The rise comes amid warnings of challenging behaviour in classrooms following the Covid-19 pandemic.
The number of suspensions from schools in England has risen in a year, Government figures show.
Data from the Department for Education (DfE) shows there were 295,559 suspensions in the spring term of 2023/24, compared to 263,904 during the spring term of 2022/23 – a rise of 12%.
There were 3,107 permanent exclusions in spring 2024, compared to 3,039 in spring 2023 – a rise of 2%, the figures show.
The rise comes amid warnings of challenging behaviour in classrooms following the pandemic.
The number of suspensions in spring 2024 has nearly doubled since spring 2019 – an increase of 93% – when there were 153,465 suspensions recorded.
The most common reason for suspensions (when a pupil is excluded from a school for a set period of time) and permanent exclusions was persistent disruptive behaviour, the DfE said.
But the number of suspensions and permanent exclusions fell from autumn 2023 to spring 2024, according to the latest Government figures.
In autumn 2023, there were 346,279 suspensions and 4,168 permanent exclusions, which are both higher than in the spring term of 2024.
Permanent exclusions are “generally higher” in the autumn term each year compared to the following spring term, the DfE said.
Steve Haines, director of public affairs at Impetus charity, said: “Over 295,000 suspensions and 3,000 permanent exclusions in spring of last year is a stark warning: our schools are not set up to support the needs of all students.
“Young people from disadvantaged backgrounds in particular are four times more likely to be suspended and five times more likely to be excluded than their better-off peers – with knock-on effects that can impact the rest of their lives.
“Children cannot learn if they are not in school and engaged, so it’s no surprise that young people who are suspended even once are unlikely to pass their GCSE English and maths, and they’re twice as likely to be neither earning nor learning at 24.”
