One school is using techniques like ‘therapeutic thinking’ to tackle defiance in pupils
The number of pupils being expelled from schools in Hillingdon are at their lowest rates ever recorded.
According to Hillingdon Council figures, permanent exclusions fell by 23 per cent in 2024/25 compared to the previous year. This is a historic low for the borough and beat the numbers set during the Covid years.
While national rates of permanent exclusions and suspensions have risen sharpy, Hillingdon’s figures have been steadily declining to significantly below the national benchmark. The total suspensions also dropped nine per cent year on year to 1,977 across over 56,000 pupils.
Mehul Shah is the head teacher of Northwood School and has overseen declining exclusion rates year on year. At Northwood, the impact of the borough-wide trend is clear.
Mr Shah told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that the school “hasn’t permanently excluded at all in the past three years.” When asked how this was managed, Mr Shah said: “We prioritise happiness as being essential if we’re going to have successful children… It’s about having really high standards right from the start when the children join the school so that they never veer into anything more wrong.”
Instead of shouting at defiant children, the school uses a module called “therapeutic thinking” with any child who’s displaying behavior where they might just flat out say no or refuse to cooperate. Mr Shah’s staff instead focus on de-escalation.
He said: “You don’t elevate a situation when a child is saying no. You don’t chase after them. You don’t shout even more at them because they’re not in a state where they can respond positively.”
Mr Shah also introduced a “green room” for SEN students, allowing them to step away “before they get to that stage of sanction” which allows them to work more quietly. Mr Shah says that this is because a lot of the time, poor behaviour “bubbles up when there is a lot of stimulus around.”
The reasons for permanent exclusions in Hillingdon have shifted in recent years, with permanent disruptive behaviour becoming the number one reason for the first time in three years. Physical assault and substance use rates have plummeted.
Despite this success, permanent exclusions are still happening, with 33 taking place in the borough last year. Explaining why exclusions may still be used, Mr Shah said: “The main thing for me as a head teacher to think about is, by excluding the pupil will the rest of the school community be able to work in a less hindered fashion, and a more safe fashion?”
“So often when I’m considering exclusion, it is because of that reason – I don’t feel that the rest of the community would feel safe if that person continued at the school.”
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