Rise in pupil exclusions

Thursday, 23 June 2005 12:00 AM

The number of pupils expelled from school in England has risen by six per cent, according to the latest Government figures.

Almost 10,000 students were permanently excluded from primary, secondary and special schools in 2003/4, the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) announced today.

Eighty-four per cent of excluded students were from secondary schools, 13 per cent were primary school students and three per cent attended special schools.

The most common reason for expulsions was for persistent disruptive behaviour, followed by physical assault of a fellow pupil.

Schools Minister Jacqui Smith believes the figures are evidence that schools are winning the fight against indiscipline.

"The Government has made tackling poor behaviour a major priority," she said.

"We want a zero tolerance approach to disruptive behaviour in all our schools on everything from backchat to bullying or violence. Schools must have clear and consistent boundaries for what is acceptable behaviour.

"Today's figures on attendance show that schools and local education authorities are now seizing the tools we have given them to improve school attendance and crack down on the very small number of pupils which account for almost half of the nation's truancy."

The findings also reveal sharp gender and ethnic divides with regard to exclusion.

Almost four times the number of boys were expelled in 2003/4 than girls, while black-Caribbean and mixed-race students are almost twice as likely to be expelled than their white counterparts.

Permanent exclusion is an extremely emotive issue, with an increasing number of parents contesting decisions.

The number of parental appeals increased from 1,070 to 1,130 in 2003/4, with 21.2 per cent successfully overturning the school's decision.

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