Latest news with #exclusions
BBC News
10-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
School suspensions and exclusions rise to nearly a million in England
The number of school suspensions and exclusions in England has reached its highest level since 2006, Department for Education figures were 954,952 suspensions in state schools in 2023/24 - a 21% increase on the previous year - while exclusions also rose 16% to 10,885. While secondary school pupils comprised most suspensions, more than 100,000 were primary age - a number that has grown significantly.A suspended pupil must stay out of school for a fixed period of up to 45 days per school year, while those excluded are permanently removed. Individual pupils often account for more than one period of government says it is tackling the root causes of poor behaviour and is intensively supporting 500 schools with the worst behaviour. Persistent disruptive behaviour was the most common reason pupils were sent home, accounting for half of all suspensions and 39% half of the suspensions were among pupils getting support for special educational needs - who were three times more likely to be suspended than their classmates. Children on free school meals were also overrepresented, making up a quarter of the school population but 60% of Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders' union NAHT, said schools alone could not address the causes of poor behaviour. "Schools have a duty to provide a safe environment for all pupils and only use suspensions and exclusions when other options to ensure this have been exhausted," he said."The reasons for disruptive behaviour often lie beyond the school gates and have their roots in wider challenges, including everything from poverty to access to support with special educational needs and mental ill-health."The vast majority of suspensions - nine in 10 - occurred at secondary schools, with Year 9 having the highest rate. But primary-age suspensions rose too, up 24% on the previous vast majority (88%) of pupils who were excluded at primary school were getting support for special educational needs, compared with 46% of excluded secondary school pupils. Research from charity Chance UK, which supports families of excluded children in London, suggests that 90% of children who are excluded at primary school fail to pass GCSE English and Schmal, the charity's director, said Thursday's figures revealed a "very concerning picture" - particularly the rise in primary school suspensions. "Early intervention has to mean early. We can't wait until these children are teenagers to tackle this." Sarah - not her real name - is a mum of one in London. Her six-year-old son was suspended several times within his first few weeks at primary school for hitting other pupils and throwing things in said that even after school staff agreed that her son showed signs of autism, he continued to be sent out of class regularly and suspended, which made him feel "isolated". "Since he was three years old, my son has been labelled as the naughty and difficult kid when all he really needed was help," she said."I sought help as soon as I recognised that he needed additional support. But rather than helping me immediately, they waited until it was an emergency."Sarah eventually managed to move her son to a different mainstream school where he is getting more support, she to the figures, early education minister Stephen Morgan said the Labour government had "wasted no time in tackling the root causes of poor behaviour", including offering mental health support in every school and expanding free school pointed to its new attendance and behaviour hubs, which will directly support the 500 schools that "need the most help"."We're also continuing to listen to parents as we reform the SEND system, while already putting in place better and earlier support for speech and language needs, ADHD and autism," Morgan added.
The Guardian
10-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Rise in school exclusions in England including among children under six
More than 10,000 children were excluded from England's state schools last year, alongside record numbers of suspensions involving pupils younger than six or with special needs, as teachers struggled to cope with worsening behaviour. The figures for the 2023-24 academic year revealed that the number of permanent exclusions leapt up by 16% compared with the year before, while the total number of suspension days rose by 21% to 955,000. Four children out of every 100 received at least one suspension during the year, with more than 100,000 suspended for the equivalent of a week or longer. Although the vast majority of suspensions and exclusions were in secondary schools, peaking at ages 13 to 14, the sanctions increased more rapidly in primary schools among children whose earliest education had been disrupted by the Covid pandemic and associated school closures. The Department for Education data showed the number of suspensions in primary schools exceeded 100,000 for the first time on record, while 471 children aged six or younger were expelled. Sophie Schmal, the director of Chance UK, a charity which supports young children at risk of exclusion, said: 'When you have children as young as five and six years old being permanently excluded from school then clearly something is going very wrong. 'Every day, we see children and families being let down by a system that is failing to support them early enough. 'We are also concerned that stripping away education, health and care plans (EHCPs) will leave more children at risk of exclusion and disengagement from school. 'The support and funding that the most vulnerable children require to thrive in a school setting needs to be a priority for this government and we cannot afford to let these children fall through the cracks. Early intervention has to mean early – we can't wait until these children are teenagers to tackle this.' Lorraine Anderson, a family support manager with Chance UK in London, said: 'We have to acknowledge that Covid probably had an impact. These are children who were not socialised for a long time. 'It's really worrying. We are seeing more permanent exclusions in primary school and the statistics tell us that 90% of children excluded from primary school will not pass GCSEs in maths and English.' Paul Whiteman, the general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said: 'Schools work tirelessly to support pupils but they alone cannot address the causes and symptoms of poor behaviour. They need back-up in the shape of additional investment in vital services like social care, children's mental health, behaviour support teams and special educational needs provision, which have been reduced or failed to keep up with demand over the last decade.' Stephen Morgan, the minister for early education, said: 'Every moment in the classroom counts – but with almost 1m suspensions in the 2023 academic year, the evidence is clear that this government's inheritance was classrooms in chaos, with swathes of the next generation cut off from the opportunity to get on in life.' More than half of the 10,900 students excluded had special educational needs, including more than 1,000 with EHCPs, statutory agreements between families and local authorities for individual provision, which are under threat from the government's special needs reforms. Jane (not her real name) has gone through numerous exclusions with her children who all have special needs. Her 13-year-old was first excluded in primary school. More exclusions followed, and he was finally diagnosed with ADHD. 'I would get a call asking me to come pick him up because he had been excluded again. And with every exclusion, the problem would grow deeper,' said Jane. 'We kept having to go to 'reintegration meetings' every time he was excluded … and then he would be sent home again a few days later. It was so frustrating, and I felt like no one was interested in giving him the support he needed to engage with school properly. 'He is now in his first year of secondary school, and things have gotten even worse. I feel like he now has that 'naughty child' label, and the exclusions just keep coming. He is missing so much school and being left with nothing to do and no meaningful support.'
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
School suspensions and exclusions in England reach record high
Suspensions and exclusions from schools in England have risen to a record high for recent times, Government figures show. There were 954,952 suspensions in the 2023/24 academic year, compared with 786,961 in 2022/23 – an increase of more than a fifth (21%) in a year. There were 10,885 permanent exclusions in 2023/24, compared with 9,376 the year before – a rise of 16%, according to the Department for Education (DfE) data. The rise comes amid warnings of challenging behaviour in classrooms following the Covid-19 pandemic. Suspensions – which are when a pupil is excluded from a school for a set period of time – in primary schools rose by nearly a quarter in a year. Figures released on Thursday show that suspensions for pupils in state primary schools rose by 24%, from 84,264 in 2022/23 to 104,803 in 2023/24. Meanwhile, suspensions for secondary school pupils rose by 21% in a year, from 685,930 to 829,896. Persistent disruptive behaviour was the most common reason for sanctions, accounting for 51% of all reasons given for suspension and 39% for exclusion. Suspensions and exclusions peaked in the 2023/24 autumn term, where there were 346,279 suspensions and 4,168 permanent exclusions in a single term. The number of suspensions and exclusions in England is the highest since at least 2006/07, when the latest DfE data begins. Pupils on free school meals and those with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) continue to see high levels of suspensions and permanent exclusions, the DfE said. Education minister Stephen Morgan said: 'Every moment in the classroom counts – but with almost one million suspensions in the 2023 academic year, the evidence is clear that this Government's inheritance was classrooms in chaos, with swathes of the next generation cut off from the opportunity to get on in life. 'Through our plan for change, we've wasted no time in tackling the root causes of poor behaviour, including by providing access to mental health support in every school, making sure every child gets the fuel they need to learn through free breakfast clubs and expanding free school meals, and launching our new attendance and behaviour hubs which will directly support the 500 schools that need the most help. 'We're also continuing to listen to parents as we reform the Send system, while already putting in place better and earlier support for speech and language needs, ADHD and autism and £740 million to encourage councils to create more specialist places in mainstream schools.' Beth Prescott, education lead at the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) think tank, said: 'There is a crisis of bad behaviour disrupting classrooms.' She added: 'Government and schools have an important role to play, but our research shows that parents also need to up their game and take responsibility for their children's behaviour in class. 'There has been a fundamental breakdown in the school-parent social contract.' Carol Homden, chief executive of Coram charity, said: 'Year on year the numbers of children excluded from school on a temporary and on a permanent basis continue to rise, but this year's significant rise must be a wake-up call.' She added: 'This epidemic of exclusion must also be faced head on by the Government while addressing the current crisis in special educational needs and disability provision, in order to make our children's right to a suitable education a reality.' Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders' union NAHT, said: 'Schools have a duty to provide a safe environment for all pupils and only use suspensions and exclusions when other options to ensure this have been exhausted. 'The reasons for disruptive behaviour often lie beyond the school gates and have their roots in wider challenges, including everything from poverty to access to support with special educational needs and mental ill-health. 'Schools work tirelessly to support pupils, but they alone cannot address the causes and symptoms of poor behaviour. 'They need back-up in the shape of additional investment in vital services like social care, children's mental health, behaviour support teams, and special educational needs provision, which have been reduced or failed to keep up with demand over the last decade.' Sophie Schmal, director of Chance UK charity, said: 'The latest figures released today reveal a shocking picture, particularly for some of our youngest and most vulnerable children. 'When you have children as young as five and six years old being permanently excluded from school, then clearly something is going very wrong. 'Every day, we see children and families being let down by a system that is failing to support them early enough.'
The Independent
10-07-2025
- General
- The Independent
School suspensions and exclusions in England reach record high
Suspensions and exclusions from schools in England have risen to a record high for recent times, Government figures show. There were 954,952 suspensions in the 2023/24 academic year, compared with 786,961 in 2022/23 – an increase of more than a fifth (21%) in a year. There were 10,885 permanent exclusions in 2023/24, compared with 9,376 the year before – a rise of 16%, according to the Department for Education (DfE) data. The rise comes amid warnings of challenging behaviour in classrooms following the Covid-19 pandemic. Suspensions – which are when a pupil is excluded from a school for a set period of time – in primary schools rose by nearly a quarter in a year. Figures released on Thursday show that suspensions for pupils in state primary schools rose by 24%, from 84,264 in 2022/23 to 104,803 in 2023/24. Meanwhile, suspensions for secondary school pupils rose by 21% in a year, from 685,930 to 829,896. Persistent disruptive behaviour was the most common reason for sanctions, accounting for 51% of all reasons given for suspension and 39% for exclusion. Suspensions and exclusions peaked in the 2023/24 autumn term, where there were 346,279 suspensions and 4,168 permanent exclusions in a single term. The number of suspensions and exclusions in England is the highest since at least 2016/17, when the latest DfE data begins. Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders' union NAHT, said: 'Schools have a duty to provide a safe environment for all pupils and only use suspensions and exclusions when other options to ensure this have been exhausted. 'The reasons for disruptive behaviour often lie beyond the school gates and have their roots in wider challenges, including everything from poverty to access to support with special educational needs and mental ill-health. 'Schools work tirelessly to support pupils, but they alone cannot address the causes and symptoms of poor behaviour. 'They need back-up in the shape of additional investment in vital services like social care, children's mental health, behaviour support teams, and special educational needs provision, which have been reduced or failed to keep up with demand over the last decade.' Sophie Schmal, director of Chance UK charity, said: 'The latest figures released today reveal a shocking picture, particularly for some of our youngest and most vulnerable children. 'When you have children as young as five and six years old being permanently excluded from school, then clearly something is going very wrong. 'Every day, we see children and families being let down by a system that is failing to support them early enough.'
The Independent
19-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Tory leader accused of demonising young people with push for school exclusions
Scotland's First Minister has accused the leader of the Tories of a 'demonisation of young people' after he pushed for more exclusions to tackle disruption in schools. The Government this week released long-awaited guidance which attempts to deal with the issue, which has been worsening since the pandemic, telling teachers excluding pupils should be a 'last resort'. Speaking at First Minister's Questions, Conservative leader Russell Findlay branded the 49-page document 'nonsense' as he urged John Swinney to 'end the barrage of guidance and please empower teachers to take a stricter approach'. But Mr Swinney pointed to a summit he recently hosted in an attempt to limit school violence, where he said none of the attendees pushed for greater exclusions. 'A whole variety of different people involved, in violence reduction… all those organisations who are doing really good work to avoid violence in our society and to de-escalate, exactly what I'm talking about,' he said. 'Not one of them said to me that I should increase the level of exclusion from schools. 'So what we are getting from Russell Findlay today is a demonisation of young people and a failure to address the mechanisms and the interventions required to solve a difficult issue in our society. 'It is simplistic nonsense, and Parliament should ignore it.' Earlier in the session, Mr Findlay attacked the guidance, saying: 'Really, it's exactly what you might expect from this ineffective Government. 'Forty-nine pages of tedious, hand-wringing nonsense, complicated and confusing. When John Swinney was education secretary, teachers said he issued too much guidance, which made their jobs even harder.' Mr Findlay mocked some of the suggested measures in the guidance, including giving 'violent pupils laminated bullet points, telling them to think about their behaviour', and tackling dangerous behaviour by having 'a conversation to jointly problem solve with the child'. Responding, the First Minister said: 'I don't think for a moment that Mr Findlay's presentation of the guidance is in any way, shape or form representative of what is actually there. 'What the guidance is designed to do is to de-escalate situations in our schools to ensure that young people can participate in their education. 'Because if young people are unable to participate in their education, they are unlikely to go into good outcomes in our society, and we will simply repeat the difficulties that we have seen for many years of young people who do not go on to positive destinations.' The First Minister also told MSPs that, if excluded, pupils are no longer in the 'safe environment of school', adding: 'They are therefore likely to be out on the streets and therefore potentially able to become involved in some of the criminal activity that Mr Findlay himself has put to me with the last fortnight at First Minister's Questions as being a risk to which young people are exposed.' Mr Findlay – a former crime journalist – has repeatedly raised the issue of organised crime, particularly around the ongoing feud which has sparked violence across Scotland's central belt.
