Although just 12% of all school pupils are Black Caribbean, they make up half of all exclusions

Nancy Rowntree:

Children's services chiefs in Brent are launching a major drive to tackle high levels of exclusions and teenage pregnancies among Black children.

The north London borough has established a cross-party task force and drawn up an action plan that seeks to improve academic performance and tackle over-representation in school exclusions, teenage pregnancies and youth offending. At present, although just 12 per cent of all school pupils are Black Caribbean, they make up half of all exclusions.

Mark Ainsworth, project consultant, said: "We see this as part of a long-term drive to improve outcomes - we're not in the game of quick fixes. That's why we are so pleased that all the major political parties are represented on the task group."

The action plan looks at how best to connect with parents and outlines plans to do more to engage fathers and to use the extended schools model as a way to develop a stronger dialogue with parents.

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