As reported by The Telegraph, record-high exclusions in England highlight worsening pupil behaviour post-pandemic, according to new DfE figures
Permanent expulsions hit a record high of 9,400 across schools in England last summer, up from 6,500 in the 2021/22 academic year.
It marks the highest exclusion rate in 15 years and the largest leap in a non-pandemic year, according to figures published by the Department for Education (DfE).
Last year also saw a record number of school suspensions, with pupils in England temporarily removed from school 787,000 times. It marks a 36 per cent jump in a single year and the highest suspension rate since records began.
Some pupils were suspended multiple times, but the number of children temporarily barred from school still rose 20 per cent in the 2022/23 academic year – the highest jump in a non-pandemic year.
The DfE cited persistent disruptive behaviour as the main driver of sanctions on pupils, accounting for almost half of all suspensions and 39 per cent of expulsions last year.
Stephen Morgan, the schools minister, described the figures as “shocking” and said they should serve as “a wake-up call about the problems that have grown in our schools in recent years”.
“Every pupil deserves to learn in a safe, calm classroom and we will always support our hard-working and dedicated teachers to make this happen,” he said.
It comes amid mounting reports of worsening behaviour in classrooms, with teachers warning they have been subjected to abuse and intimidation by pupils.
Staff at Caldicot Comprehensive School in Wales launched three days of strike action in September and October last year after teachers complained little was being done to address pupil violence.
Amanda Spielman, the former Ofsted chief inspector who stepped down earlier this year, echoed concerns about worsening pupil behaviour in her final annual report as head of the schools watchdog.
She blamed the deterioration on disrupted social norms during the pandemic, and a “fracturing of the traditional social contract between schools and families”, which has seen an escalation in poor behaviour – and in some cases, pupils failing to turn up to school altogether.
DfE figures published on Thursday showed rises in the number of pupils suspended or expelled for bullying, physical assault, racist abuse and drug or alcohol use.
Threatening behaviour
The number of children permanently excluded for verbal abuse or threatening behaviour against an adult leapt 56 per cent last year, while suspensions for the same reason rose by a third.
Official statistics also showed children with complex needs were more likely to face punishment than their peers. Pupils eligible for free school meals were four times more likely to be suspended and five times more likely to be expelled.
Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “School leaders only ever suspend and exclude pupils as a last resort, and therefore this rise would appear to reflect the increasingly complex needs and challenging behaviour we are seeing in schools and across wider society.
“Behavioural issues are often a result of poor mental health or unmet special educational needs. We desperately need the new Government to work alongside the education profession to put support systems in place that ensure young people get the help they need to stop these problems from escalating.”
Mr Morgan said the new Labour Government was “determined to get to grips with the causes of exclusions” in schools and has pledged to recruit 8,500 mental health specialists for classrooms. The party will fund the measure through its plan to start charging VAT on private schools.
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