This chapter problematises questions of agency, transformation and motives in the context of the exclusion of young people from school. It addresses the question: in what ways might young people be agentic in processes of school exclusion and how might that agency be strengthened? In order to explore this question, the chapter draws on recent developments in cultural-historical theories of transformative agency by double stimulation and Bernsteinian insights on cultural transmission and pedagogy. Empirical data from an exploratory study of permanent school exclusions in a southern English city are used to illustrate the theoretical considerations on transformative agency that are emerging from a four-year multidisciplinary comparative study of exclusion, in all its forms, across the four jurisdictions of the UK. Data are also used to explore the concept of the categorisation of exclusions and in the context of understanding the possibilities for young people’s agency in exclusion.

Persistent school absence has a negative effect on academic attainment and puts children and young people at risk of social isolation, dropping out of school, vulnerability to exploitation and exposure to criminality. Pupils are more likely to miss school frequently if they have poor mental health (particularly anxiety and depression), special educational needs and disability (SEND), a long-term health condition, or caring responsibilities, or if they suffer from bullying. Frequent absences can lead to a lack of confidence and anxiety upon returning to school. This chapter argues that schools in England can be hostile environments for children and young people with SEND. Persistent absence for pupils with both identified and unidentified SEND may result from pressure on schools and teachers to perform in academic league tables rather than provide environments for inclusion. The chapter suggests the importance of the cultural, social, physical and emotional factors that lead to absenteeism. These factors are illustrated by vignettes from research on school exclusions; school safety and social networks; school design; and collaboration and emotional wellbeing. What is required is a new focus on school factors related to absence that no longer views the pupil in deficit terms.

Poverty blights the lives of children and young people (Ridge, 2009). Research has consistently shown that the most economically disadvantaged pupils across the United Kingdom (UK) have the poorest educational outcomes and that poverty has a pernicious effect on children's wellbeing (Sylva et al, 2008; Connelly et al, 2014; Strand, 2014). However, far less is known about the ways that poverty is differentially experienced for children and young people in schools within the four jurisdictions of the UK. Are there historical, social and cultural factors that make poverty a postcode lottery in terms of quality of schooling in the different parts of the UK? Are successful local interventions context specific as the research evidence seems to suggest (Van der Berg, 2008) or can we learn from particular regions or cities? This book reports on the findings of the British Educational Research Association (BERA) Commission on Poverty and Policy Advocacy from the four UK jurisdictions of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales that arose out of similar questions. Anxieties about the growing inequality in the UK have to be contextualised historically, geographically and in terms of the distinct political and socioeconomic landscapes in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The book explores the educational landscapes of poverty across the UK and highlights the importance of policy and place for the wellbeing and educational opportunities and outcomes of young people living in poverty. The chapters consider the implications of place for educational policy and practice of poverty and schooling.

The Commission's research highlighted significant differences between the political contexts of the four UK jurisdictions in terms of their conceptualisations and policy enactment around child poverty (Ivinson et al, 2017; Ivinson et al 2018). The Commission found that the UK is an increasingly divided nation both in terms of wealth and poverty and in the educational opportunities for young people living in poverty. While the education systems in Scotland and Wales to some degree reflect jurisdictional commitments to social justice that allows teachers to engage with young people living in poverty, the situation is more complex in England and Northern Ireland.

Introduction

Poverty and place matter to children's education (Lupton, 2006; Kerr et al, 2014). There is consistent international evidence that socioeconomic status is the most important factor that influences educational outcomes (Van der Berg, 2008). Both absolute poverty that results in adequate resources and relative poverty lead to both educational and social inequality. Ridge (2009) has shown that key areas of concern identified by children living in poverty included: economic deprivation; material deprivation; and social deprivation. The cumulative effect of these levels of deprivation leads to what Ridge describes as school deprivation including restricted opportunities at school because of a lack of money to pay for resources and restricted social opportunities because of the expense of school trips and other social activities. The lack of the correct school uniform because of poverty can be a source of conflict for pupils living in poverty. If we agree with the view that the ways that schools address issues of poverty and inequality is the ultimate test of an education system (Connell, 1994) then the United Kingdom (UK) can be seen to fail its most disadvantaged children and young people (Dorling, 2011; 2015; Smyth and Wrigley, 2013; Thompson, 2017).

The link between poverty and poor educational outcomes in the UK has remained stubbornly and depressingly high despite longstanding policy concern at national, local and jurisdictional levels of government (Raffo et al, 2007; Hills et al, 2010; McKinney, 2014; Ivinson et al, 2017; Ivinson et al, 2018). Wilkinson and Pickett (2010) and Dorling (2019) have shown that the UK has lower levels of social mobility than most other comparable countries. Income persistence between parents and that of their children as adults in the UK is among the strongest of all the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. In other words, the UK is a country where the class and income of children when they grow up is more related to the class and income of their parents than almost anywhere else in the developed world. Yet the picture across the UK is uneven, both in terms of the distribution of poverty and the responses and practices of policymakers, schools and teachers.

Introduction

The United Kingdom (UK) is a shockingly unequal society (Ball, 2003; Thompson, 2017; Dorling, 2018). Government statistics show that in 2019 the numbers of children living in absolute poverty had risen by 200,000 in a year to a total of 3.7 million. In England, the experience of education for children depends on where you live (Ball, 2018). The strong link between social disadvantage and poor educational outcomes is well documented in the research literature as have been the effects of poverty on young people's mental and physical health and wellbeing. Evidence from empirical research studies and statistical analyses has repeatedly shown that the most economically disadvantaged students andor with a special educational need (SEN) have the poorest educational outcomes in England in terms of educational achievement (Strand, 2014) and emotional wellbeing (Ridge, 2009). Children's experience of schooling is heavily influenced by the level of disadvantage that they face in their lives (Horgan, 2007) and their social class positions still heavily influence the opportunities open to them (Shildrick and Rucell, 2015). Cooper and Stewart (2013), in a systematic review of the literature, found that money makes a significant difference to the material outcomes of children's lives. School absence rates in England are higher for pupils claiming free school meals (FSM): 7.6%, compared to 4.3% for nonFSM pupils. The persistent absence rate for pupils who were eligible for FSM of 23.6% was more than twice the rate for those pupils not eligible (DfE, 2019a). Research has also shown that in England educational inequalities surface in the preschool years (Sylva et al, 2004), but that they continue to widen in both primary and secondary school years (Connelly et al, 2014). Children's experience of schooling is heavily influenced by the level of disadvantage that they face in their lives (Horgan, 2007; Bibby et al, 2017) and their social class still strongly influences the opportunities open to them (Shildrick and Rucell, 2015; Ball, 2018). The overwhelming evidence in England is that the potential of many young people from disadvantaged backgrounds is not currently met by school systems (Ball, 2016; Thompson, 2017).