CYP Now - Vulnerable children bear brunt of school exclusion increases

An education select committee report concludes a factor in rising levels of school exclusions is that vulnerable pupils are not getting the support they need. The government is being urged to back inclusive school policies.

The number and proportion of children being permanently excluded from school are both continuing to rise, official figures published by the Department for Education show.

The overall number of exclusions rose from 6,685 in 2015/16 to 7,720 in 2016/17 - an increase of 15.5 per cent. This is reflected in the proportion of pupils being excluded during the year rising from 0.08 to 0.10 per cent. This is a sharp reversal of a steady decline recorded between 2006/07 and 2012/13 when the number of permanent exclusions almost halved.

Most permanent exclusions took place in secondary schools - making up 83 per cent of the total. The rate of permanent exclusions in secondary schools rose from 0.17 per cent in 2015/16 to 0.20 per cent in 2016/17.

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