Thousands of excluded pupils in England have no place to go in September

Teachers say Covid-19 closures have put vulnerable pupils at greater risk of exploitation

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Thousands of excluded pupils who are at risk of criminal and sexual exploitation have no school, college or training place to go to in September because of the disruption caused by the Covid-19 crisis, headteachers have said.

Around 10,000 year 11 students who were excluded from mainstream schools in England and moved to alternative provision (AP) are due to leave at the end of this term, but a survey suggests a quarter have no plans in place and may have become further disengaged under lockdown.