Pupil suspensions across state schools in England rose by 13 per cent during the second year of the pandemic, but permanent exclusions continue to fall.
Government data published on Thursday shows there were 352,454 suspensions from schools in the 2020-21 academic year, up from 310,733 the previous year.
Meanwhile, permanent exclusions fell to the equivalent of five in every 10,000 pupils, from 5,100 to 3,900 (a 24 per cent drop) in the same timeframe.
