Lastly, you can read @arlenpettitt.bsky.social 's report, recommendations & his moving personal foreword here (sending love to your son Arlen!):

👇

www.arlenpettitt.co.uk/sen-suspensi...

🧠As someone with neurodivergence myself, I managed to succeed in school being the more reserved 'neurotypical' passing type, but you shouldn't have to present neurotypical to not be penalised.

😦What really stands out for me - is these are children as young as 5 years old. And suspension rates only increase with age.

Children need to be supported right from the outset & able to flourish as themselves, not forced into neurotypical boxes.📦🙅‍♀️

We can see the NE is:
👉 slightly more likely to refuse an initial assessment for an EHCP
👉North Tyneside most likely in the NE with 46.1% of initial assessments refused
👉more likely to miss the 20wk deadline for decisions

This means kids without a plan are more likely to have unmet needs

📜⚖️Arlen also highlights EHCPs (Education, Health & Care Plans) - a legal document setting out a young person’s needs, and what should be done to accommodate them.

The highest proportion of SEN suspensions is in South Tyneside (where I'm from) at 88.9%, and the lowest is Gateshead at 73.3%...

2) In the North East, the % of suspensions of pupils in state-funded primary schools in receipt of SEN support, was higher than the English average

🔍When we look at local authority break downs for the NE we can see...

1) Across England, the number of suspensions in state-funded primaries has increased from 49,600 in 2014/15
to 84,200 in 2022/23 (a 69.7% increase)!

But in the North East Combined Authority region, a 103% increase has been seen!😱

As always, sending lots of love to everyone who is currently personally impacted by these events and rhetoric. 💔♥️