PRU Pupils – 6 and excluded

In 2018, whilst in their roles as a Headteacher and Deputy Head of an outstanding Pupil Referral Unit in East London, Marie Gentles and Katie L’Aimable featured on the Victoria Derbyshire programme. (20 mins)

When you exclude a young person from school, you interfere with their right to education. But this is rarely the only human rights violation they face. Excluded pupils are at risk, for example, of being drawn into serious youth violence – as both victims and perpetrators – are overrepresented in the prison system and often have their home life and private life disrupted.

EachOther’s first long-form documentary only features the voices of young people – those who are most affected by exclusion – who share their stories and views on this complex issue.

We also employed affected young people as consultants and researchers on the film. Their voices and solutions, concerns and experiences are at the heart of this work.

We heard from young people who had been temporarily excluded, permanently excluded, indirectly excluded, and those that had never been excluded – often referred to as ‘the other 29’ in a class. We heard from the No Lost Causes campaign group and from young people in Special Referral Units. We spoke to young people in London and in Scotland, including the Scottish Youth Parliament’s education and human rights committees. And we learned from St Roch’s school, which is at the heart of the inclusive, compassionate learning model that has brought about change in Glasgow. (45 mins)

Researchers have recently discovered a dangerous biological syndrome caused by abuse and neglect during childhood. As the new documentary Resilience reveals, toxic stress can trigger hormones that wreak havoc on the brains and bodies of children, putting them at a greater risk for disease, homelessness, prison time, and early death. While the broader impacts of poverty worsen the risk, no segment of society is immune. Resilience, however, also chronicles the dawn of a movement that is determined to fight back. Trailblazers in pediatrics, education, and social welfare are using cutting-edge science and field-tested therapies to protect children from the insidious effects of toxic stress—and the dark legacy of a childhood that no child would choose. (60 mins)