Why school expulsions are reaching record levels

Data released last week England has the highest number of suspensions and expulsions each year. Is worsening behaviour really the only explanation?

Sarah (not her real name) said she first noticed her son’s irritability and social difficulties when he attended daycare during the COVID-19 pandemic.

By the time he started school, his educational needs had become complex and he was showing symptoms of ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and autism – both conditions he was later diagnosed with.

She said he had a hard time adjusting to the school environment, which led to him having meltdowns and sometimes losing his temper in class.

“If a child has a physical disability and needs a wheelchair, they won’t tell them to climb stairs because they can see it with their own eyes,” she said.

“But when a child has a mental health issue and they are told they need to be quiet or silent and not express their emotions, it leads to a world of brokenness.”

Sarah’s son’s behavior led to her receiving a series of suspensions – temporary bans from attending school.

After a series of suspensions, Sarah’s son was permanently removed from school at the age of five and sent to a student referral agency.

She said the whole experience had “devastated” her family.

Sarah’s son is one of more than 9,000 children to be expelled from the 2022/23 academic year.

“Persistent disruptive behavior” was the most common reason for suspensions and expulsions that year.

Earlier this year, one in five teachers Allegedly beaten by students This was a survey commissioned by the BBC.

Simon Kidwell, a former headteacher at a primary school in Cheshire and president of the National Association of Head Teachers, said the latest figures were not simply a case of poor pupil behaviour.

Mr Kidwell believes schools are struggling to cope with the increasing number of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) This goes hand in hand with rising expulsions, partly due to problems recruiting and retaining teaching staff.

He said teaching assistants had “spent many years developing real skills working with the most difficult children” but were “leaving in droves” while specialist schools were better placed to support pupils with complex needs. Overcrowding.

Sabrina Simpson, an attorney who specializes in working with families who appeal against school expulsions, said people often view children through a “behavioral lens.”

“I remember one kid saying to me, ‘I thought I was just behaving badly.’ Then he found out he had ADHD,” she said.

“It really hurt me to hear him say he thought he was ‘just naughty’ because everyone made him feel that way.”

Beth Prescott, head of education at the Centre for Social Justice, said pupils were being affected by issues “beyond the school gates”.

She said exclusions “have their place” in school systems, but in some cases they “mask underlying unmet needs”.

She said the growing number of children with autism was a “major barrier” to children attending school, which also included worsening mental health. NHS waiting lists are long and the cost of living crisis.

Mental health issues and cost of living pressures on families The complex reasons cited include The number of chronically absent children (defined as those who miss at least 10% of their school time) is higher than ever before.

After the epidemic, the rate of persistent absenteeism increased. One in five children are now recorded Missing one or more days approximately every two weeks.

Mr Kidwell said persistently high levels of absenteeism, in turn, were linked to rising rates of school expulsions.

this 790,000 suspended, 9,400 fired Sales in 2022/23 were significantly higher than any previous year, up 36% and 44% respectively from the previous year.

The suspension rate (the average number of times each student is suspended) is close to one in ten, also higher than ever before.

Among the exclusions recorded for 2022/23:

• More than half of the students Special Educational Needs (Only 17% of the total number of students)
• More than 60% of people Eligible for free school meals (24% of the total number of students)
• Gypsies and Romaand Irish Travellers Ethnic minority groups have the highest rates of exclusion
• The following countries also have a high percentage of students: Black or black and white mixed background
• regional difference data The situation is similar in the North East of England, where pupils are four times more likely to be expelled than those in inner London, despite the two regions having similar student numbers.

Ms Simpson said she was concerned about the huge disparities in exclusion rates between different ethnic groups and called for more training in schools “to tackle unconscious bias”.

Carol Homden, director of children’s charity Coram, said the record figures showed “something is not right with these children”.

Dr. Holmden, whose son lost nine months of education when he was expelled from school, said she wanted more attention to suspensions rather than expulsions because they were “an opportunity to get a child’s life back on track.”

For mum Sarah, her son’s prospects are now more positive after she “pushed tooth and nail” to find a place at a specialist school from September.

But she “still felt anxious” because she wanted to be sure the staff and new surroundings would be able to help him.

“We love every part of him,” she said.

“He shouldn’t be treated any differently than anyone else.”