Over 18,500 students were suspended from school last year

Department for Education figures show there were 18,504 suspensions in the 2022-23 school year – the highest number since records began for this sector.

The previous year there were 10,362 suspensions, and in 2018-19, before the pandemic, there was an increase of 5,865.

11,050 (60 percent) of the suspensions affected children who were entitled to free school meals.

The highest suspension rate was recorded among students of Roma background (133.3 per 100 students) – 7.2 times the average suspension rate in the region of 18.4 per 100 students.

The number of permanent exclusions in Bradford also reached its highest level last year, at 149.

Sue Duffy, Bradford Council’s executive member for children and families, said: “It is important that schools are safe, calm places where children can achieve their best and staff can provide an excellent education.

“Schools take their responsibility to promote positive behavior in children seriously and only suspend students when there is no better option.

“With two exceptions, all secondary schools in Bradford borough are academies, which means they are not run by the local authority. However, we are working with all schools to find out how often suspensions occur and why.

“In this way, we can work together to identify whether additional help is needed to support schools in managing behavior in a positive way.”

Across England, lockdowns rose 36 percent from 578,300 in 2021-22 to 787,000 last year – the highest number ever recorded.

The number of permanent exclusions across the country also reached a record high of 9,376 in 2022-23, an increase of 44 percent from the previous year.

More than half (55%) of all suspensions in England involved children who were entitled to free school meals, meaning their parents or guardians received one of several benefits.

Education Minister Stephen Morgan said the “shocking” figures were a wake-up call about the problems in schools.

He added: “They have made it clear that too many students are held back because of their background and that our education system is not meeting the needs of children with special needs.”

He said the government had already committed to employing more psychologists in secondary schools, setting up free breakfast clubs in primary schools and encouraging pupils with special needs to enter mainstream schools earlier.