-How many primary school-age pupils were “off-rolled” in your local authority area (left the state-funded school sector without being permanently excluded) between September 1 2017 and August 31 2018? Please provide the age of the pupil.
Devon County Council do not hold this information.
We can further clarify that there is no official definition of off-rolling. However, Ofsted in their annual report use the following definition to assist inspectors in their conversations with schools:
“Off-rolling is the practice of removing a pupil from the school roll without a formal, permanent exclusion or by encouraging a parent to remove their child from the school roll, when the removal is primarily in the interests of the school rather than in the best interests of the pupil. Off-rolling in these circumstances is a form of ‘gaming’.
There are many reasons why a school might remove a pupil from the school roll, such as when a pupil moves house or a parent decides (without coercion from the school) to home-educate their child. This is not off-rolling. If a school removes a pupil from the roll due to a formal permanent exclusion and follows the proper processes, this is not off-rolling.”