Mandate Social, Emotional, and Mental Health informed school behaviour policies

We believe SEMH has to be more clearly recognised and treated as an educational need, and not a behavioural failure, to protect children's futures.

We are concerned that a large number of SEMH students may be out of education in part because rigid discipline can punish mental health struggles and neurodiversity as bad behaviour. Having experienced this first-hand, I know the pain of being treated as a problem to be managed rather than a student to be helped. We demand the Government set out guidelines for and legally mandate SEMH-safe behaviour policies, in the way we've proposed, to help protect our futures.