Vulnerable children expelled from mainstream schools are at risk of being “preyed upon” because of worryingly poor attendance at the specialist institutions tasked with teaching them, the chief inspector of schools in England has warned.

Amanda Spielman, the head of Ofsted, said that the vast majority of pupil referral units (PRUs) and other providers who accepted excluded children were able to turn around the life chances of their pupils. She said they should not be viewed as a passport to criminality, as they are sometimes portrayed.

Read more in The Guardian