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Strategic litigation

Permanent Exclusion Judicial Review

Permanent Exclusion Judicial Review

Decades of evidence show that racial bias, adultification, and systemic inequalities shape how Black students are disciplined in schools. Black pupils, families, and teachers repeatedly report experiencing racism within school environments, yet these realities are too often dismissed or ignored. Additionally, off-rolling and ‘unexplained moves’ disproportionately impact disadvantaged communities but remain inconsistently recorded and unregulated, masking the true scale of the issue.

This case involved a young Black boy who had been exploited into a county line gang. The Academy knew that his behaviour in school was out of character and had been made aware that he had likely been criminally exploited and forced into a county line.

Despite the evidence the Governing Body decided to permanently exclude, this decision was upheld following an independent Review Panel.

The judicial review claim is amongst other points arguing that the Academy had sufficient evidence before it to take positive steps to comply with their Article 4 Human Rights obligation to prevent someone being trafficked into forced labour or slavery.

BEO was asked to intervene in the claim, in the same way as we did in the Windrush judicial review. We were supported by a legal team from Freshfields LLP and barristers from Garden Court Chambers.

Our CEO Timi Okuwa states: “The consequences are devastating—exclusions fuel the school-to-prison pipeline, cutting Black children off from opportunities and reinforcing cycles of marginalisation. Instead of erasing the problem, we need urgent reforms to create an education system that sees, supports, and uplifts Black children not one that disproportionately punishes and discards them.”