School Exclusion, Youth Justice and Children with Speech Language and Communication Needs (SLCN)

• In Event: Pathways to Delinquency: Exploring Risk Indicators of Juvenile Offending

Abstract

This paper presents findings from a quantitative analysis of data from an early response project for children in England identified as at risk of school exclusion, a recognised risk factor for youth justice involvement. Analysis of the education and youth justice records of children referred to the project between 2019-2023 identified that many had undiagnosed speech language and communication needs (SLCN) and there were variations by gender and ethnicity. Of the 199 children referred to the project only 12% had pre-identified Special Educational Needs (SEN) and just 6% had known previous contact with speech and language therapy services yet project assessments identified 89% of children had SLCN. Notably fewer girls had pre-identified SEN in comparison to boys but were assessed at similar levels of SCLN. This finding was amplified for the small number of BAME girls in the project. Further, 42% of the children who had youth justice involvement were girls, a much higher percentage than the percentage of girls in the youth justice system nationally. The findings raise questions about the links between undiagnosed SCLN, school exclusions and youth justice involvement, particularly for girls. Implications for education and youth justice practice are discussed.

Authors

• Caroline Lanskey, University of Cambridge

• Shujing Shi, University of Cambridge