Thesis Title: Secondary school exclusion and alternative education provision: unraveling connections with mental health and offending in adolescence, and mortality in young adulthood.
Abstract: The United Kingdom has one of the highest exclusion rates globally (Jones, 2023). Secondary school exclusions often lead to engagement with alternative educational provision (AEP), with both exclusion and AEP independently linked to adverse outcomes such as poor mental health and increased offending (Ford et al., 2018; Kew-Simpson, 2023), potentially raising the risk of early mortality (Tweed et al., 2022). The study aims to fill critical gaps in existing literature by examining the associations between secondary school exclusion, AEP, mental health, offending in adolescence, and mortality in young adulthood, addressing limitations in prior research related to methodologies and sample sizes.
The overarching research questions are: What is the association between exclusion during secondary school/AEP and (1) mental health outcomes [utilising a data linkage between South London and the Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust’s Clinical Record Interactive Search and the Department for Education’s National Pupil Database (NPD)] ; (2) prolific offending as a juvenile and as a young adult [utilising a data linkage between the NPD and the Police National Computer]; and (3) early mortality [utilising the Education and Child Health Insights from Linked Data dataset].
The primary exposure variable will be defined across three categories: (1) ever excluded from mainstream secondary school but not attended an AEP; (2) ever excluded from mainstream secondary school and attended an AEP; (3) never been excluded or attended AEP. The research will consider differences in results for relevant sub-groups such as Free School Meals pupils, Special Educational Needs and Disability pupils, children’s social care status, Black and Minority Ethnic pupils, and gender. The findings will provide critical insights for policymakers and practitioners, highlighting potential pathways into adversity that may be amenable to early intervention through educational and health services.
Primary Supervisor: Dr Hannah Dickson
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