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Data for Managed Moves In Bristol Still Not Transparent

October 13, 2022 Chopsy Baby

The number of children in Bristol who experience managed moves between schools is still not wholly transparent, despite this being raised as an issue by an independent Alternative Learning Provision report back in 2020.

It’s taken us over two months to find out from Bristol City Council the current numbers of children going through the managed moves process as well as those who have been through it more than once.

Managed Moves is the process of transferring a pupil between schools. In Bristol, a Behaviour Inclusion Panel (BIP) oversees managed moves for pupils where there is a ‘potential risk of permanent exclusion’.

But otherwise it is schools who handle managed moves. Bristol City Council told us: ‘Bristol schools individually arrange Managed Moves (MM) between themselves. The council does not, and is not, legally required to collect this information.’

The process of managed moves is supposed to benefit the pupil by them not having an exclusion on their school record. It also benefits schools by them not having an excluded pupil on their exclusions data. BIP oversee managed moves agreed through Panel Agreed Managed Moves (PAMM).

A parent speaking to us in confidence raised concerns that children were experiencing multiple managed moves, some of them with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (Send) but without even having an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP).

This week, Bristol City Council provided data to us under the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) giving more insight into current figures.

The number of PAMM manged moves in Bristol can be seen in the chart below, but this does not include managed moves handled by schools between themselves. Whilst the number dropped between 2020 and 2021, these are likely to have been impacted by school closures due to Covid-19.

Data we had previously received from Bristol City Council regarding pupil movements from individual schools shows total numbers to be far higher. Whilst the council claim that no pupils were logged as having over 3 PAMMs, the data is not available to show if there are pupils having 4 or more managed moves done through schools or in addition to the official PAMMS.

Whilst most pupils had one managed moves, there was at least one pupil in 2018/19 and 2020/21 who had started at one school and subsequently moved three times since then.

For every PAMM where there has been at least one move, a child or young person has already been registered at a school they have had to move from.

When you include the data from the above school chart against the council’s PAMM numbers, it becomes clear that far more managed moves are taking place than appear to be recorded.

The school chart also includes numbers for managed moves for Pupil Referral Units and Ofsted registered Alternative Learning Provision, which adds up to an additional 40 pupil movements in 2018/19, 16 in 2019/20 and 7 in term 1-4 of 2020/21.

There is currently no research or data into the impact on Bristol families of managed moves, who will be financially responsible for buying brand new sets of uniform for school places which may only last 12 weeks before they are moved on again.