Average number of fixed period exclusions per excluded pupil file - variable name average_days_fixed corrected to average_number_fixed
Underlying data file covering average days lost added, Link to Timpson review of school exclusions added to pupil characteristics section
This publication presents statistics on permanent and fixed period exclusions within the 2018/19 academic year across state-funded schools.
The publication includes data on:
The data has been collected in the school census. Data for earlier years is also included. The publication for the 2017/18 academic year can be found here
View tables that we have built for you, or create your own tables from open data using our table tool
Browse and download open data files from this release in our data catalogue
Learn more about the data files used in this release using our online guidance
Download all data available in this release as a compressed ZIP file
All supporting files from this release are listed for individual download below:
Permanent exclusion rate definition
A permanent exclusion refers to a pupil who is excluded and who will not come back to that school (unless the exclusion is overturned). This data only includes permanent exclusions which have been upheld by the governing body or Independent Review Panel (IRP), and not those which are still ongoing. The permanent exclusion rate is calculated as the number of permanent exclusions divided by the number of pupils (x100)
for a second successive year, at 0.10, and the number of permanent exclusions has reduced slightly, to 7,894 in 2018/19. This is equivalent to 10 pupils per 10,000.
This rate has also remained fairly stable across all school types
The rate of permanent exclusions followed a generally downward trend from 2006/07 when the rate was 0.12 (12 pupils per 10,000) until 2012/13, and began rising until 2016/17. The rate has been stable in 2017/18 and 2018/19. Despite the increases from 2012/13 to 2016/17, rates are still lower now than in 2006/07.
Data on the number of exclusions in pupil referral units has been collected since 2013/14. The number of exclusions in pupil referral units has increased from 27 to 36 in 2018/19. The rate of permanent exclusions has increased to 0.16 in 2017/18 to 0.22 in 2018/19.
Fixed period exclusion rate definition
Fixed period exclusion refers to a pupil who is excluded from a school for a set period of time. A fixed period exclusion can involve a part of the school day and it does not have to be for a continuous period. A pupil may be excluded for one or more fixed 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.
The fixed period exclusion rate is calculated as the total number of fixed period exclusions, divided by the total number of pupils (x100).
The number of fixed period exclusions across all state-funded primary, secondary and special schools has increased by 7 per cent from 410,800 in 2017/18 to 438,300 in 2018/19.
The resulting rate of fixed period exclusions has increased from 5.08 in 2017/18 to 5.36, which is equivalent to 536 pupils per 10,000.
This increase has been mostly driven by secondary schools, while there has been a decrease for special schools
These trends follow similar patterns to those seen in previous years, with decreases in special schools seen in all but one year (2016/17) since 2006/07. The increase in secondary continues a trend seen since 2013/14 and for primary, since 2012/13.
The fixed period exclusion rate in pupil referral units has increased from 158.40 to 191.09 in 2018/19. This is the highest rate since data was first collected in 2013/14. This increase follows a drop in rate from 2016/17 to 2017/18.
Note: Numbers of exclusions for all school types include the total number of exclusions across the school year. Rates are calculated as a proportion of the headcount at January 2020. This may lead to higher rates for pupil referral units as pupils may have higher mobility between different settings.
There were 2,800 permanent exclusions for this reason in 2018/19, accounting for just over a third (35%) of all permanent exclusions. This was a slight increase from 2017/18, following a decrease from 2016/17. Increases were also seen for drug and alcohol related exclusions, continuing a trend of increases. Exclusions for physical assault against a pupil, bullying and racist abuse stayed at similar levels, while all other reasons saw decreases.
Aside from persistent disruptive behaviour, the most common reasons for permanent exclusions were physical assault against a pupil (13%) and physical assault against an adult (10%).
There were 137,900 fixed period exclusions for this reason in 2018/19, representing 31% of all fixed period exclusions. This is an increase from 123,100 (30%) in 2017/18. Increases were seen across most reasons, with the exception of bullying, sexual misconduct and theft.
Physical assault against a pupil (16%) and verbal abuse or threatening behaviour against an adult (15%) were the next most prominent reasons for fixed period exclusions.
The permanent exclusion and fixed period exclusion rates generally increase as age increases, and are highest at age 14, for both the permanent exclusion rate (0.38) and fixed period exclusion rate (15.97), before reducing again.
The Timpson Review of School Exclusion published May 2019 was commissioned to examine how schools use exclusion and why some groups of children including ethnicity are more likely to be excluded from school. This report presents the findings of new analysis to assess the association between probability of being excluded and various pupil and school characteristics. The technical report can be found at - https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/school-exclusions-review-call-for-evidence
The region with the highest fixed period and permanent exclusion rates is the North East. The fixed period rate is 8.00, compared to 5.36 nationally, however this has decreased from 9.34 in 2017/18. The permanent exclusion rate has increased in the North East, from 0.14 to 0.17 (17 pupils per 10,000), compared to 0.10 nationally (10 pupils per 10,000).
The lowest rate for fixed period exclusions is Outer London with 3.51, an increase from 3.39 in 2017/18. The lowest permanent exclusion rate is in the South East, at 0.06, unchanged from last year,
Rates for local authorities are shown in the map below
Pupil enrolments with one or more fixed period exclusion
Pupils with one or more fixed period exclusion refer to pupil enrolments that had at least one fixed period exclusion across the full academic year. Dual registered pupils with exclusions in multiple schools have each of their enrolments considered separately. This allows for schools to be held accountable for exclusions, as the exclusions are attached to enrolments at a particular school, not the individual pupil.
The rate of pupil enrolments with more than one session missed has increased from 2.33 to 2.44. This continues a rising trend seen since 2013/14. The chart below shows the rate over time, compared to the fixed exclusion rate.
The increase in fixed period exclusions has been driven most strongly by more pupils having repeated exclusions. 84,500 pupil enrolments had two or more fixed period exclusions in 2018/19, an increase from 78,900 in 2017/18.
49% of all fixed period exclusions were for one day and 98% were for five days or less. This is similar to 2017/18.
76% of pupils who had one or more fixed period exclusion missed a total of five days or less throughout the year, with 29% missing a single day.
Independent review panel definition
Parents (and pupils if aged over 18) are able to request a review of a permanent exclusion. An independent review panel’s role is to review the decision of the governing body not to reinstate a permanently excluded pupil. The panel must consider the interests and circumstances of the excluded pupil, including the circumstances in which the pupil was excluded and have regard to the interests of other pupils and people working at the school.
In 2018/19, 661 reviews were lodged against permanent exclusions, an increase of 3.2% on 2017/18. Of these, 610 (92.3%) were determined by an independent review panel, down from 93.6% in 2017/18.
Of those determined by an independent review panel, 108 reviews (17.7%) were recommended reconsideration by the governing body (up from 16.0% in 2017/18).
Find out how and why we collect, process and publish these statistics.
These accredited official statistics have been independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics. Accredited official statistics are called National Statistics in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007.
Accreditation signifies their compliance with the authority's Code of Practice for Statistics which broadly means these statistics are:
Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR).
OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.
You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.
If you have a specific enquiry about Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England statistics and data:
If you have a media enquiry:
Telephone: 020 7783 8300
If you have a general enquiry about the Department for Education (DfE) or education:
Telephone: 037 0000 2288
Opening times:
Monday to Friday from 9.30am to 5pm (excluding bank holidays)