A Social Justice Imperative: London School's Quarter-Century Without Exclusion
In the heart of Newham, east London, TCES Nurture Primary operates with a remarkable distinction that challenges conventional educational approaches. For twenty-five consecutive years, this alternative provision school has maintained a perfect record of zero exclusions, demonstrating what its founder describes as a crucial social justice issue in contemporary education.
The TCES Model: Therapeutic Education Embedded in Daily Practice
Thomas Keaney, founder and chief executive of TCES Group, explains their fundamental philosophy: "We take children that society has given up on. Many have been out of school for up to two years and have, on average, three permanent exclusions from previous educational settings." The TCES Group operates five schools across London alongside comprehensive outreach, training, and therapy services.
The school's approach centers on three core principles that staff believe create transformative outcomes. First, the institution maintains an absolute commitment to never excluding any pupil under any circumstances. Second, every child is intentionally paired with a trusted adult who provides consistent support. Third, the school operates in genuine partnership with families rather than viewing them as peripheral to the educational process.
Beyond Symbolic Inclusion: Practical Implementation Matters
Ricardo Hylton, headteacher at TCES Nurture Primary, emphasizes that their success lies not in the concept of inclusion but in its practical implementation. "In previous schools, a therapist would take pupils out for one-to-one sessions," Hylton explains. "Here, therapeutic principles are built into how teachers deliver lessons. We use daily intervention guidelines that shape how staff work with children throughout every school day."
This embedded approach means therapy isn't an add-on or separate intervention but rather an integral component of classroom instruction. Pupils learn in small classes where teachers understand how each child processes language, sensory input, and classroom environments. Simply placing additional adults alongside pupils, Hylton argues, makes little difference without this deeper understanding of individual needs.
Children's Perspectives: From Exclusion to Engagement
Within a Year 3 classroom, two pupils serving as safeguarding champions articulate the contrast with their previous educational experiences. "They help with speech and special needs here," says Frankie. His classmate Ian offers more direct commentary: "They don't just kick them out."
When asked what they appreciate about their school, children mention football, reading sessions, celebration assemblies, and the innovative "dojo shop" system. This reward program allows pupils to earn points for effort and positive behavior, which they can save or exchange for small rewards. Keaney describes these systems as deliberate strategies to rebuild engagement. "Giving responsibility and status to children who have often been punished elsewhere can be a powerful way to re-engage them," he notes.
Family Impact: Reducing Stress and Building Trust
The school's approach creates significant positive effects beyond classroom walls. Two mothers of current pupils, Bobbie and Jade, describe dramatic reductions in family stress since their sons enrolled at TCES Nurture Primary.
"The absence of constant calls from this school is huge," Bobbie explains. "At our previous school I would see the number and panic. I was called in daily, sometimes climbing fences to get him down from dangerous situations. Here, I rarely get calls. We are not living on edge anymore."
Jade recalls her son's previous educational placement, where he attended for just one hour daily in a single room with multiple staff and minimal social contact. "All areas of my son are understood in this school," she says. "And if they're not immediately understood, they work collaboratively with me to develop that understanding."
Political Context and Future Challenges
As the Labour party promotes policies to increase Send inclusion within mainstream schools, questions emerge about practical implementation. Keaney welcomes the emphasis on inclusion but expresses concern about potential shortcomings. He warns that the government's £200 million Send teacher training program may prove insufficient without deeper systemic reform.
"Training alone risks producing a symbolic version of inclusion that leaves children's actual needs unmet," Keaney argues. He expresses particular wariness about expanding Send provision within mainstream schools without proper implementation, suggesting this could become "exclusion by another route" if children are effectively segregated within larger institutions.
Keaney advocates for several specific changes: implementing a "pause" period before considering removal of any pupil, exhausting low-cost interventions first, providing disengaged pupils with responsibility rather than punishment, and combining firm boundaries with therapeutic understanding. He also emphasizes that schools need hands-on support and regularly-staffed helplines to facilitate genuine practice transformation.
The True Cost of Early Intervention
TCES staff maintain that their approach, while requiring thoughtful implementation, ultimately proves more cost-effective than alternatives. "This isn't fundamentally a financial issue," Keaney insists. "But it does require investment in knowing how to do this properly." He argues for a cultural shift after decades during which educational systems have been structured in ways that facilitate exclusion.
The human costs of failing to intervene effectively are substantial, staff emphasize. Without proper support, children risk long-term exclusion and potential entry into what researchers term the "school-to-prison pipeline." Early, appropriate intervention represents both moral imperative and practical necessity.
A Transformative Case Study
Keaney shares a recent example that illustrates their approach's potential impact. A non-speaking autistic child arrived at TCES exhibiting violent behavior and overwhelming distress, leaving his mother regularly covered in bruises. Shortly after beginning at the school, the mother reported dramatic improvement: "I have not had a meltdown in six weeks. He used to have six a day."
During a meeting with visiting officials, the child entered the room, took his mother's hand, and clearly stated: "Home, mum, home." This child, who previously communicated minimally, now speaks in three-word sentences. For Keaney and TCES staff, this transformation represents the clearest possible illustration of what genuine inclusion can achieve when implemented with commitment, understanding, and appropriate support structures.
With demand for their approach growing substantially, TCES is currently constructing a second primary school in north London. Their quarter-century experiment in exclusion-free education continues to offer insights and challenges to conventional educational practices regarding Send inclusion.
