It’s poor choices, not suspensions, that harm students’ life chances | Letters

Adrian Hartley says pupils who are suspended can sort out behavioural issues with the help of family and friends. Plus a letter from Kevin Buckle

Your article states that suspended secondary pupils are “twice as likely to be out of work by 24” (Suspended secondary pupils in England ‘twice as likely to be out of work by 24, 20 August). The hopefully obvious explanation for this is that the behaviours that lead to suspension in young people are the behaviours that, if continued to adulthood, make it less likely to secure employment. Also, these behaviours in school can often go alongside poor application to learning.

I am a senior school leader in a comprehensive and I am clear that the act of suspension is not what causes poor life chances. It is the propensity for not respecting others, not working hard and not being willing to follow reasonable instructions that lead to suspensions and poor life chances. Many young people who are suspended do sort themselves out with help from family and school, and are successful in education and employment. But some unfortunately do not address these issues. Hence the correlation that your article describes.

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