Meticulously researched and absolutely heart-rending. Anton McLean writes compellingly about how the education system is failing our most disadvantaged students. Students already behind their more privileged peers are more likely to be excluded, both internally and permanently, creating wider gaps and sending more children on their way into the exclusion to prison pipeline.

Interviews with students and staff at Pupil Referral Units drive home the impact these decisions have on the lives of young people and those who work with them.

McLean discusses the reasoning behind exclusion in a fair and balanced manner and is clear in his propsals for a fairer future for these young people. A must read for everyone working in secondary education.