Pupil Referral Units Research Articles

Immunisation against HPV in girls with intellectual disabilities

Since September 2008 in the UK, immunisation against human papillomavirus (HPV) has been routinely offered to all girls aged 12–13 years as part of the childhood immunisation programme. It has...

“I don’t really care about me, as long as he gets everything he needs” – young women becoming mothers in consumer culture

Purpose – As becoming a mother becomes increasingly embedded in the marketplace, this paper explores how a group of low-income pregnant and newly parenting young mothers engaged with expansive markets for the new mother and baby. Design/methodology/approach – This paper draws on an extended period of fieldwork carried out at a Pupil Referral Unit and a Mother and Baby Unit in the city of Bristol, UK. The research took a staged and incremental approach, incorporating aspects of participant observation, activity-based focus groups and a photo elicitation exercise. Findings – This paper highlights the anxiety the young women experienced around their ability (or lack thereof) to participate in practices of childrearing consumption and details how the young women strived to provide well for their children despite their limited incomes, developing a sophisticated knowledge of markets and adopting a range of budgeting and smart shopping strategies to ensure they could acquire the “stuff” their children “needed”. Originality/value – Contrary to popular discourse, the young women emerge as careful and pragmatic consumers who plan and manage their finances carefully, and the paper acknowledges skills that are often missing from accounts of young mothers and working-class people more broadly.

From mainstream school to pupil referral unit: a change in teachers’ self-understanding

As teachers are at the heart of education, a substantial number of studies have researched the perception that mainstream school teachers have of themselves in relation to their work. This investigation extends this field of inquiry by examining how teachers’ self-understanding is altered when they transfer from mainstream to special school education. This study adopts the methodology of interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) to examine in detail how three female teachers in inner London experienced the transition from mainstream secondary schools to teaching in alternative provision for excluded students referred to as a pupil referral unit (PRU). Central to IPA is how an individual experiences a substantial change in life and the influence this may have on his or her world views. The research approach adopted is, therefore, idiographic and reliant on the experiences of a small number of participants. The findings from this investigation indicate that the participants chose to leave mainstream school education when they came to the self-realisation that they wanted to engage in more creative and personally engaging professional practice with a stronger moral purpose. When they started to teach at a PRU, the more persistent and personal relationships with their students brought about a substantial change in self-understanding.

Improving pupil referral unit outcomes: pupil perspectives

Concern has been expressed about the quality of alternative provision for young people with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties, and the poor academic and social outcomes many experience. Little research has sought the views of the young people themselves regarding the enablers and barriers to positive outcomes they have encountered. A total of 16 semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants aged 12 to 16 years drawn from pupil referral units in two local authorities. Thematic analysis of the interview transcripts identified a range of factors perceived by the young people as enabling or impeding their achievement of positive academic and social–emotional outcomes. Implications for practice development in pupil referral units are discussed, along with the importance of pupil involvement for improving engagement and outcomes.

Learners with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties’ experiences of reintegration into mainstream education

Behavioural, emotional and social difficulties (BESD) are a significant impediment to effective teaching and learning in England and Wales. Initiatives such as in-school Learning Support Units (LSUs) and off-site Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) aim to address BESD through short-term individualised learning programmes, followed by mandatory reintegration into mainstream education. This reintegration often fails due to post-reintegration regression contributed to poor-to-fit behaviour. The aim of the study was to analyse and describe the reintegration experiences of learners with BESD, followed by a resilience-based reintegration programme to aid policy makers and practitioners with the reintegration into mainstream education of learners with BESD. A qualitative research approach with a generic phenomenological enquiry within an interpretivist-constructivist paradigm was followed. A total of 13 learners with BESD from the London Borough of Waltham Forest and between the ages of 11 to 14 participated through completion of sentences and a life essay. Of the learner participants, four were invited to participate in unstructured interviews, alongside professionals with an interest in the reintegration of learners. Parents of the participants were asked to complete qualitative questionnaires and teachers were asked to respond to questions via email. In all, three main themes were identified: promotive and risk emotional experiences, promotive and risk relationship experiences and promotive and risk experiences based on the reintegration processes. The findings support guidelines for developing resilience-based reintegration programmes that include developing emotional competence, developing promotive relationships and implementing promotive reintegration practices.

Managed hearts? Emotional labour and the applied theatre facilitator in urban settings

This paper reflects on Arlie Hochschild's concept of Emotional Labour to investigate the emotion work undertaken by artists facilitating participatory arts in urban community settings. The discussion seeks to capture the emotional cost of ‘managing’ feelings to understand the resilient practitioner in wider political economies. This entails understanding the dilemmas of practice which include the practitioner's performativity, expressed through a complex negotiation of human responsiveness and the ‘professional’ role, in relationship with feeling rules. Influenced by findings from community development, nursing and education; the discussion reflects on and interprets vignettes by practitioners facilitating drama in inner city schools and pupil referral units. A pedagogical framework emerges as necessary to enable the Applied Theatre practitioner to negotiate, work resiliently and resourcefully with the emotion rules and feelings produced in dilemmatic spaces.

‘Boys don't do dance, do they?’

In 2005, the Warwick Arts Centre launched the ‘Boys Dancing’ project through the formation of the West Midlands Boys Dance Alliance. Aimed exclusively at boys and young men, the project has offered a range of performance-making opportunities with male professionals including Liam Steel (DV8, Stan Won't Dance) and David McKenna (Beingfrank Physical Theatre), with a view to challenge the perception that dance is primarily an activity pursued by girls and young women. The project involves boys of all abilities and all backgrounds from communities in schools, youth centres and pupil referral units. The stated aims of the project are to nurture discipline in participation, skills development, creativity and creative decision-making, self-esteem and teamwork skills, as well as performance skills in dance and choreography. Drawing on gender studies, ruminations on the negative associations of boys and dance and interviews with key participants, this article explores why and how Boys Dancing has deployed rehearsal, dance and performance methodologies to overtly and covertly challenge normative discourses around boys, young men and masculinity.

Supporting behaviour support: developing a model for leading and managing a unit for teenagers excluded from mainstream school

In the UK, mainstream schools can decide to exclude students because of their behaviour. Students are then placed in pupil referral units (PRUs, sometimes known as short-stay schools) until their needs can be more thoroughly assessed so that they can then be placed appropriately. This article outlines the development of one particular approach to leading and managing a PRU for students aged 11–14. Beginning with the idea that staff and students all have a range of needs to be met, the approach draws on psychoanalytic ideas of containment, holding and attachment, as well as recent neuro-developmental research, to demonstrate how students' needs can be best met through meeting the professional needs of staff. A range of interventions and areas of practice are then described to illustrate how containment, management and support are operationalised in day-to-day practice. Specific areas of impact of these interventions for students and their families are then highlighted.

The Impact of ‘Achievement for All’ on School Leadership

The Achievement for All (AfA) pilot initiative, delivered in partnership by the Department for Education (DfE), (formerly the Department for Children, Schools and Families [DCSF]), National Strategies and the National College (NCSL), aims to increase the attainment and progress of children in schools with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND); improve the engagement of their parents with the school and improve wider outcomes for this group of children. Introduced in September 2009 as a two year pilot in 454 primary, secondary and special schools and Pupil Referral Units across 10 Local Authorities in England, AfA, with a particular focus on inclusive leadership practice, takes a whole school approach to school improvement. The population included pupils in Years 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 11 identified with SEND on School Action, School Action Plus or holding Statements; 85 per cent of the participating schools are primary. Guided by government documentation (DCSF, 2009a) and local authority advisers, schools have implemented the initiative around three distinct but integrated strands: assessment, tracking and interventions; structured conversations with parents and provision for developing wider outcomes. By considering focus group data evidence from headteachers/school project leaders across the participating local authorities, this article will explore the impact of AfA on inclusive leadership practices in schools. Findings suggest that although vision, commitment, collaboration and communication remain self evident for the majority of leaders, within the context of AfA, these characteristics of effective inclusive leadership along with pupil learning have been enhanced.

What helps children in a pupil referral unit (PRU)? An exploration into the potential protective factors of a PRU as identified by children and staff

Previous studies have focused on the views of excluded children or those finding themselves in Pupil Referral Units (PRUs). Few, however, have focused on exploring views from a resilience perspective. Studies linked to resilience have tended to focus on exploring factors through quantitative rather than qualitative measures. This piece of research aimed to explore the potential protective factors of one PRU through the valuable voices of children and staff. The views of six children aged between 9 and 13 years, all with varying forms of behavioural, emotional and social difficulties, and partway through a PRU placement, were explored through semi-structured interviews supported by the use of tools and techniques to facilitate discussion. The views of four staff members were also obtained. Findings reveal the powerful perspectives that children and young people can bring in relation to what might be helping them within a particular environment. A number of potential protective factors, both within the environment and within-child factors that may operate as mechanisms in fostering positive social and academic outcomes, are identified. Implications of these findings for professional practice, and for children finding themselves in PRU provision, are discussed, with a focus on reintegration and the potential impact of changing environments for these children.

Listening to excluded young people's experiences of e-safety and risk

This article reports on excluded young people's experiences with and management of e-safety and risk. It has importance in exploring these concerns given that excluded young people's voices are very often absent in education and technology research and yet they are potentially more at risk when using Information and Communication Technologies than middle-class young people for whom the risks may be lower. The findings are drawn from an analysis of the in-depth qualitative interviews carried out with 13 permanently and temporarily excluded young people between the ages of 12–15 in a Pupil Referral Unit in South East England. The accounts given by this group of young people suggest that the strategies they deploy to manage their safety online are underdeveloped and inadequate. This points in turn to a need for further interventions to foster and develop these young people's strategies to avoid online risk as part of more general initiatives to develop digital literacy.

What makes for a successful re-integration from a pupil referral unit to mainstream education? An applied research project

A qualitative research project was carried out in order to explore the views of Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) and mainstream school staff regarding the process of re-integration of secondary school age pupils from the PRU to mainstream school. The views of 11 PRU staff members, six mainstream staff members and a member of the Behaviour Support Service were sought through focus groups regarding the re-integration of pupils from the PRU to mainstream education. Thematic Analysis of the data suggested that effective re-integration is perceived to be most successful when particular factors at the child, family, school and systemic levels are in place, such as the child wanting to return to mainstream school, support from and engagement of parents and timely re-integration into a truly inclusive mainstream setting. Suggested developments to improve the process and practice of re-integration in the future were also identified. The implications of the research findings are discussed.

What happens to pupils permanently excluded from special schools and pupil referral units in England?

There is widespread consensus in the research and policy‐related literature over the last decade that young people who have been permanently excluded from school are at a far greater risk of a variety of negative outcomes than young people who have not had this experience. These negative outcomes include prolonged periods out of education and/or employment; poor mental and physical health; involvement in crime; and homelessness. This article presents evidence from a small‐scale qualitative study of destinations and outcomes post‐exclusion for a group of young people considered to be at particular risk of such negative outcomes: namely, those who have been permanently excluded from special schools or Pupil Referral Units (now known as short‐stay schools). The specific focus of this paper is on the 24 young people’s educational trajectories pre‐ and post‐exclusion; the reasons for their exclusion from school; and on what forms of alternative provision were available to them after their permanent exclusion.

Understanding the mental health needs of older adolescents with behavioural disorders

A recent UK study identified that 11.5% of 11 – 16 year olds had a mental health disorder. A one-stage survey students in Manchester attending Key Stage 4 Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) sites was conducted as part of a larger study. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was accompanied by questions to collect demographic data and ascertain which services are wanted by parents and teachers. Mental health needs were higher in the PRU than the mainstream sample. These results pose implications for commissioning of child and adolescent mental health services and initiatives such as the Targeted Mental Health in Schools Project (TaMHS).

Concentric circles of containment: a psychodynamic contribution to working in pupil referral units

This article aims to reflect on the lessons learnt from using a psychodynamic approach to offering onsite therapeutic child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) in four pupil referral units (henceforth referred to as PRUs). The PRUs cater for six- to 16-year-old children and adolescents permanently excluded from mainstream schools. The work takes place in an inner London borough. The approach described evolved over five years through practice-based evidence of what worked well in each particular setting. This was viewed both in terms of sustaining families' engagement in the therapeutic process, and also effectively supporting child and adolescent mental health services and education staff in their respective tasks. The model which gradually evolved owes much to Bion's concept of containment as the necessary foundation for emotional growth and genuine learning. It also draws on ideas from psychoanalytic consultation and open systems theory. The importance of work discussion groups in this setting will also be evident. Some links are made to relevant Buddhist concepts and metaphors.

Reaching disengaged students through media skills

The British Gaining Ground project aimed to develop a fresh approach to engaging young people excluded from mainstream education. Media practitioners introduced media skills to young people in Pupil Referral Units over two school years. Cathy Poole evaluates the project and reports on the results.

‘Possible selves’ of young people in a mainstream secondary school and a pupil referral unit: a comparison

This research uses the psychological construct of ‘possible selves’ to investigate the aspirations of 25 students in Year 11. ‘Possible selves’ provide a conceptual link between self-concept and motivation. The study compared the positive, negative and impossible possible selves of Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) attendees with participants from a secondary school. Whereas 100% of the school students generated positive possible selves, only 69% of the PRU participants did so. The school students were more able to provide sub-goal strategies to achieve positive possible selves and could articulate alternatives if their first aspiration eluded them. PRU participants generated divergent impossible selves. The findings suggest that in comparison with those in school, PRU attendees have fragile positive selves and more negative perceptions of their prospects. This may indicate a lack of internalisation of positive future options. There are implications for practice as those who work in the PRU context aim to provide meaningful experiences.

Tripping, slipping and losing the way: moving beyond methodological difficulties in social research

This article is intended as a contribution to the debate on the epistemology of educational research. It is as much concerned with research as a social process as it is with the process of social research. The authors draw upon ways of walking, discussions of embodiment, place and materiality, and their analogues in relation to the processes of social research in order to explore alternative ways of knowing, and to explore what happens when accounts of the difficulties in conducting research are generally suppressed in sanitised reports of research findings. The distinctions between ‘occupant’ and ‘inhabitant’ knowledge, and between wayfaring and travelling betoken radically different conceptions of applied research in the social sciences. The authors explore the potential of anthropological and literary metaphors to explain the methodological challenges encountered during a specific research project: a three-year study of ‘routes, destinations and outcomes’ for a group of young people excluded from special schools and Pupil Referral Units, funded by the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

Systematic Review and Narrative Synthesis of the Effectiveness of Contraceptive Service Interventions for Young People, Delivered in Educational Settings

Study ObjectiveThis review was undertaken to determine the effectiveness of contraception service interventions for young people that were delivered in educational settings. DesignWe conducted a systematic review and narrative synthesis. SettingInterventions were included where they were delivered in educational institutions, including schools, colleges, and pupil referral units. ParticipantsYoung people aged 19 and under. Studies of wider age groups were included if the majority of participants were aged under 19 years. InterventionsWe included interventions which consisted of contraceptive service provision, and also interventions to encourage young people to use existing contraceptive services. Main Outcome MeasuresThe main outcome measures used in the studies were: rate of teenage pregnancy, rate of contraceptive use, and sexual behavior. Many outcome measures were self reported. ResultsTwenty-nine papers were included which reported on interventions to prevent adolescent pregnancy (and repeat pregnancy), school-based health centers, contraceptive use in college students, and multicomponent interventions. Intensive case management intervention conducted by a culturally matched school-based social worker (along with other components including peer education) were shown to be effective in preventing repeat adolescent pregnancy, at least for the duration of the intervention. Also, school-based health centers appear to be most effective when contraception provision is made available on site. ConclusionsThe evidence from these papers is limited, in terms of both quality and quantity, along with consistency of findings, but some recommendations in relation to effective interventions can be made.

Young people’s use and views of a school-based sexual health drop-in service in areas of high deprivation

Objective: To describe patterns and reasons of attendance and young people’s views of the drop-in service. Design: Analysis of a prospective database, questionnaire survey and qualitative interviews and discussions. Setting: Sexual health drop-in clinics in 16 secondary schools (including three pupil-referral units) in deprived areas of a city in South West England Methods: Nurse-completed consultations with young people; self-report questionnaires distributed by youth workers at the clinics; and interviews with young people in personal, social and health education (PSHE) lessons and at lunchtimes. Results: 515 young people made 1,303 visits over 15 months for nurse consultations (mean age 14.7 years). The mean age of first sex was 13.8 years (range 10 to 16 years). The service attracted ‘hard-to-reach’ young people, including boys, those less academically able, and those engaging in sexual intercourse at younger ages. A wide range of services were taken up including contraception, emergency contraception, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) testing and treatment, pregnancy tests, and referral to other services. Young people reported high levels of satisfaction with staff attitudes and clinic environment. Youth workers saw a younger age group than nurses, giving advice prior to sexual activity, about relationships, ‘safer sex’ and delaying sex. Barriers to use included: worries about embarrassment, cultural issues, and confidentiality. Conclusions: Locating sexual health drop-in clinics in schools within deprived communities makes them accessible to many vulnerable young people. Those having sex early attended, often before they had sex, and a large number of boys came for advice and condoms.