Pupil put in isolation booth for more than half a school year, BBC learns
BBC News 2026-06-30 05:00:16
Context: A recent investigation by the BBC's File on 4 has revealed that a pupil at Outwood Grange Academy in Wakefield was placed in an isolation booth for over half an academic year. The school, run by Outwood Grange Academies Trust, has faced scrutiny over its use of isolation to manage pupil behavior, with concerns about the impact on students' mental health. The investigation found that 23 students at the academy spent more than 20% of their days in isolation booths in one of the past two academic years.
Key Facts
- A pupil at Outwood Grange Academy in Wakefield was placed in an isolation booth for over half an academic year, with one former student, Ben, reporting being isolated 58 times in 2023-4, usually for a full day.
- The school's isolation policy, described as "reflection," involves taking students out of their classes and moving them to a separate supervised space, where they are sometimes given trivial tasks or no work at all.
- Outwood Grange Academies Trust had changed its policies in 2019 to say that students should be given meaningful work while in isolation, but Ben reported often being given no work or work that was too hard or not suitable for the full day.
- The use of isolation booths has been linked to concerns about students' mental health, with a former student, Taylor Lee, reporting that the school's strict rules and isolation policy caused him mental health issues before his death.
- Government guidance says isolation, or "internal exclusion," should only be used as a last resort, but an analysis by education consultants The Key Group found that 18% of students at hundreds of secondary schools using the practice were isolated at least once during the academic year.