University of Huddersfield research project examines links between school exclusion and criminal offending
A new project led by the University of Huddersfield’s Senior Lecturer in Criminology Dr Vickie Barrett will consider the links between school exclusion and criminal offending.
Funded by a £166,000 grant from Administrative Data Research UK, the research will use a large dataset from the education and criminal justice systems and compare outcomes for the different paths excluded pupils have taken over time.
The research follows shortly after figures from the Centre for Social Justice showed that school exclusions in England reached their highest recorded levels in 2023/2024. Children with Special Educational Needs were more likely to be excluded than others.
Dr Barrett says: “There is a need for analysis of these figures, as there is concern over what the economic and social impact of long and short-term exclusions from school are.”
“Previous studies have related a range of negative future outcomes to excluded school children, such as mental health issues, unemployment and offending,” Dr Barrett adds. “However, such studies have used significantly smaller datasets and excluded school pupils are disproportionately represented in the adult prison population.”
The research will follow the offending patterns of excluded school children born between September 2000 and 2003 with at least one criminal record or caution before the end of 2021.
Dr Barrett adds: “I hope the research will contribute to our understanding of the relationship between educational and offending outcomes, better informing strategies to prevent and mitigate negative outcomes for excluded children.”
