Inquiry into Suspension, Exclusion and Expulsion processes in South Australian government schools

The Suspension, Exclusion and Expulsion (SEE) Inquiry, Government of South Australia (2020)

The Centre for Inclusive Education has been engaged to guide an independent Inquiry into whether the South Australian Department for Education is complying with international conventions, legislative requirements, and governmental and departmental policies and procedures in its use of suspensions, exclusions and expulsions.

The aim of the SEE Inquiry is to understand whether:

• relevant parties are notified when a decision has been taken to suspend, exclude or expel a student
• a conference is conducted with the affected student and other required participants
• the suspended or excluded student is provided with other educational and/or development opportunities to support their behavioural and learning goals
• the Department is providing a fair and effective appeals process
• accurate and transparent records are kept of the number of children suspended, excluded, or expelled from school; the nature of and reason for their suspension, exclusion, or expulsion; and their modified / other enrolment / different options.

A range of stakeholders – including current and past students, parents/carers, school, government, non-government representatives plus child advocates and members of advocacy groups and the general public – have been invited to share their views and experiences of take-homes, suspension, exclusion and expulsion, official complaints and appeals processes and alternative education settings or home schooling.

What is working well and opportunities for improvement will be investigated, along with other issues such as whether suspensions are used to attract funding and other supports for students, and the prevalence and use of formal and informal suspensions, exclusions and expulsions.

Alignment of policy and practice with evidence-based best practice will be reviewed along with the adequacy of current complaint management arrangements, and the effectiveness of behaviour support policies and student support services. The number of children of compulsory school age who have been disengaged from education will be examined.

Finally, recommendations about systemic arrangements and processes that would be of benefit to SA government schools and teachers, families and students will also be presented to the South Australian government for consideration.

The SEE Inquiry is currently underway. Please direct inquiries to linda.graham@qut.edu.au

Funding

Government of South Australia

On 30th March, 2021 The Hon John Gardner announced $15 million to implement the reforms arising from the Graham Report

Team

• Professor Linda Graham
• Mr Tony McCarthy (LLB, LLM)
• Dr Callula Killingly
• Ms Haley Tancredi
• Associate Professor Shiralee Poed (PhD)