In the last 10 years, the problem of school exclusion in England has reached a crisis point. Figures on permanent exclusions from primary, secondary and special schools in England show that for 1996/97, 12 700 children were excluded. Among these, 12% were pupils permanently excluded from primary schools. When the present Labour Government came to office, it made tackling these interlinked problems, i.e. poverty, poor skills and high crime, a priority because of the great human costs to individuals and society, and because of the impact on public finances and the health of the economy. Therefore, the government launched in 1997 the Social Exclusion Unit as one the first governmental actions targeting the phenomenon of school and social exclusion. As part of these initiatives, this paper focuses on the prevention of exclusion from primary school and the first year of secondary school at Key Stages 1 and 2 (4-11 years old) due to emotional and behavioural problems either at home or at school. The study aims to establish whether a new intensive, multidisciplinary intervention for pupils excluded from primary school because of disruptive/antisocial behaviour helps reduce the number of excluded days and the reoccurrence of emotional and behavioural difficulties when compared with routine care. (Contains 5 tables and 2 figures.)