Commenting on new figures for the 2024/25 autumn term, which showed a year-on-year drop in the overall numbers of suspensions and exclusions of pupils from schools, Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said:

“The behaviour that lies behind these figures is usually symptomatic of challenges in children’s lives, often outside the school gates.

“Schools recognise this, which is why they only exclude pupils when absolutely necessary to ensure the safety and wellbeing of pupils and staff, and do their level best to get children the help they need.

“However, after years in which funding for vital support services - from social care and mental health to special educational needs (SEND) provision - has failed to keep pace with demand, this can be easier said than done.

“While it is encouraging to see numbers of exclusions among secondary pupils beginning to fall, more investment in these support services would help to sustain this and increase the likelihood of similar improvements across all age-groups and particularly for children with SEND.

"It will be vital that the government’s forthcoming announcements on tackling child poverty and reforming the broken SEND system are ambitious and effective.”

The figures show that suspensions fell 3% year-on-year, with exclusions down 11%. In secondary schools suspensions decreased by 4% and exclusions by 13.3%. In primary schools there was a 6% rise in suspensions and a 2.5% rise in exclusions. There were also increases in suspensions of children with SEND, with the gap in suspension rates between these children and those without SEND widening.