The latest figures released by Department for Education show a stark rise in rates of school suspension, where a child is not allowed to attend the school for a set time, typically on disciplinary grounds. Suspensions are up 31% in spring 2022-23 from the same period the previous year.
Meanwhile, schools face parallel issues, including high rates of absence and permanent exclusion (when a child is no longer permitted to attend their school) numbers that have gone back up to pre-pandemic levels. Worryingly, this is an arena in which educational inequalities are evident.
