Last week the Department for Education (DfE) published exclusions and suspensions data covering the Autumn and Spring terms for 2022/23 (i.e. last year).
By the end of 2021/22 the rate of suspensions was the highest on record since DfE moved to its present method of collecting exclusions and suspensions data via School Census. The permanent exclusion rate remains lower than in 2006/07. The data published for 2022/23 suggests that the suspension rate has risen again.
We can go one better and provide some basic statistics on exclusions and suspensions for the current academic year using attendance data we’ve collected from schools to gauge whether the increase in exclusions and suspensions observed in 2022/23 continued.
Briefly, pupils who remain on the school roll but who have been suspended or permanently excluded are recorded in the attendance register using code E. If the exclusion is for 6 days or more, alternative provision is supposed to be arranged from the 6th day.
