Your article quotes Tom Bennett, “a leading expert in behaviour management”, suggesting that internal exclusions are “a form of inclusion” (‘Internal exclusion’ of England secondary school students almost triples in three years, 3 September). That does not reflect my own experience. If a student is internally excluded, it must be as a last resort. I spent several months in the isolation room at my secondary school, and it didn’t feel inclusive to me.
Like many of the students disproportionately affected by internal exclusion, I was from a disadvantaged background. I also had undiagnosed dyslexia. For me, internal exclusion meant I was unable to learn alongside other students – I’d simply get a printed handout from a teacher of the lesson notes and was told to read them.
