Suspensions, previously known as 'fixed period exclusions', refer 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).
The number and rate of suspensions have increased
The number of suspensions has increased by 21%, from 787,000 in 2022/23 to 955,000 in 2023/24. The rate of suspensions also increased from 9.33 in 2022/23 to 11.31 in 2023/24.
Prior to the pandemic, the number and rate of suspensions had been increasing gradually. Since the pandemic, the rate of annual increases has accelerated.
Suspensions increased across all school types, with the largest proportional increase in primary schools
Compared to 2022/23, suspensions:
- increased for primary pupils by 24%, from 84,300 to 104,800
- increased for secondary pupils by 21%, from 685,900 to 829,900
- increased for special school pupils by 21%, from 16,800 to 20,300
Note on data coverage over the pandemic
While suspensions and permanent exclusions 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.
Suspensions peaked in the autumn term
Suspensions peaked in the 2023/24 autumn term, with 346,300 suspensions and a rate of 4.13. The peak was seen across all school types.
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 1,122,400 reasons given for the 955,000 suspensions in 2023/24.
The most common reason recorded for suspension was persistent disruptive behaviour with 569,900 instances where this reason for suspension was recorded, 51% of all reasons given. This was followed by verbal abuse or threatening behaviour against an adult, with 174,000 suspensions including this reason (16%) and physical assault against a pupil with 141,800 suspensions including this reason (13%). Most reasons given are fairly consistent over time, although the proportion of persistent disruptive behaviour has increased.
Number of pupils who were suspended at least once increased by 12%
‘Pupils with one or more suspensions’ refers 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 at least one suspension increased by 12% compared to the previous year, from 304,000 to 341,300. The rate of pupils with at least one suspension also increased, from 3.61 to 4.04, or 404 pupils in every 10,000.
Over 100,000 pupils missed more than one week of school due to suspensions
In 2023/24, 46% of suspensions were for one day or less, and 99% of suspensions were for five days or less. However, looking at the cumulative days missed over the academic year, 100,200 pupils who were suspended (29% of those with at least one suspension) missed the equivalent of more than one school week, and 48,500 (14%) missed the equivalent of more than two school weeks.