Parents should not be pressured into taking their child out of school

Teachers want to see more support for parents to help them resist the practice of ‘off-rolling’, according to Ofsted research.

Off-rolling is when a child is removed from the school roll for the school’s benefit, rather than in the child’s best interests.

The survey finds that a quarter of teachers have seen off-rolling happen in their schools. Two-thirds of these teachers believe the practice is on the rise.

Teachers believe that parents with less understanding of the education system and their rights are most likely to be pressured into taking their child out of school.

Some respondents spoke of “fear-mongering”, with school management giving parents a “worst case scenario” for their child’s future if they remained in the school.

Teachers said that they want to see better support for parents, so they understand their rights and options.

The YouGov survey for Ofsted found that there is mixed understanding among teachers of what off-rolling is, but many teachers are aware that it is happening and believe that it is on the increase.

Teachers agree that it usually happens before GCSEs, either during years 10 to 11 before results are collected, or in year 9 before exam teaching begins.

Vulnerable students with special educational needs (SEN) or other needs are more likely to be affected.

Many teachers think there is an overlap between off-rolling and other, sometimes legitimate, practices.

Teachers believe that academic achievement is central to schools’ decision-making when pupils are off-rolled. Half of those that responded to the survey said the main reason for schools to off-roll a pupil is to manipulate league tables. Some teachers felt that it was easier to justify off-rolling when there are behavioural concerns, and that behavioural issues are “dressed up” to support the pupils’ removal.

The vast majority of teachers taking part in the research opposed off-rolling, but some thought it was understandable when there are underlying issues at play. Teachers also thought that schools needed more support to address special educational needs and other behaviours that are linked to off-rolling.

Only a third of teachers that had experienced off-rolling believed that off-rolled pupils went on to other mainstream schools, while just a fifth of those with experience of off-rolling said that there was any follow-up to check what had happened to pupils.