26/06/2011 The Politics Show South East

Coming up in the South East: Figures for school exclusions show

the majority of children permanently excluded from Kent's

schools have special educational needs.

Will the Government have elected Police Commissioners in place by

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2518 seconds

Welcome to the politics show. Coming up: 90% of primary school

children excluded from Kent schools have special educational needs. We

ask the leader of Kent council why the figures are so high. Would

elected police commissioners make our police forces more accountable

ought to political? The Education Secretary has intervened in a Kent

primary school where almost three- quarters of the children do not

Startling figures for school exclusions show the majority of

children permanently excluded from Kent's schools have special

educational needs. A Freedom of Information request by a former

Kent head teacher shows 90% of primary and 54% of secondary

exclusions involved children with conditions like autism. In Medway,

not a single child with special educational needs was excluded. And

in East Sussex, the figures are also much lower than in Kent. In a

moment I'll be speaking to the Conservative Leader of Kent County

Council, Paul Carter, but first How would we make it an equal

number each? Joshua from Tonbridge has asked burgers. He was

temporarily excluded from a mainstream school at the start of

the year. His mother said there was no option but to home-school him.

We were tired of fighting the battles. We always had assumed it

was a child's right to have an education. We thought the support

would be in place when we had the initial diagnosis. We were just

tired of fighting and tired of the stress. We took it as far as we

could and got it know where. There was no option but to home school.

Recent figures give an idea of the scale of the issue in Kent. Of the

children excluded in secondary schools in the county last year,

54% had educational needs. That rises for primary school exclusions

to 91%. This is in stark contrast with other authorities. Medway

excluded no children last year. In East Sussex, it was just over 9%.

believe these figures are then indictment of Kent County Council

which sets the tone for treatment of children with special needs. A

large number compared to other local authorities says Gent has got

it wrong. Kent should have been doing something more. What I want

to see now is for Kent to will take a more proactive role. What could

Kent be doing? Some say they should use independent advocates. John

runs a club for fathers of children with autism. We were talking about

a club in Maidstone. We feel everything that is put against the

parents is in a house. Perhaps some sort of independent advocate who

could look at these situations rather than someone on the county

council looking at it so that it is Rebecca Beazley also believes Kent

council should take a more active role. We had always been under the

impression that schools fell under the remit of the council. When we

have contacted the council about these problems, we get pushed back

For many professionals such as those teaching at special needs

schools, the real problem lies in Maxy -- mainstream schools going --

I think it may be because mainstream schools are not able to

deal with the wide range of special needs that we have. Special --

children with special educational needs being excluded is down to the

fact that more schools need additional support in terms of

understanding the needs. message from teachers and parents

is clear, they went Kent County Council to take more responsibility

for the education of children with special educational needs. They say

it is time the council stopped washing its hands of this problem

by simply allowing schools to wash their hands of this problem.

Joining me in the studio is the Conservative Leader of Kent County

Council, Paul Carter. This was your department before you became

council leader. There is at serious problem here when you look at the

number of exclusions. What will you do about it? I do have concerns. It

is worth understanding that hour exclusion rate is virtually the

same as virtually every other authority in the country. But there

seems to be an extraordinary number with special educational needs

within that grouping. We have been on a journey to make sure we do

have good schools for children with special needs. And I think it is

the halfway house indecent port -- in support. Are they failing to

support children with special educational needs and is it not

time you went into banks and heads together? We invented an outreach

source support. It is being rolled out across the county. What we need

more units attached to mainstream schools. We have been slow in

getting that under way. I will now focus to make sure we have more

units. The autism unit in one school is a perfect example. Should

you ask every school that wants to exclude a pupil with special

educational needs Kazakh it is outreach support. Kent council does

not exclude pupils, it is schools that exclude pupils. We have to

will support these children with educational needs. The mother of

the boy in the report said nobody is holding the schools to account.

Why I am not asking these questions of the head teachers? Let us

examine this in great detail. We need to understand why schools are

finding it necessary to exclude so many pupils as part of this with

educational needs? We need more units attached to mainstream

schools. We could get the Smile Centre Initiative under way in the

other districts in the county. Medway and not excluding any pupils

with special educational needs. At their procedures there that you

could put in place? We are doing managed moves in Kent. Local

authorities up and down the land 10 years ago close their special

schools. We preserve them. When it comes to vulnerable children, we

have high levels of exclusion. At the end of last year, a highly

critical report after a surprise Ofsted visit revealed serious

problems with your children's services. Is there a wider issue

that a big council with a lot of money is failing vulnerable

children? We are supporting children with special educational

needs. I am looking beyond education are now. We and now

starting to implement a significant improvement plan to make sure we

have the best support to vulnerable young people in Kent. We have

looked after children of our own and those from London boroughs

placed into Kent. It has said on radio this week -- I have had long

conversations with Jenny. We have to innovate and modernise the way

we support our vulnerable young people. That is what we will do in

the next few weeks but that it is one plank that has to be in place.

It could transform the lives for young people. Will your exclusions

be lower next year? I very much hope so. Our exclusion rate is the

same as for the rest of the country, why so many with educational needs

are in these figures, we must work on it.

The introduction of Police Commissioners would be a sad day

for British Policing according to Anne Barnes, who's the Chairman of

Kent's Police Authority. But the Government is determined to have

elected Police Commissioners in place and earning �122,000 a year

by next spring. Critics say with both Kent and Sussex Police forces

having to make more than �50 million worth of savings over the

next four years, elected Police Commissioners are an expense our

forces cannot afford. Joining me now from Dover is the

Conservative MP for Folkestone and Hythe, Damian Collins, and the

former Labour MP for Gillingham, Paul Clark, is in Chatham. You are

a politician, you believe in elections, why you Against these

elections? What the whole scheme will will do is put in the hands of

one single politician a great deal This person will have the right to

hire and fire the chief constable. We have no checks and balances in

place to stop that one individual who is elected on a four-year cycle.

Our police force is are facing some 1500 job cuts. To spend �100

million on elected commissioners does not seem the right priority.

Let us pick up a couple of those points. Let us start with the to

much power in one set of hands. Why I your party so determined to go

ahead with this? We want greater accountability for what the police

do. The public needs to know some and they have elected is

accountable to them. The problem with police and authorities is

nobody knows who were there aren't what they do. People would take a

great deal of confidence knowing someone they have elected is

standing for them. The person elected will not have day-to-day

operational command of the police, they were not tell the Chief

Constable what to do. They will be the people's representative in

those meetings at police headquarters and reminding the

Chief Constable about the work. chief constable said he didn't have

any problem with the current system. What is wrong with the current

system if people are happy with it? The current chief constable is

doing a good job and he will run his foster the best of his

abilities. The question here is public confidence and public

accountability. If you have someone the public elects directly, that is

the most important thing. The biggest complaint you have from

local communities is what are the police doing and why are they not

listening to us. This reform put the public voice at the heart of

policing. I know you want to come in on this point. The public voice

is an important point. If the public went the police to

concentrate on a particular form of policing, why is that a bad thing.

What was being argued there is that the police commissioner would not

have direct control over day-to-day policing. The other point was the

What is the point of spending �100 million on this contract you would

have power in the hands of one politician while at the moment, the

Kent police are authority has turned the odd members who are all

elected meant birds. They are not elected to the police of poverty.

They are put in place. They have a role to play and be cover the

political spectrum. If the issue is that people do not know who or and

dances, let us deal with that problem. They work with the police

to deliver safer communities and safe at St. Let us talk about the

issue of money. The Home Secretary says there are value for money.

You're not taking into account the savings in the police of poverty

Budget. That role will change with police commissioners coming in. You

would have a leaner structure. The Kent police have done a good job on

focusing savings on the backroom costs and efficiency is at keeping

more money in the front line. They will be more resources in front

line services after the reforms. Pike are very much for being with

us today. We're back with education now, our

political editor Louise Stewart has been looking at the problems and

possible solutions for a Gravesend Primary where 63% of the children

don't have English as a first language. Teachers at Chantry

primary school says it's putting a strain on the education system.

Well an intervention has come from on high. The Education Secretary,

Michael Gove, has stepped in and linked the school with nearby

Meopham Community Academy. Louise what's the idea behind linking

these two schools? The whole idea is that the school was taking

special measures last January. What is happening now is that it has

made good progress since that time with an advisory head teacher being

taken in. But from September, it will be linked with a community

Academy. It is hoped that is now a standing school and this is all

behind me to go's big idea on academies. They will be asked to be

twinned with schools like this who have taken special measures who

seemed to be failing schools. He believes this will bring them up.

This is part of the education secretary Michael Gove's big plan

to get every school to apply for academy status isn't it? Michael

Gove has asked and written to every school asking them if they went to

become academies. What that will give them is greater freedom from

the local a authorities and from national government. They will be

able to lengthen school terms if they want to. They will have much

more say and they will be able to pay teachers what they want to know.

They will be able to attract better teachers by paying more. In Kent,

57 applications have been approved to become academies. 27 in Surrey.

Medway has 10. West Sussex has five and East Sussex have one. This book

to Paul Clark about academies, there is a stark difference between

those under Tony Blair and those now. It is strange that they have

the same name because they have a different philosophy. Many people

said it was a good renaming. But this has been content just and

confusing. The idea of academies for Tony Blair was failing schools.

They would get more money and help with their infrastructure. That

would help to bring standards up. These academies are elite schools

which are already getting outstanding marks. That is the