A third of children involved with the care system between the ages of eight and 11 were excluded from secondary school at least once.
Damning research reveals pupils in state secondary schools are much more likely to be excluded if they have a history of receiving social care or special educational needs services.
Some 33% of kids with a history of any form of social care in the last three years of primary school faced exclusion during their time at secondary school, the study by University College London (UCL) found.
Around 40% of children who either had a child protection plan or were looked after in state care were excluded at least once from secondary school.
If children also receive special educational needs (SEN) services, their probability of being excluded was even higher.
For example, 46% of children who had had both a child protection plan and a history of SEN services were excluded at least once across secondary school.
