Exclusion for Adopted Children
We recently had a little brush with our boys school and the topic of 'exclusion' although when I was at school if was named 'suspension'.. Let's just say it left a fairly bitter taste in my mouth about the education system as a whole at the moment
Firstly I completely understand the need for exclusion and know that schools need to do what they can to ensure they can teach all children in their care. If there are children that disrupt the core reason the schools exist, and there is nothing they can do, then of course they have the right to exclude
What I don't agree with is that my boys become a statistic because the educators are unable to cope with them. To give a little context, our boys have slightly higher needs than other children their age due to their backgrounds, however they are far from dangerous and far from the most difficult children around. I don’t condone their behaviour but I give understanding to it and why they have it, and probably because I know more about them than anyone else and I understand their triggers
Over the course of the past 4 years since we first adopted the boys, we have been extremely committed to their education and worked hard with the school to get them where they are now. On multiple occasions, we offered strategies and solutions to the school to help them manage the boys but on multiple occasions they were not followed through or the alternate strategies they implemented off their own backs were not successful. In general, due to the hard work of everyone involved, they are progressing well, their behaviour has improved and most importantly, they love going to school and they enjoy learning. Credit needs to be given to everyone involved in this. This is why the discussion about exclusion without warning surprised me
Since that first meeting, let's just say - I have now made myself an expert in exclusion!
From my research, there are a raft of articles and research out there that back up the fact that adopted children are more likely to be excluded from school as well as how damaging it is for adopted children to be excluded. BBC released an interesting article in 2017 'School exclusion: the ultimate rejection for adopted kids' which outlines
"adopted children often experience challenges in education, with the "effects of early loss, trauma, abuse and neglect" accounting for much of this"
"They didn't understand the huge sense of shame and rejection that adopted children feel."
"Exclusions only serve to add to feelings of low self-worth for an adopted child"
"Schools should have more training to better enable them to deal with adopted and looked-after children"
"It was exclusion by stealth. He was held in from playtime, excluded from school trips and after-school clubs. He was made to feel very bad about himself"
"[Exclusions] become a shameful self-fulfilling prophesy for children experiencing attachment trauma"
Most interestingly, according to this report, adopted children are 20 times more likely to be excluded!
Of the children surveyed:
23% of children had received a fixed period exclusion and 14.5% of these had been excluded more than ten times in their school career
4.7% of adopted children represented had been permanently excluded
23.5% - nearly a quarter - of children had been illegally informally excluded
29% of children had changed school as a result of their needs not being adequately met
12% of children had been home educated because their needs were not being met in school
12% of parents indicated that their child’s school had suggested to them that the only way to avoid permanent exclusion was to voluntarily remove their child (sometimes known as a managed move)
In 2015-16:
15% of adopted children represented had been illegally informally excluded, of which almost a third had been informally excluded five or more times in that year
12% of children had received a fixed period exclusion, of which 18% had been excluded on five or more occasions, and 10% had received an exclusion of six days or longer
55% of children who had been excluded received no learning support at all during the exclusion period
1.63% of children had been permanently excluded
Of the children for whom exclusions were likely, 36% of parents felt that their school had not worked with them to avoid situations that might lead to an exclusion
Given that adopted children are more likely to be excluded, we need to be helping one another as adoptive parents and share the damaging impact on exclusion for adopted kids so we can fight for their rights when they may not be able to. My aim is to get my boys through schooling and out the other end without any exclusion. I can't guarantee I will be successful in my endeavours however I will do all I can
What happens to (adopted) children who can not longer attend mainstream schooling?
What further rejection could adopted children face. Adoption UK is calling on the government to financially support parents to home educate their children and for home education to be a choice, not a last resort. However, I think the government needs to focus on supporting the schools to use exclusion as a last resort and equip them with the training and education to be able to manage as a priority, or they can create more smaller schools to support these children.
The problems faced due to adoption are not any individuals problems, but a society problem. It is the responsibility of everyone to support adopted children as it is not their fault - it is society as a whole, so we need more help to stop them falling through any potential gaps