1,000,000
MORE THAN DOUBLE THE SUSPENSIONSin 2023/24

No More Exclusions (NME) is a Black-led anti-racist organisation working to build an abolitionist grassroots movement in education. Our coalition includes young people, parents, parent advocates, teachers, teaching assistants, trade unionists, social workers, lawyers, youth workers, faith leaders, local councillors, journalists, academics, education researchers, SEND specialists, psychologists and mental health practitioners.

We believe that school exclusions form part of a continuum of state violence enacted against communities racialised as Black, brown, Muslim and Gypsy, Roma, Traveller, against disabled people and against working-class communities. We support all those struggling to abolish exclusions and transform education into a nurturing and enriching experience for all children and young people.

We work to democratise knowledge, build community power and effect change from the bottom up. We work in coalition and solidarity with many sister collectives and individuals who share our values and vision for liberation and social justice in education and beyond.

1. In the next five years- bring about an end to the persistent race-disparities in school exclusions

2. Over the next ten years- affect change at legal, policy, practice and cultural level in education and society as a whole.

School exclusions are a form of drastic disciplinary action that remove children from the classroom and, too often, from education altogether. The most serious of these disciplinary measures turf young people out of their school communities and stigmatise them, just as they are building their identities. Others penalise and often humiliate children and young people for the difficulties they face, magnifying inequalities rather than trying to alleviate them, and treating already marginalised young people as disposable.

NME has a racial justice focus. We are working to prevent the escalating number of school exclusions across the country, especially the scandal of the historically disproportionally-high rate of excluded Black Caribbean and Mixed: White/Black Caribbean children (The Centre for Research in Race and Education 2018).

No More Exclusions is organised around the following 5 core strands:

1. Law and Policy Change

2. Youth Development and Youth Voice

3. Parental Advocacy and Partnerships

4. Teacher Education

5. Curriculum

NME is a Black-led, Black Feminist, Abolitionist, grassroots coalition movement

1. We want the abolition of all forms of exclusion in all schools. The abolition of ‘Pupil Referral Units’ ‘Alternative Provision’, ‘special schools’, ‘secure schools’ and all forms of segregated education.

2. We oppose Patriarchy, Capitalism, white supremacy, Transphobia, Homophobia, Afriphobia, Ableism, Islamophobia and all other forms of oppression.

3. We believe in a shared collective vision for education.

4. We are building strong community leaders who are accountable to elders and youth over any political party.

5. We recognise the Anti-Black foundations of “Great” Britain and its education system.

6. We are internationalists and a Black Feminist coalition building in solidarity across our struggles and our differences. Our anti-imperialist and anti-capitalist struggle is rooted in Intersectionality, anti-oppression, internationalism and liberation theory and praxis.

7. We are radical activists, organisers, students, teachers, informal educators, scholars who are fighting for structural change in education.

8. We recognise that through our personal and collective knowledge we build a critical consciousness which helps to realise our capacity to change circumstances for ourselves.

9. We want true education of our diverse African, Asian and colonial and pre-colonial histories.

10. Our work is rooted in healing from violence and harm using transformative justice principles.

What about the other 29? and other FAQs

Abolition / Abolitionist

A political and practice-oriented approach that seeks to end systems and structures of exclusion, punishment, and segregation (in this context, school exclusions), rather than reform them incrementally. It centres care, community, and alternatives to punitive discipline.

Alternative Provision (AP)

Education provided outside of a mainstream school setting for pupils who have been excluded (permanently or temporarily), often including specialist settings and pupil referral units (PRUs).

Black-led grassroots coalition

A movement or group led by Black activists and community members, emphasising community experience, racial justice, and representation.

Behaviour Policy / Behaviour Strategy

School rules and procedures for managing pupil behaviour, including sanctions and supports. These can include exclusion policies and alternatives like restorative practices.

Children and Young People (CYP)

A term for individuals from early childhood up to young adulthood (usually up to age 18). Used to focus on the people affected by school exclusion practices.

Disproportionate Exclusion

When some groups of pupils (e.g., racial minority groups, pupils eligible for free school meals, or those with SEND) are excluded at higher rates compared with their representation in the school population.

Expulsion / Exclusion

Formally removing a pupil from the regular school roll as a disciplinary sanction.

Permanent exclusion means removal from school with no scheduled return.

Fixed-term exclusion means a temporary removal for a set period.

— Both are officially recorded.

Informal Exclusion

A practice where pupils are pushed out of education without an official record of exclusion — for example, being sent home early, placed in isolation, moved to another setting unofficially, or removed from the roll without formal procedure. It is not legally recognised and parents or carers may not always be notified.

Inclusion (inclusive education)

An education approach where all pupils are supported to learn together with appropriate support, irrespective of ability, background, race or behaviour. It seeks to prevent exclusion and marginalisation.

Moratorium on Exclusions

A recommended pause or temporary ban on all school exclusions (especially permanent ones) while alternative systems and supports are developed and evaluated.

Race-disparity / Racial Justice

The focus on understanding and reducing racial inequalities — for example, when students from certain ethnic backgrounds are excluded more frequently than others.

Pupil Referral Unit (PRU)

A type of alternative school for pupils who have been permanently excluded, given a fixed-term exclusion, or are otherwise unable to attend mainstream school.

SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disability)

A legal term in UK education referring to pupils who require additional support due to learning difficulties, disabilities, or developmental needs. Pupils with SEND are statistically more likely to experience exclusion.

School Suspension

A temporary exclusion — removal of a pupil from school premises for a set period. Suspensions are recorded and often used as a disciplinary measure.

Segregated Education

The separation of pupils into different educational pathways or institutions based on ability, behaviour, identity, disability, or other factors.

Zero-tolerance Behaviour Policy

A strict disciplinary approach where certain behaviours result in mandatory sanctions, often including exclusion — criticised for increasing exclusion rates without addressing underlying causes.

The No More Exclusions Moratorium on Exclusions Campaign is not just about definitions, it advocates for systemic change in education, racial justice, and care-centred alternatives to exclusionary discipline.