Government plans to slash temporary exclusion rates by expanding academy trusts have been branded naïve after analysis revealed chains in left-behind regions dish out the most suspensions.
Department for Education officials set out how expansions and mergers of academy trusts could boost attainment in 55 priority areas said to have the lowest key stage 2 and GCSE results.
New “trust development statements” put forward plans to tackle a range of issues, including cutting temporary and permanent exclusion rates in seven of the areas.
But analysis by Schools Week shows academies in those regions are, on average, suspending more children over the age of 11 than maintained schools.
