Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment her Department has made of trends in levels of (a) suspensions and (b) exclusions among pupils with SEND.

The department publishes data from the school census on suspensions and permanent exclusions from state-funded schools in England. The most recent full release, for the 2022/23 academic year, is available at the following link: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/suspensions-and-permanent-exclusions-in-england/2022-23.

Published data include numbers and rates of suspensions and permanent exclusions by school phase and characteristics, including special educational needs provision, available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/bc94278b-70fa-4ebb-7d62-08dd7ece5be0.

Schools can use sanctions as a measure to improve behaviour and, in the most serious cases, exclusion may be necessary to protect other pupils from disruption and restore a safe environment. The ‘Suspension and permanent exclusion’ statutory guidance is clear that, in all cases, school leaders should consider early intervention strategies to address the underlying causes or contributing factors of a pupil’s disruptive behaviour, including unmet needs and special educational needs and disabilities before issuing an exclusion.