Wiltshire Council determined to support excluded pupils
Government figures show suspensions are at a record high
Parents of Wiltshire pupils excluded or suspended from school are being urged to reach out for help to get their children back into education.
It comes as exclusion rates across the country have reached record highs, according to Government data.
Cllr Nabil Najjar is Wiltshire Council's Portfolio Holder for Education and Skills and told us the problem isn't as large in Wiltshire when compared to the South West region or nationally.
He said any child missing time at school is a worry.
"Exclusion should always be a last resort," he told Greatest Hits Radio, adding: "It's not something anybody wants to rush to do because children thrive in an environment where they feel supported and collegiate and they in and build social skills as well as the kind of academic foundation.
"I don't think there's a viable substitute for the school environment for that."
Cllr Najjar highlighted the impact of the pandemic in 2020 on children's confidence and ability to learn.
Council determined to reduce absences
He said absenteeism is something the council is working hard to minimise.
Cllr Najjar said: "We have educational welfare officers whose focus is on supporting children in improving their attendance levels and working with families to make sure children can get back into school.
"We have the Wiltshire Learning Alliance, which specifically targets those hardest to reach children and communities to make sure that we engage them in the school's process."
He added that schools across the county are using local and government funding to improve alternative provision for pupils before the 'last resort' of exclusion.
A multi-agency approach is used to bring teams around children and their families together in order to support children back into school, ensuring families understand the importance of school.
A campaign earlier this year aimed at getting the hardest to reach children back into school was described by Cllr Najjar as "a really successful piece of work".
He said: "If we want to deliver the best start in life and genuine equality of opportunity for all of our children in Wiltshire then we need to be trying to minimise absenteeism."
Cllr Najjar said they are here to help.
"Support is tailored to suit people's needs. You know, we don't judge. We're here to help make sure the children get the most out of their education and the where there are barriers. We work with them and we work with their families to try and resolve them. It's not a judgemental environment.
"Nobody wants to see children excluded. And we're here to try and make sure that re entry back into into the school environment is as a straightforward and as supported as possible."