By offering a more personalised approach, pupil referral units are succeeding in winning the trust and motivation of even the most disaffected teenagers.
| Im proud I come here. Ive done so much. When I leave I want to become a computer analyst. |
A teachers worst nightmare, pupil referral units (PRUs) bring together all the pupils mainstream schools find difficult to accommodate, turn them back on to learning, and in succeeding, offer lessons for the schools they complement.
Cathys story is salutary. Excluded after she threw a chair at a teacher, the 14-year-old claims she was provoked by a teacher who was insensitive about a relatives death. I was crying my eyes out in class and the teacher was shouting at me. Thats what made me throw the chair. After that I wasnt willing to go back to school.
Better relationships at the PRUs diffuse problems so they dont get in the way of the core business of teaching and learning. You dont get so stressed out here, says Cathy. Her classmate Jermaine explains, The teachers make you call them by their first name, they dont believe in calling you Sir or Miss. Theyre nice to you, they crack jokes, theyve got a good sense of humour.
Simple measures, yes. But raised expectations and a thick portfolio of work are evidence of the impact. I reckon Ive done more work in one term here than I have in a whole year at mainstream school, enthuses Jonathan, 15. While Jermaine says, Im proud I come here. Ive done so much. When I leave I want to become a computer analyst.
Local authorities committed to inclusive education would do well to recreate the smaller group support within the mainstream classroom. I couldnt do my work and I was rude all the time. Teachers didnt pay me any attention, they just put something down in front of my face and expected me to do it without explaining anything, says Jermaine. Here they give you more help here and they explain things to you properly, reasons Chaney, 16.
And if mainstream schools still need a carrot, they should heed the fact that the pupils we spoke to had friends who wanted to be excluded so they too could attend the PRUs. Perhaps oversubscribed rolls do not solely depend on parents perusal of the league tables after all.
About the team
This article was produced by Julia Press, 18, Erica Rutherford, 18, Natasha Massiah, 16, Duane OGarro, 14, and Benjamina Avro, 12. It was published in Local Government Voice Solo.
