London schools are refusing places to children with special educational needs to protect their position in exam league tables, a report has found.
Research showed a “significant number” of state schools were rejecting pupils with learning disabilities or preventing them from taking exams to maintain schools’ overall pass rate.
The report called on watchdog Ofsted to hold schools accountable, and said “evidence shows that many schools across London are not fostering an inclusive culture”.
There are almost 172,000 pupils with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) in mainstream education in the capital and the number is growing year-on-year.
The new report, from London Councils, which represents the 33 boroughs, said: “A significant number of schools across London are engaging in poor admissions practice to informally exclude [SEND] pupils from even starting at their school, which should not be happening.”
A snapshot survey conducted by researchers into just two months of admissions data from 17 boroughs found 124 incidents of schools refusing or resisting admission to a child with special educational needs, and 25 cases where councils had to intervene – by using Fair Access Panels, informal negotiation or formal warning letters – to ensure a child was admitted to a local school.
Headteachers were quoted saying they believe schools with a poorer reputation for exam results end up accepting more pupils with special educational needs because they are denied a place at higher-ranked schools.
Such pupils were also at risk of being “off-rolled” – which means that their exam results do not count towards the school’s overall average performance.
“Off-rolling” is defined by Ofsted as where a child is removed from the school roll “primarily in the best interests of the school, rather than the best interests of the pupil”.
The report concluded that there were “too many examples of unfair admissions practice, off-rolling and inappropriate exclusions”.
It also called for changes to legislation to make schools that permanently exclude pupils – which currently costs institutions nothing – pay for the costs of reintegration into a new school.
The aim would be to “incentivise” schools to create support programs for children with special educational needs and help them develop, instead of resorting to exclusions.
Nickie Aiken, London Councils’ executive member for schools and children’s services, said: “All too often children with SEND end up being excluded or off-rolled rather than being offered the support they need… The number of children with SEND in London has grown in recent years, so now is the time for all education partners to strengthen our collective commitment to ensuring education is truly inclusive.”