Discipline call as school exclusions rise sharply

THE Welsh Conservatives have called for more discipline in Welsh classrooms after figures revealed a marked rise in the number of pupils excluded from school for assaulting staff.

Data obtained by the Tories using the Freedom of Information Act shows there were 920 fixed-term exclusions of five days or fewer in Wales in 2013-14 for physically assaulting an adult – up from 702 exclusions a year earlier.

There was an equivalent of 2,189 fixed-term exclusions for physical assaults against other pupils and a further 2,610 exclusions for verbal abuse or threatening behaviour against an adult.

Overall in Welsh schools there were 370 permanent and fixed-term exclusions for drugand alcohol-related incidents in 2013-14 – up from 301 such incidents in 2011-12.

Figures show there were a total of 2,609 exclusions for persistent disruptive behaviour in 2013-14, which was far higher than the 2,183 recorded two years earlier.

Overall in Wales there were 42,196 exclusions from maintained primary, secondary and special schools – of which 282 were permanent – in the three-year period 2011-12.

Welsh Conservative education spokesman Darren Millar said: “Teachers should be allowed to teach without the threat of violence or abuse, so it is very concerning that there have been tens of thousands of cases of unacceptable behaviour in Welsh classrooms.

“We need more discipline in our classrooms, more support for teachers in managing unruly behaviour, and targeted intervention to support pupils with behavioural problems.

“It is clear from these figures that the current arrangements aren’t working and that we need a Welsh Government strategy to tackle the roots of these problems once and for all.”

Owen Hathway, policy officer for teachers’ union NUT Cymru, described the figures as “alarming” and indicative of the challenges facing school staff.

“While we have certainly made progress on areas of behaviour management and absenteeism in recent years, this data shows the scope of challenge many teachers still face,” he said.

A spokesman for the Welsh Government said the rate of permanent exclusions from schools in Wales had remained stable.

“However, while the rate of fixed-term exclusions has increased, a one-year increase in the rate of fixed-term exclusions does not represent an increasing trend,” he said.