Commenting on today's Government release of the latest school
exclusions and suspension data – for Spring term 2023 – Beth
Prescott, Education Lead at the Centre for Social Justice,
said:
“These latest government figures reveal an unfolding crisis
in the number of suspensions from schools, with suspensions
increasing to new record levels.
The data shows that there were over 260,000 suspensions in
Spring term 2022/23 – a new termly record level. There were also
over 3,000 permanent exclusions in Spring term 2023, a slight
decrease on the previous term (Autumn 2022) but a 40 per cent
increase on the previous spring term (Spring
2021/22).
Our recent “Suspending Reality” reports highlighted how the
impact of the pandemic, the cost-of-living crisis, and the 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 is being played out across our
education system, with record levels of suspensions and record
levels of children severely absent from school.
Our research uncovered that pupils who experience suspension
or exclusion are disproportionately from disadvantaged
backgrounds. Disadvantaged pupils often face additional barriers
to their education, such as a lack of access to food, clothing
and study resources. These concerns are reflected in today's
statistics, with children on Free School Meals four times more
likely to be suspended than their more affluent
peers.
Exclusion can have an enduring adverse impact on a child's
life. Previous research has shown that just 7 per cent of
children who were permanently excluded and 18 per cent of
children who received multiple suspensions went on to achieve
good passes in English and Maths GCSEs. Excluded pupils are also
far more likely to be economically inactive aged 25 and have far
higher rates of involvement with the criminal justice
system.
Ministers must urgently get a grip of this unfolding crisis,
by introducing a national inclusion framework for schools, so
schools are better equipped to support pupils to overcome any
additional vulnerabilities that may prevent them from engaging in
their education, and by rolling out a National Parental
Participation Strategy, to help schools and parents engage more
meaningfully with each other.”
ENDS
Suspending Reality: The crisis of school exclusions and what to
do about it can be downloaded here: https://www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/library/suspending-reality
The CSJ's latest School Absence Tracker can be downloaded here:
https://www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/library/school-absence-tracker-mar24
