School exclusions rise to 9,000

The number of children permanently excluded from schools in England has risen for the first time in three years, according to figures due to be released today.

More than 9,000 pupils were removed from schools last year for violent and disruptive behaviour, bullying or drug-related incidents, up from just over 8,000 the year before.

The increase comes after ministers hailed the success of policies to reduce exclusions, achieving their target to cut them by a third from more than 12,000 when Labour came to power in 1997.

Since hitting that target, ministers have strengthened the powers of schools to exclude pupils and made it clear to independent local authority panels that they expect fewer to be returned to school on appeal.

Today's figures make it clear that head teachers have been using their new powers. They undermine government claims that a raft of new initiatives will reduce the need to exclude pupils permanently.

These include the deployment of thousands of learning mentors, whose role in schools is to persuade disaffected pupils of the importance of education, and the creation of Learning Support Units - so-called in-school sin bins.

Education Secretary Estelle Morris is bidding for £500 million more from the Treasury in this year's summer spending review to fund more of these units, to which disruptive children can be removed to "cool off ", before returning to mainstream classes. Key reforms to the curriculum, increasing the role of work- related lessons, is also designed to win more disaffected pupils back to education, convincing them it has some relevance.

Ministers will defend their policies despite today's increase in exclusions, pointing out that they have still produced a significant reduction.

And crucially, sources said, the Government will have met its pledge by this September that all children excluded from school will receive full-time education. Previously, thousands received only a few hours a week and were otherwise free to roam the streets.

Since 1997, the Government has funded more than 300 new Pupil Referral Units - schools where excluded pupils are educated - and Ms Morris plans to create more. A spokesman for the Department for Education and Skills said: "We are dealing with bad behaviour in schools, employing more learning mentors, creating more than 1,000 Learning Support Units and developing an innovative curriculum.

"We are also giving head teachers freedom to act on bad discipline and criminal behaviour in schools. But we are also providing full time education for excluded pupils. Before 1997, they simply roamed the streets. Now most have a full-time education and that is enormous progress."

Senior sources declined to comment on whether further freedoms now being given to heads would mean more children being excluded.

John Dunford, general secretary of the Secondary Heads Association, said he was not surprised the figures had gone up. But he expected them to stabilise at around the current level because many schools now have Learning Support Units.