Record suspensions prompt call for change

According to DfE data, there were 787,000 suspensions in the 2022/23 academic year, which increased from last year when 578,300 suspensions occurred. This is the highest recorded annual number of suspensions.

There were also 9,400 permanent exclusions in the 2022/23 academic year. This is an increase from 6,500 in 2021/22 and the highest recorded annual number of permanent exclusions.

Persistent disruptive behaviour accounted for 48% of all reasons given for suspension and for 39% of reasons for permanent exclusions.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said the new figures are a sign of the desperate need for change.

He said: “The fact that we’ve reached this headline figure of record suspensions and exclusions should be a deep concern to everyone involved in education and it will be another stark reminder to the new government of the scale of the task ahead of them. One thing is very clear, we cannot go on as we are.

“Schools work incredibly hard to support children and use suspensions and exclusions as a last resort, but they cannot be expected to address the full range complex root-causes that can often lead to disruptive behaviour in the classroom.

“The solution lies partly in ensuring families and schools have better access to support from services like children’s social care and CAMHS, and in making sure appropriate provision is in place for children with special educational needs so that we can prevent underlying issues escalating and make it easier for children and teachers to focus on learning. Similarly, we need to rebuild specialist behaviour support teams so schools can access timely specialist help for the children and young people that need it.

“We are pleased that the new government has promised to start tackling some of these wider social issues, including the vital work of tackling child poverty, many of which had increasingly gone unchecked over the last decade as successive administrations failed to invest properly in vital support services.”