Exclusion: A few thoughts, while I organise ideas for a section of the book.

As social animals we exclude people from our social groups constantly, they don’t fit in with our belief system, values, vision, world view etc. so they don’t belong in our tribe.

Our social media use allows us to block, mute and unfollow individuals that we don’t want to be part of our social tribe, excluding is natural community behaviour.

What we have to be clear on in schools, is that exclusion itself is not the issue. It is the way pupils and students are supported and engaged while they are excluded. How do we bring them back into our tribe, or help them find their place in another higher level tribe.

A higher level tribe is a community that has moved beyond a gang gathered together to survive, or a mutual community of dissatisfaction to a tribe of individuals that collaborate together to create a change that is beneficial to society.

I don't have any answers at present - still making notes and reading around it. But my feeling is that if we were to change the way we frame exclusion we would have more positive results.

Rejection is hard for anyone to take

The Guardian article this week certainly made me think a little more about the way that the media portray the excluded and frame the message that children are rejected and thus end up joining criminal gangs.

What if alternative provision and PRUs weren't portrayed widely as places where children are dumped, but as something more positive. Would this change how children felt about attending them?

When I worked as a behaviour specialist, the sense of rejection that primary children felt about being excluded multiple times often resulted in managed moves because the relationship between them and school had broken.

Managed moves were successful where positive relationships were made, children weren't treated with suspicion but welcomed and given opportunities to show who they were.

Not entirely sure where I am going with these thoughts at the moment and would welcome some suggested reading around the issue.
I do know that something has to change.