Including the Excluded research film

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Showcasing the findings and implications from Including the Excluded, a research project funded by the Brigstow Institute at the University of Bristol.

The project aimed to co-produce knowledge on the educational and emotional experiences of pupils excluded from mainstream schools in Bristol in 2020 amidst the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and economic-related social instability.

The project team comprised of academics from different disciplinary backgrounds (Education, Psychology, Sociology and Socio-Legal Studies), education practitioners and three youth community research fellows (YCRFs).

Data collection involved three online focus groups and two semi-structured phone interviews wherein YCRFs initiated dialogue with pupils attending alternative educational provisions (APs) across the city. The project team also conducted two semi-structured interviews with teachers. The findings from this research shed light on the social isolation, exclusion and feelings of frustration and injustice experienced by these pupils as well as the negative impact of this on their wellbeing.

Findings also uncovered the ways in which the pandemic gave rise to more opportunities for exclusions with stricter rules in place within schools. Some pupils even found themselves excluded from online learning.

Overall, we argue for a shift in policy understandings around managing behaviour in schools with an end to Zero-tolerance policies, an increase in communication between teachers and pupils and a heightened level of trauma informed care directed at these pupils which includes a need for more resources and training for teachers routed in student centred pedagogy.

Project Team
• Dr Jessica Abrahams (University of Bristol)
• Mrs Helen Thomas-Hughes (University of Bristol)
• Dr Myles Jay-Linton (University of Bristol)
• Lana Crosbie (Cabot Learning Federation and No More Exclusions)
• Hannah Ahmed