Primary school suspensions are at 10 year high

SUSPENSIONS of primary school children in Leicestershire are at their highest level in 10 years, with those for assaults against teachers at record levels.

A teaching body expressed concerns that the rise in exclusions, which was seen across England, was due to the school funding crisis and cuts to local children’s services meaning less support for pupils.

Primary pupils in the area were suspended on 469 occasions in 2016/17, the highest number since at least 2006/07. This was a rise of 40% from 2015/16, when 336 pupils received fixed-term exclusions, according to figures released by the Department for Education.

The area saw pupils excluded at a rate of 89 suspensions per 10,000 pupils, with 229 pupils suspended on more than one occasion during the year.

The number of suspensions given to primary pupils in Leicestershire for attacking adults in the school rose to its highest level in at least a decade, with 127 incidences in 2016/17, up from 88 in 2015/16.

In 2016/17, there were 2,515 fixed term exclusions of secondary school pupils in Leicestershire, a 7% rise from 2,351 in 2015/16. The rate of suspensions is equivalent to one for every 17 pupils (592 per 10,000 pupils).

Primary school pupils in Leicestershire were expelled from school on 13 occasions in 2016/17, while there were 15 expulsions of secondary pupils in 2016/17.

Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “We are extremely concerned that this increase in exclusions is a result of the school funding crisis and cuts to local children’s services. Schools have had to cut back on the individual support they are able to give students making it more difficult to provide early intervention and prevent behavioural problems from escalating. At the same time council support services for vulnerable families have been cut back meaning that schools are having to pick up the pieces.

“Schools only exclude pupils as a last resort and when all other avenues have been exhausted. The government needs to provide the funding that is necessary to provide support at an early stage.”

Across England, the number of children being expelled from primary school has hit a 14 year high.

Children were expelled from state primary schools in England 1,255 times in 2016/17.

This was the highest number of expulsions in 13 years, since 1,270 in 2002/03, and the number of primary school expulsions has almost doubled in five years, from 665 in 2012/13. The figures include 45 children aged under 5.