"Where have you been?" - An exploration of excluded young people's experiences of placement at Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) and their transitions betwe

This research aims to explore and represent the experiences of children and young people (CYP) who are permanently excluded from mainstream schools. In the school year of 2020/2021, 3,928 children and young people were permanently excluded. The majority of these CYP will have been placed in alternative provision (AP), usually a pupil referral unit (PRU). At present, 22,800 CYP attend PRUs across England, 40% of which have special educational needs and disabilities, compared to 14% of the mainstream school population.
The proposed research will focus on the experiences of CYP who have been excluded from mainstream schools and attend PRUs, and the reintegration process from PRUs back into mainstream schools. The research will highlight the voices of CYP involved in these processes, particularly those who have experienced multiple exclusions, placements at PRUs and failed reintegrations. As yet, there is no research assessing the duration of placements nor the frequency of repeat placements at PRUs. Moreover, there is a lack of representation of the experiences of CYP who have experiences multiple reintegrations. The research will use a two-phase approach:
1 (a) Consolidate data available on exclusions, PRUs and reintegrations, including pupil demographics, duration of placements at PRUs and cases of repeated exclusions and reintegrations.
(b) Review and analyse existing representations of student voice found within grey literature, such as theses and dissertations, documents and policies from external agencies and pupil views in education, health and care plan assessments.
2 (a) Collect and represent CYP's experiences of placements in, and transition through, PRUs.
(b) Produce a student-centred recommendation of best practice regarding reintegration from PRUs.
This research will contribute to the wider picture of excluded CYP's placements in and transitions through PRUs, and represent the experiences of an under-researched and excluded group.