Poorer outcomes for students suspended during secondary school

Young people who were suspended at least once while at secondary school in England are twice as likely to be out of education, employment or training by the age of 24 as their peers, according to research from the Education Policy Institute (EPI).

Commissioned by youth education charity Impetus, the new analysis has identified a ‘suspension employment gap’ with young people who are suspended at secondary school experiencing a range of poorer outcomes in late adolescence and early adulthood.

It also found that pupils suspended ten or more times appear to have just as poor, if not poorer, outcomes compared to those who experience permanent exclusion.

Paul Whiteman, the general secretary of NAHT, said: “Schools work hard to support pupils, only using suspensions and exclusions where absolutely necessary for the safety and wellbeing of all children, but they cannot do this alone.

“Vital services like children’s social care, child and adolescent mental health services and specialist behaviour support teams which enable schools to access specialist help need to be rebuilt, and the crisis in special educational needs provision must be tackled.”

The report suggested several policy recommendations. One of those is that the Department for Education (DfE)  should consider conducting a programme of work which sets out how to best respond to behaviour that reflects the evidence on in-school and out-of-school drivers.

This us to address the urgent need for early intervention to address the factors leading to suspension. 

They also said the DfE should develop the evidence base on what works to support pupils who experience multiple suspensions.

Future research should continue to better understand the causes of suspensions and permanent exclusions, the outcomes for the peers of pupils who are suspended, and explore protective factors that enable some suspended pupils to succeed in later life, said the EPI.