproportionately represented in the adult prison population.

School pupils who are unable to remain in mainstream education following school exclusion may attend Pupil Referral Units – the most common type of alternative provision. Although some concerns have been noted in relation to the links between attending a Pupil Referral Unit and serious offending, very little is known about these.  

Connecting the dots: The relationship between school exclusions and offending

I will therefore use the Ministry of Justice - Department for Education linked dataset: a dataset of significant size, with de-identified data collected on all school children in England.

Drawing on a range of school- and offence-related factors, I will use this dataset to trace the offending patterns of excluded school children who were born between 1 September 2000 and 1 September 2003 with at least one criminal record or caution until the end of 2021.

I’m exploring how different types of school exclusions (temporary or permanent), and how often they happen, might influence the paths young people take into offending. I also want to understand if where a child lives impacts these trajectories, as well as whether there are differences in the severity and frequency of offending between those who stay in mainstream education after being permanently excluded and those who move to Pupil Referral Units.

Sharing the findings

I am planning to consult with children and young people to co-produce a piece of work to disseminate the findings in a meaningful way to them. I also plan to produce a short animation to easily share the findings with the public and practitioners.

Through this research, I hope to contribute to our understanding of the relationship between educational and offending outcomes, better informing strategies to prevent and mitigate negative outcomes for excluded children.

Find out more about Vickie's project.