ÌÇÐÄVlog

Suspensions and permanent exclusions for pupils with education, health and care plans (EHCPs) have increased while those for students with no identified SEND have reduced, Department for Education published today shows.

The latest statistics cover the full data for the 2024-25 academic year. Here, ÌÇÐÄVlog summarises the key insights for schools.

More pupils with EHCPs are being excluded and suspended

The latest data shows that 116,188 pupils in receipt of an EHCP were suspended in 2024-25 - a new record and up 15 per cent from the previous year.

The suspension rate - the number of suspensions per 100 pupils - also increased for pupils with EHCPs, from 25.62 in 2023-24 to 26.45 in 2024-25.

Exclusions of pupils with EHCPs also reached a record level in 2024-25, with 1,198 cases at a rate of 0.27 per 100 pupils. The year prior, the figures were 1,044 and 0.26, respectively.

As the graphs below reveal, suspensions and exclusions reduced for pupils with no identified needs or disabilities, with suspensions down 12 per cent year on year, and exclusions down by 17 per cent.

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Primary suspensions on the rise

Analysing spring term DfE data, ÌÇÐÄVlog previously revealed that while secondary schools have slowed a post-pandemic surge in suspensions, a growing proportion of pupils are being suspended from primary schools, causing concern among education leaders.

These concerns have been realised in the annual data, with 112,545 suspensions in primaries in 2024-25, up from 104,803 the previous year.

Overall, since 2018-19, the number of primary suspensions has increased by 69 per cent.

The suspension rate has also risen every year since the pandemic, with 2.47 suspensions per 100 pupils in primaries in 2024-25, up from 2.27 the year prior.

The rate in secondary schools slowed from 22.61 suspensions per 100 pupils in 2023-24 to 21.24 in 2024-25.

Exclusions have fallen nationally

For the first time since the pandemic, permanent exclusions reduced year on year. The total was equivalent to a rate of 0.12 per 100 pupils, down from 0.13 the previous year.

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National figures for suspensions have also fallen

Nationally, the number of suspensions was down 4 per cent and the suspension rate of 10.88 per 100 pupils was down from 11.31 the year prior.

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Pupils on FSM continue to have more exclusions and suspensions

Pupils eligible for free school meals (FSM) continue to be suspended and excluded at much higher rates than their peers, with some 575,305 suspended and 6,820 excluded in 2024-25.

The suspension rate for FSM-eligible pupils remained at more than four times that of pupils who were not eligible, with rates of 26.66 and 5.41, respectively.

Rates of exclusion were more than six times higher for disadvantaged pupils, with a rate of 0.32 compared with 0.05 for their peers.

Boys have higher exclusion and suspension numbers

Boys remained more likely to receive a suspension or an exclusion than their female peers.

In 2024-25, some 577,257 boys were suspended and 6,941 were excluded, compared with figures of 335,743 and 2,965 for girls.

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