(UK) Warrington: "Shocking data" on increasing school suspension for disabled kids

April 30, 2023, Yahoo News: Pupils suspended from schools across Warrington reached 'record high' last year https://uk.news.yahoo.com/pupils-suspended-schools-across-warrington-060000113.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAMqRHS5-UGmV6IdUsxpMeVDM7_AgoPg_WO-q9IzNsPB9EPS64mn73D8wGbbEomBaipMVebwL34w7KFDg96n-yy2hzbA0D1Iz0vcsHk92YR_zce-5BjmzqoH5g9Z5qE3ikWIgyeVuxpmb1McUIYoqyOZRCgO_zG3FcNtZw_VIEAs6

NW England

A ‘CONCERNING’ numbers of pupils were suspended from schools in Warrington last year, with figures reaching a record high.

Shocking data showed that Warrington schools suspended more pupils in the spring term last year than in any term since comparable records began in 2016-17.

The latest Department for Education (DfE) figures show 638 pupils in Warrington were suspended from school in the 2021-22 spring term – up from 407 across the same time period in 2018-19, before the pandemic.

Meanwhile, nationally, 201,000 pupils were suspended in the 2021-22 spring term – up from 184,000 in the autumn and the highest on record.

The Children's Society said the rising number of suspensions is concerning, with poor behaviour often indicating children are suffering from unmet special education needs or larger issues outside of school, such as poor mental health or abuse.

Iryna Pona, policy and impact manager at the charity, said: "It is important that when these behavioural changes show up, schools work with social care and other local agencies to ensure the needs of the child are understood and help is offered.

"Unfortunately, we know this often doesn’t happen and specialist support is not available, meaning a suspended child can then be more vulnerable to other risks such as grooming for sexual or criminal exploitation."…

Ms Pona also urged the government to increase funding and roll out support, so children receive the help they require before problems escalate.

The Association of School and College Leaders said the dramatic increase has not come out of the blue and said the underlying issues children experience have been "exacerbated by the erosion of local support services, and the inadequacy of education funding"….

"It is an invidious position, and the answer lies with the Government to improve the funding for schools and local services. This is not unachievable, but it is a political choice."