Department for Education: Permanent Exclusions and Suspensions in England: 2022/23 Autumn Term

The figures shown here refer to the following in the autumn term of 2022/23:

[1] Termly suspensions (previously fixed-term exclusions)

[2] Permanent exclusions ( when a pupil is not allowed to attend or return to that specific school unless the exclusion is overturned).

Click the Department for Education link on the right for more detailed statistics.

When a pupil is not allowed to attend  a school for a set period of time. This can be for part of a school day and does not have to be for a continuous period. A pupil can be suspended for 1 or more periods up to a maximum of 45 school days in a single academic year. This total includes exclusions from previous schools covered by the exclusion legislation so pupils with repeat exclusions can inflate suspension rates.

Suspensions and permanent exclusion numbers have increased compared to previous terms.

The numbers of pupils excluded with diagnosed / and undiagnosed SEND issues has also increased.

The most common reason for suspensions and permanent exclusions was persistent disruptive behaviour.

Persistent disruptive behaviour was included as a reason in 55% of all suspensions and 49% of all permanent exclusions in autumn term 2022/23. This is in line with previous terms and years where this reason was the most commonly recorded.