The rate of pupils being excluded from school has soared back to pre-pandemic levels, and suspension rates have also continued to rise, the latest statistics have revealed.
Data published by the Department for Education today showed the number of pupils excluded from schools in England rose by almost 50 per cent to 3,104 in the autumn term of 2022-23 (a rate of 0.04), compared with 2,097 in the same period in 2021-22.
The figures show the level of exclusions last year was close to the 3,200 pupils excluded in the autumn term before the pandemic struck in 2019-20.
The data also revealed that poorer pupils were suspended more than four times the level of their peers.
The suspension rate for pupils on free school meals (FSM) rose to 7.05 in the autumn term of 2022, compared with 1.71 for non-FSM pupils - and far higher than the rate of 5.65 for pupils on FSM in the final autumn term before Covid.
Overall a quarter more pupils on FSM (137,380) were suspended in the autumn term of 2022, compared with 109,979 of non-FSM pupils.
The total number of suspensions for all pupils was 247,366 in the autumn term of 2022, more than a third higher (35 per cent) compared with 183,800 in 2021 - and 38 per cent up on the levels seen in 2019, before the pandemic prompted school closures.
A permanent exclusion refers to a pupil who is told to leave a school permanently, whereas a suspension means a pupil is told not to come to school for a set period of time.
Verbal abuse and threatening behaviour rise
The number of exclusions for verbal abuse or threatening behaviour towards an adult rose by two-thirds (66 per cent) as the reason recorded for permanent exclusions in the autumn term 2022, compared with the previous autumn term.
Similarly, verbal abuse or threatening behaviour towards another pupil also saw a rise of 65 per cent year on year.
Persistent disruptive behaviour remained the most common reason for suspension in the autumn term of 2022, with 55 per cent of suspensions related to this offence, according to the DfE.
Meanwhile, the number of suspensions for wilful and repeated transgression of protective measures in place to protect public health rose by 42 per cent, according to the data.
The rate of suspensions among those pupils with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) provision was 7.78 in the autumn term of 2022, far higher than the rate of 1.94 for pupils without SEND.
There were 135,795 suspensions of pupils with SEND provision in the autumn term of 2022, compared with 26,557 for all other pupils.
By ethnicity, the rate of Gypsy/Roma pupils being suspended was the highest at 12.01, followed closely by those pupils of Irish Traveller heritage (8.24).
