Coram has today responded to new figures published by the Department for Education (DfE) on the number of suspensions and permanent exclusions from state schools in England during the academic year 2023/24.
Over the last year, there were 954,952 suspensions, compared with 786,961 in 2022/23 – an increase of more than a fifth (21%). There were 10,885 permanent exclusions in 2023/24, compared with 9,376 the year before – a rise of 16%.
The figures show that children with special educational needs (SEN) or with an Education, Health, and Care (EHC) plan, and pupils on free school meals, are far more likely to be suspended or permanently excluded from school.
Dr Carol Homden, CEO of Coram, said: “Year on year the numbers of children excluded from school on a temporary and on a permanent basis continue to rise, but this year’s significant rise must be a wake-up call. The figures show serious disparity between groups of children, particularly in gender and ethnicity and for children receiving free school meals, but age is no longer the protective factor it once was: shockingly, 686 children aged between four and seven were permanently excluded from state-funded primary schools in the 2023-24 school year.
“Given the current crisis in special educational needs and disability provision, it is also of deep concern that 5,683 children receiving SEN support, including 1,044 children with an EHC plan, were permanently excluded from mainstream state provision in a single year. These figures call for urgent and comprehensive action, including a full review into disproportionality, early support for children and appropriate resourcing for schools and partner services, in order to make our children’s right to a suitable education a reality.”
Mital Raithatha, head of education law at Coram, said: “Hidden behind these figures are many more children who, while not subject to formal permanent exclusion, face exclusion in all but name. Increasingly in our school exclusions clinic we see the misuse of mechanisms such as managed moves and alternate provision to take children, often with additional needs, off the roll. Local authorities, schools, parents and above all children are struggling. These shocking figures are sadly an underestimate.”
Every year, Coram’s Child Law Advice Service provides free legal advice to hundreds of parents, children, and young people who are either at risk of exclusion or have already been excluded. Coram also provides the school exclusions hub, the UK’s largest online resource covering every aspect of school exclusions, to support young people throughout the process, and runs a school exclusions clinic, offering free legal representation to parents or carers of children and young people who have been permanently excluded from a school in London.
Our work on exclusion is guided by young people who have first-hand experience of this process, and is supported by Mission 44, a charitable foundation launched by Sir Lewis Hamilton, to build a fairer, more inclusive future.
For more information, advice and support, please visit https://schoolexclusionshub.org.uk/