Mapping the Exclusion Process by Christy Kulz 2015

This small scale, qualitative study examines how the rapid restructuring of the English education system and recent changes to the exclusion appeals process is shaping the respective practices of parents, schools and local authorities.

This research was funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and carried out for Communities Empowerment Network (CEN), a grassroots charity organisation providing advice, support and representation for the parents of children who have either been excluded from school or are at risk of permanent exclusion. It is concerned with changes to the appeals system through the move from the Independent Appeal Panel (IAP) to the Independent Review Panel (IRP) format that does not have the power to direct student reinstatement, as well as the changing relationships between many local authorities and schools in the wake of widespread academisation. Boys, special educational needs (SEN) students, black Caribbean students, and free school meal (FSM) students have been consistently disproportionately excluded. As these patterns of inequality continue, the report addresses how disproportionalities might be reproduced through the exclusion process.

Published in March 2015 by Christy Kulz for Communities Empowerment Network

Click the link below to download the report or visit the Guardian article which accompanied the launch.