In 2022–2023, 9,376 pupils were permanently removed from school, a 44% increase from the previous year.
In comparison to the previous year, there was a 36% increase in the number of minors who received interim suspensions, totaling 786,961 cases.
New government statistics reveal the extent of the issue, demonstrating that suspensions and exclusions have surpassed pre-pandemic levels.
Furthermore, the data shows that there is increasing disparity in schools, with the most vulnerable students having the highest chance of dropping out.
Children from Gypsy Roma and Traveler households were more than twice as likely to be suspended as children from wealthy families, accounting for more than half of all suspensions.
“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,” stated Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association of Headteachers (NAHT), a union representing school administrators. There is no way we can continue as we are.
