Commenting on the think tank Demos's latest report and its recommendation to abolish exclusions, Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers' union, said;

"The report identifies an issue often raised by our members that there are delays and a lack of support in the system when it comes to meeting schools' needs for extra resources in respect of children's emotional and behavioural difficulties.

"There are many helpful suggestions in the report but all of them involve extra resources. It would make more sense to invest in keeping young people in school rather than spending more money on them once they have been excluded.

"However, the measures outlined in the report should not be at the expense of removing the rights of schools to permanently exclude. It is an action of last resort which is necessary to protect the learning and well being of other children as well as staff."