Episode 1

With school exclusions at their highest in a decade, behavioural expert Marie Gentles visits Milton Hall Primary School in Southend to help the school manage their most challenging pupils. Marie previously spent ten years as the headteacher of a pupil referral unit, and her experience working with children outside of mainstream education has helped her develop techniques that can help avoid exclusions completely.

The film follows her time at the school as she helps teachers and parents work together to keep children in class. She starts with eight-year-old Jack, who is struggling to contain his emotions in school. Her second pupil is six-year-old Oscar, who has already had three fixed term exclusions, where he has been sent away from school. At home mum and dad are also struggling to cope – can she help them?