Pupil Referral Units

Even in today's society - which is governed with the idea that every child is entitled to an education - there are some children who cannot be educated within the confines of an ordinary school environment.

To this end Pupil Referral Units exist and they do so to allow those children who cannot attend school for a variety of different reasons to have a chance to gain the same standard and levels of education as those children who attend normally.

A Pupil Referral Unit - or PRU - is in itself a school but operates outside of normal schooling and is designed to help those children who might not fit in to the normal school regime for a variety of different reasons.

Who Would Require Schooling at a Pupil Referral Unit?

The first thing to note about Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) is that they are not simply designed as a means of educating those children who are badly behaved or have been excluded from the normal schooling environment because of problems with their behaviour.

Indeed Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) offer the chance for children suffering from different backgrounds and circumstances to seek an education. Many of them may have (or may be):

• Suffering from medical conditions
• Teenage mothers
• Pregnant teenagers
• Autistic children
• Children not yet allocated a school place

It is indeed important to note at this point that there are children who do suffer from problems with their behaviour who are taught within these Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) but it should be understood that they are not taught alongside those children who are not having difficulties of a behavioural nature.

What Can My Child Expect to Learn at a Pupil Referral Unit?

If you have a child that is being taught at a Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) then he or she can expect to have a broad spectrum of learning before them. Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) however do not teach the entire school curriculum but aim to cover as much of it as is possible given the resources and manpower available.

You should reasonably expect that your child will be instructed in:

• English
• Mathematics
• Science
• Information Technology (Computers)
• PSHE (Personal, Social and Health Education

Many Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) often outsource certain lessons and it may be possible that if your child is being instructed at such a unit that he or she may have to attend a further education centre to be instructed in a particular subject.

Who Runs Pupil Referral Units?

Any local authority who feels there is valid reason to have a Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) can set one up. They do not have to ask permission to instigate the setting up of a Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) but they should have it registered with OFSTED (Office for Standards in Education) so that they can be inspected to ensure that what they do aim to educate their pupils in is done so to the highest standard possible.

Before a Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) can be allowed to teach students it must first register not only with OFSTED (Office for Standards in Education) but also with the DCSF (Department for Children, Schools and Families).

How to Find Out More About Pupil Referral Units (PRUs)?

If you wish to find out more about Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) and in particular Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) in your catchment area then you should - in the first instance - contact your Local Education Authority (LEA) who will be able to provide you with the details of all Pupil Referral Units and also which schools allow students to attend.

You can also find out more by visiting the website of OFSTED (Office for Standards in Education) at www.ofsted.gov.uk