Abstract

The University of Sunderland was approached by Together for Children in the Autumn of 2018 to ‘investigate the factors that impact upon social and emotional wellbeing of children and young people from 3-16 years in Sunderland City which may lead to exclusion from school’. The purpose was to provide a research-informed review of mainstream schooling in the City, through a detailed examination of the personal lived experiences of children and their caregivers who experienced exclusion from school. The research also elicited the perceptions and experiences of other stakeholders across health, education and support services on the enablers and barriers to mainstream education for children vulnerable to school exclusion.