A “BILL of rights” should protect children who are at risk of exclusion, a Commons committee says in a new report today following damning criticisms of a “lack of moral accountability” in schools.

The Commons education committee says parents are forced to deal with a “Wild West” education system that favours school administrations rather than the wellbeing of excluded pupils, who have to be taught under “alternative provision.”

Children excluded from mainstream schools are two-and-a-half times more likely to have an unqualified teacher in alternative schools, IPPR think tank research revealed last week.

Warning of an “alarming” increase in “hidden exclusions,” where pupils are unofficially barred from attending classes, the committee report criticised a lack of incentive for teachers to help students seen as “difficult” or “challenging.”

This follows on from figures published last week showing a huge rise in exclusions, with approximately 40 children formally expelled and more than 2,000 suspended every day in English schools.

As a result, the committee called for a “bill of rights,” to be held between pupils and parents, which must include a commitment that schools do not “rush” to get rid of misbehaving children and that schools must be far more transparent with exclusion rates.

This was the only way, the committee said, that “mainstream schools” could strive to be the “bastions of inclusion” they aim to be.

In response to the cross-party call, ministers have announced a structural review of exclusions.

Committee chair Robert Halfon condemned the exclusions as a “scandal,” expressing concern that children are “abandoned” to disciplinary processes that “too often fail to deliver good outcomes for these young people.

“We need a bill of rights for parents and pupils who access alternative provision.

“They deserve someone in their corner to be their champion during the often difficult process of trying to get the best possible support.”

National Education Union joint general secretary Mary Bousted criticised the current “perverse” system of accountability that makes some schools “feel penalised” for helping children with special needs.

Dr Bousted also welcomed the committee’s calls for an end to zero tolerance behaviour policies, which “discriminate against disadvantaged children and those with special educational needs.”

She urged the government to “promote additional incentives” in schools, as well as a decrease in testing and for a “creative and flexible” curriculum.