Suspension rate definition
Suspensions, also known as 'fixed period exclusions', refers to when a pupil is excluded from a school for a set period of time. A suspension can involve a part of the school day and it does not have to be for a continuous period. A pupil may be suspended for one or more periods up to a maximum of 45 school days in a single academic year. This total includes suspensions from previous schools covered by the exclusion legislation.
The suspension rate is calculated as the total number of suspensions, divided by the total number of pupils (x100).
Note on data coverage over the pandemic
While suspensions and permanent were possible throughout the 2019/20 and 2020/21 academic years, national restrictions will have had an impact on the numbers presented and caution should be taken when comparing across years.
The number and rate of suspensions have increased
The number of suspensions has increased by 36%, from 578,300 in 2021/22 to 787,000 suspensions in 2022/23. The rate of suspensions also increased to 9.33 in 2022/23 from 6.91 in the previous year.
Prior to the pandemic, the number and rate of suspensions had been increasing gradually, primarily driven by increases in secondary schools. 2022/23 had the highest annual number of recorded suspensions.
Suspensions increased across all school types, with the largest proportional increase in secondary schools
Compared to 2021/22, suspensions:
- increased for primary pupils by 27%, from 66,200 to 84,300
- increased for secondary pupils by 38%, from 498,100 to 685,900
- increased for special school pupils by 20%, from 14,000 to 16,800
Number of pupils who were suspended increased by 20%
‘Pupils with one or more suspensions’ refer to pupil enrolments that had at least one suspension across the full academic year. Dual registered pupils with suspensions in multiple schools have each of their enrolments considered separately. This allows for schools to be held accountable for suspensions, as the suspensions are attached to enrolments at a particular school, not the individual pupil.
The total number of pupils with a suspension has increased from 252,500 to 304,000, an increase of 20% from 2021/22. The rate of pupils with a suspension has also increased, to 3.61, or 361 pupils in every 10,000.
Suspensions were highest in the 2022/23 Summer term, with 276,000 suspensions. This was driven by a peak in both primary and secondary schools in the Summer term. In previous years suspensions have typically been higher in Autumn term than in Spring and Summer so 2022/23 is a change from that trend.
In special schools the number of suspensions decreased each term from Autumn in the latest two academic years.
Persistent disruptive behaviour continued to be the most common reason for suspension
Prior to 2020/21, a single reason could be recorded for each suspension and permanent exclusion. From 2020/21, up to three reasons could be recorded. These reasons were recorded without weighting or prioritisation. As such, the sum of the number of reasons will not match the total number of suspensions or permanent exclusions from 2020/21.
As multiple reasons could be recorded, the table below and underlying data refer to a total of 927,100 reasons given for the 787,000 suspensions in 2022/23.
The most common reason recorded for suspension was persistent disruptive behaviour, there were 444,700 instances where this reason for suspension was recorded, 48% of all reasons given. This was followed by verbal abuse or threatening behaviour against an adult, with 148,800 instances (16%) of this reason and physical assault against a pupil in 124,300 instances (13%).