Policy in Practice: Enabling and Inhibiting Factors for the Success of Suspension Centres

Suspension centres are a government initiative to help address disruptive student beahviour in NSW government schools. The centres are for students on long suspension from school and have not been formally evaluated. Stakeholders were asked their opinions regarding: what are the best things happening with suspension centres or what should be maintained with suspension centres?; what needs to be improved with suspension centres?; and what evidence is there that suspension centres are meeting the Purpose and Goals as outlined in the Guidelines? Responses revealed that the best things happening or things that should be maintained included that: students were learning skills related to academic activities and behaviour and that suspension centre staff were using appropriate approaches and had good skills in managing students with disruptive behaviour. Things that needed to be improved included: communication and use of suspension centres and that students' schools needed to provide ongoing support for students who were referred to the centres.