The Youth Affairs Council of Victoria (YACVic0 has just released a fantastic report ‘Out of Sight, Out of Mind? on school exclusion which calls on Gov’t to address the enormous number of young people who are being excluded from school through suspension, expulsion, reduced attendance, refusal of enrolment, and being ‘asked to leave’ a school.

The report highlights the appalling lack of data available, the impact of exclusion on already vulnerable young people and provides loads of examples and recommendations for change .

In Victoria up to 10,000 young people drop out of school completely each year. Some as early as primary school.

These young people are overwhelmingly vulnerable before this occurs. They are being pushed out, out of sight. Schools are under a lot of pressure to deliver good scores and get rid of underperforming kids. They don’t have sufficient funding & resources. Many have adopted harsh disciplinary and exclusionary policies.

See the YACVIC report here.

Youthlaw strongly supports YACVic’s stand on this issue & it’s recommendations. Early intervention in the education setting is a no brainer and will reduce enormous negative impacts that flow from vulnerable young people not receiving the support they need. This includes their mental & physical well-being, capacity to lead a fulfilling and positive life and broader costs to society of homelessness, mental ill-health, drug abuse and engagement in the criminal justice system.