WIREDGOV

Beth Prescott, Education Lead at the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), commented on the Government release of the latest school exclusions and suspension data – 2022/23 academic year

• School exclusions at record high, 9,376 exclusions in 2022/23 academic year, up 44 per cent year on year
• School suspensions at record high, 786,961 suspensions in 2022/23 academic year, up 36 per cent year on year

“These are truly shocking figures, with both school exclusions and suspensions at a new record high. Combined with the crisis in school absence, with so-called “ghost children” at near record levels and 1 in 5 kids persistently absent, there is a pressing and immediate emergency unfolding across our schools.

“Kids who are not in school cannot benefit from school. For all the new government’s rhetoric about child poverty, the latest figures show children eligible for Free School Meals are nearly five times more likely to be permanently excluded than their more affluent peers. They cannot afford to wait for the new government’s child poverty strategy to start dealing with this.

“The King’s Speech had precious little to say about how to get kids back to school. CSJ research has revealed that the current school accountability framework is having a negative impact on schools’ ability to support these children, and in some cases, actually incentivises schools to suspend or exclude kids.

“The data shows there were 9,376 permanent exclusions in 2022/23 academic year –a new record level and a 44 per cent increase on the previous year (2021/22). The data also shows there were 786,961 suspensions in the 2022/23 school year, a 36 per cent increase on the previous year.

“CSJ research has uncovered that the impact of the pandemic, the cost-of-living crisis, high levels of mental health in children and a steady increase in the level of SEND over the last decade are all contributing to a tidal wave of challenges hitting children, families and schools. This has resulted in an increasing number of children struggling to fully engage with their education, with potentially catastrophic and lifelong consequences for their lives, for wider society and for the economy.”

Permanent exclusions

Permanent suspensions

Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England: 2022 to 2023