School matters. A safe alternative. 1

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South Tyneside is home to some of the most economically and socially disadvantaged families in Britain. It is against this backdrop that the staff of the Alternative Education Service face the challenge of providing full time education for the young people who have been excluded from the area's mainstream schools. The teachers at the Secondary Pupil Referral Unit are not only trying to improve pupils' behaviour so that they can be re-integrated back into school, they are acting as an important support for vulnerable children. One of their key aims is to help their pupils develop the emotional and social skills necessary to cope with growing up in an area of great poverty. Although education has a clear and prominent place in South Tyneside Council's priorities, we witness staff who are doing remarkable work with pupils in difficult conditions often quite unsuitable for boisterous, lively adolescents. Their aim is to provide these young people with a safe place to learn.