Axe to fall on unit for excluded pupils

CONTROVERSIAL plans to axe the county's unit for excluded pupils have been given the go ahead by education bosses.

In July, when the plans were first announced, National Union of Teachers Warwickshire president, Andy Summers, warned excluded pupils would face 'unprecedented difficulty' should the Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) close down.

But education chiefs have now decided the unit - based at the Merrtens' Centre in Rugby, as well as Leamington and Keresley - must close next September as part of a shake up of how problem pupils are handled.

Children and young people's spokeswoman, Coun Heather Timms, said: "We have recognised we need to do more to help pupils at risk of exclusion to reach their full potential.

"I believe a greater emphasis on early intervention practices is the best way to achieve this."

Currently, pupils excluded from mainstream schools are sent to the PRU where they are taught on either a full or part-time basis.

Under the new system, schools will be discouraged from excluding pupils and will face a £20,800 charge for doing so.

Instead, they will have to use their budget to take action earlier and buy in outside help with the assistance of Area Behaviour Partnerships - networks of secondary school heads within the different areas of the county.

Since September, a trial run of the plans has seen just ten pupils permanently excluded. Those dismissed from school have been sent to further education colleges instead of the PRU - with apparently successful results.

Coun Timms added: "We are proposing devolving funding to schools to play a more active role in addressing exclusion because they know their pupils best.

"By working together they will be able to be more creative in dealing with challenging pupils, recognising the uniqueness of each child and identifying their different needs.

"Responses to the consultation confirm the current arrangements are not working. We believe by introducing a new approach we will be able to meet the needs of more pupils in their own school and provide personalised external support where necessary."

Education chiefs first proposed closing the PRU after finding it was struggling and the £2.8 million annualo running costs was too high to justify it staying open.

Opponents of the plans however feared they could see struggling pupils left behind by schools and teachers too busy to meet their needs.