‘They just want the perfect kids on show’: The illegal exclusion of children with special educational needs and disabilities from primary schools

Guidance from the Department for Education stipulates that permanent exclusions should only be used as a last resort and where there is potential for harm to come to anyone in the school setting. Suspensions are positioned as a tool to communicate to a pupil that their behaviour is in breach of the school's behaviour policy. However, some children are excluded for reasons that do not meet such conditions. One such example can be found in cases of illegal exclusion or ‘off‐rolling’. While academic knowledge of illegal exclusion is limited, research shows that it is unlikely to be a small‐scale problem; evidence also indicates that Black children and children with social, emotional and mental health problems are disproportionately impacted. This paper draws upon interviews with education professionals working in and with primary schools in the West Midlands, and parents of children excluded from primary schools, to demonstrate the mechanisms through which illegal exclusions take place. The interview data were analysed through the lenses of childism and an ethics of care. Using these lenses, this paper discusses how care is co‐opted to justify the further marginalisation of SEND children and serve the needs of an education market whereby performance and Ofsted outcomes must take priority, whatever the human cost. As such, illegal exclusionary practices are positioned as a systemic issue encouraged by a school system that promotes the valuing of competition, academic attainment and high‐stakes accountability above genuine inclusion.