Suspensions

Published 7 February 2023

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Contents

1. Main facts and figures

• white Gypsy and Roma pupils had the highest suspension rates out of all ethnic groups in the 2020 to 2021 school year

• pupils from the Chinese and Indian ethnic groups had the lowest suspension rates

• pandemic restrictions impacted the number of suspensions in the 2 school years to July 2021, which makes comparing across years less reliable

2. Things you need to know

What the data measures

The data shows the number and rate of suspensions from state-funded schools in England.

Suspensions are temporary and can be for up to 45 school days.

Pupils can be suspended more than once and from more than one school, as long as all the suspensions in an academic year don't add up to more than 45 days.

Suspension rates are rounded to 2 decimal places.

You can see data on permanent exclusions by ethnicity.

Not included in the data

Individual pupils can receive more than one suspension. The data does not show:

• the number of pupils who were given suspensions

• how many times each pupil was suspended

How suspension rates are calculated

Rates are shown as percentages, but they are not the overall percentage of pupils who were suspended.

Rates are calculated using the number of pupils in January each year and the number of suspensions in the whole academic year.

For example, a suspension rate of 11.22% is the equivalent of 1,122 suspensions for every 10,000 pupils. Percentages of suspensions by reason for each ethnic group are calculated out of all suspensions, not all pupils.

The ethnic groups used in the data

The ethnic groups used are based on the 18 ethnic groups used in the 2011 Census, with 2 exceptions:

• there are separate categories for Traveller of Irish Heritage, and Gypsy and Roma pupils

• the Chinese ethnic group has its own category, rather than being part of the Asian ethnic group

Data analysed over time and by local authority is shown for 6 aggregated groups:

• Asian
• black
• Chinese
• mixed
• white
• 'other'

This is to make sure pupil numbers are large enough to be reliable.

Pupils’ ethnicity was not known for 8,251 school suspensions. Suspension rates are shown separately for pupils whose ethnic group was not known.

Methodology

Read the detailed methodology document for this data.

You can also read about a data checking exercise for data from 1997 to 2010, which led to some figures being updated.

Figures for the white Gypsy and Roma group and the Traveller of Irish Heritage group are based on small numbers of pupils which means reliable generalisations are difficult to make. Read more about how group size affects the reliability of data.

From the 2020 to 2021 school year, up to 3 reasons can be recorded for each suspension. There is no requirement to order the reasons. In previous years there was a different list of reasons and schools were required to report the main reason for each suspension.

In the data file

In the academic years up to 2016 to 2017, ethnicity was only collected for pupils of compulsory school age. As a result, the analysis of exclusions by ethnicity in these years only includes pupils of compulsory school age. Pupils above compulsory school age are still included in the overall totals, so these will not match total suspensions by ethnicity.

The decimal places against values for 1997 to 2010 are a result of a data checking exercise, which led to some figures being updated.

3. Suspensions by ethnicity

• Location: England
• Time period: 2020 to 2021 school year
• Source: Permanent exclusions and suspensions in England

Suspensions rate, and number of suspensions, by ethnicity

Ethnicity	Rate	Number
All	4.25	352,454
Asian	1.65	15,725
Bangladeshi	1.50	2,214
Indian	0.69	1,893
Pakistani	2.54	9,421
Asian Other	1.37	2,197
Black	4.07	19,141
Black African	3.12	10,101
Black Caribbean	7.41	6,126
Black Other	4.55	2,914
Chinese	0.43	163
Mixed	4.88	25,820
Mixed White And Asian	3.14	4,018
Mixed White And Black African	4.96	3,605
Mixed White And Black Caribbean	8.50	10,987
Mixed Other	3.62	7,210
White	4.65	278,855
Gypsy, Roma	15.00	3,876
Irish Traveller	11.22	689
White British	4.83	259,854
White Irish	4.23	921
White Other	2.40	13,515
Other	2.62	4,499
Unknown	6.30	8,251

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Suspensions Suspensions by ethnicity Summary

The data shows that:

• the highest suspension rates were for white Gypsy and Roma pupils (15.00%, or 1,500 suspensions per 10,000 pupils), and Traveller of Irish Heritage pupils (11.22%, or 1,122 per 10,000 pupils)

• pupils from the Chinese (0.43%, or 43 per 10,000 pupils) and Indian ethnic groups (0.69%, or 69 per 10,000 pupils) had the lowest suspension rates

• the suspension rate for white British pupils was 4.83%, or 483 per 10,000 pupils

• the overall suspension rate was 4.25% – around 425 suspensions per 10,000 pupils

4. Suspensions by ethnicity over time

• Location: England
• Time period: September 2006 to July 2021
• Source: Permanent exclusions and suspensions in England

Suspensions rate, and number of suspensions, by ethnicity over time

	All		Asian		Black		Chinese		Mixed		White		Other
Academic year	All Rate	All Number	Asian Rate	Asian Number	Black Rate	Black Number	Chinese Rate	Chinese Number	Mixed Rate	Mixed Number	White Rate	White Number	Other Rate	Other Number
2006/07	5.65	425,588	3.07	15,817	8.98	25,497	0.83	205	9.02	19,725	6.32	347,869	3.97	2,933
2007/08	5.13	383,831	2.78	14,950	8.00	23,478	0.95	236	7.75	17,837	5.83	314,783	3.79	2,977
2008/09	4.77	355,139	2.62	14,617	7.69	23,266	0.83	205	7.26	17,670	5.44	289,055	3.59	2,972
2009/10	4.44	331,380	2.44	14,112	7.28	22,820	0.73	181	6.85	17,684	5.07	267,282	3.27	2,853
2010/11	4.33	324,106	2.21	13,253	6.98	22,775	0.62	155	6.55	17,891	4.94	258,314	3.24	2,973
2011/12	4.03	304,372	2.05	12,885	6.00	20,316	0.45	115	5.94	17,139	4.72	245,106	3.08	2,983
2012/13	3.51	267,520	1.82	11,845	5.06	17,802	0.41	106	5.13	15,629	4.14	214,482	2.76	2,770
2013/14	3.50	269,475	1.68	11,347	4.77	17,389	0.41	109	5.02	16,226	4.16	216,185	2.56	2,712
2014/15	3.88	302,975	1.85	12,988	5.42	20,446	0.47	131	5.49	18,835	4.61	240,762	2.96	3,324
2015/16	4.29	339,362	1.91	13,906	5.89	22,899	0.56	161	5.98	21,664	5.14	269,533	3.05	3,645
2016/17	4.76	381,864	1.80	15,680	5.65	25,557	0.56	197	5.73	25,678	5.08	303,724	3.11	4,570
2017/18	5.08	410,753	1.76	15,747	5.56	25,538	0.50	181	5.89	27,583	5.50	329,354	3.16	4,840
2018/19	5.36	438,265	2.03	18,657	5.54	25,800	0.56	205	6.29	30,748	5.80	348,338	3.34	5,343
2019/20	3.76	310,733	1.35	12,731	3.85	18,086	0.30	114	4.35	22,162	4.11	246,979	2.22	3,713
2020/21	4.25	352,454	1.65	15,725	4.07	19,141	0.43	163	4.88	25,820	4.65	278,855	2.62	4,499

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Suspensions Suspensions by ethnicity over time Summary

The data shows that:

• the overall suspension rate went down from 5.65% to 4.25% (from 565 to 425 suspensions per 10,000 pupils) in the 15 school years covered by this data

• in most years covered by this data, pupils from black and mixed backgrounds had the highest suspension rates out of all aggregated ethnic groups – for the 3 school years to July 2021, the rate was higher for white pupils than black pupils

• the rate for white pupils were consistently above the national average

• pupils from the Chinese ethnic group consistently had the lowest rates

• the biggest decrease was in the any other black background ethnic group, going from 10.6 in 2006/07 to 4.5 in 2020/21

5. Suspensions by ethnicity and type of school

• Location: England
• Time period: 2020 to 2021 school year
• Source: Permanent exclusions and suspensions in England

Suspensions rate, and number of suspensions, by ethnicity and type of school

	State-Funded Primary		State-Funded Secondary		Special		Total
Ethnicity	State-Funded Primary Rate	State-Funded Primary Number	State-Funded Secondary Rate	State-Funded Secondary Number	Special Rate	Special Number	Total Rate	Total Number
All	0.99	46,203	8.48	296,224	7.29	10,027	4.25	352,454
Asian	0.21	1,086	3.53	14,471	1.21	168	1.65	15,725
Bangladeshi	0.14	109	3.17	2,068	1.54	37	1.50	2,214
Indian	0.11	173	1.48	1,710	0.38	10	0.69	1,893
Pakistani	0.30	618	5.49	8,715	1.41	88	2.54	9,421
Asian Other	0.21	186	2.85	1,978	1.27	33	1.37	2,197
Black	0.98	2,435	7.65	16,261	4.68	445	4.07	19,141
Black African	0.72	1,239	6.00	8,737	2.01	125	3.12	10,101
Black Caribbean	1.93	784	12.69	5,107	13.21	235	7.41	6,126
Black Other	1.15	412	9.04	2,417	5.68	85	4.55	2,914
Chinese	0.12	27	0.88	131	1.16	5	0.43	163
Mixed	1.21	3,754	10.14	21,220	9.63	846	4.88	25,820
Mixed White And Asian	0.63	474	6.76	3,441	6.47	103	3.14	4,018
Mixed White And Black African	1.39	590	10.01	2,884	10.50	131	4.96	3,605
Mixed White And Black Caribbean	2.16	1,602	17.29	9,040	13.46	345	8.50	10,987
Mixed Other	0.92	1,088	7.58	5,855	7.90	267	3.62	7,210
White	1.12	37,820	9.28	232,686	8.34	8,349	4.65	278,855
Gypsy, Roma	2.52	426	40.04	3,366	16.83	84	15.00	3,876
Irish Traveller	4.61	213	33.19	452	15.38	24	11.22	689
White British	1.17	35,263	9.54	216,579	8.58	8,012	4.83	259,854
White Irish	1.11	124	7.31	752	13.20	45	4.23	921
White Other	0.53	1,794	5.33	11,537	3.22	184	2.40	13,515
Other	0.42	411	5.66	4,044	1.79	44	2.62	4,499
Unknown	1.12	670	10.76	7,411	6.85	170	6.30	8,251

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Suspensions Suspensions by ethnicity and type of school Summary

The data shows that:

• in every ethnic group, suspension rates were higher in secondary and special schools than in primary schools

• pupils from the Traveller of Irish Heritage ethnic group had the highest suspension rates in primary schools – 4.61%, equivalent to 461 suspensions per 10,000 pupils

• white Gypsy and Roma pupils had the highest suspension rates in secondary and special schools – 40.04% at secondary schools, equivalent to 4,004 suspensions per 10,000 pupils, and 16.83% at special schools, equivalent to 1,683 suspensions per 10,000 pupils

• pupils from the Indian and Chinese ethnic groups had the lowest suspension rates in every type of school

6. Suspensions by ethnicity and local authority

• Location: England
• Time period: 2020 to 2021 school year
• Source: Permanent exclusions and suspensions in England

Suspensions rate, and number of suspensions, by ethnicity and local authority

	All		Asian		Black		Chinese		Mixed		White		Other
Local Authority	All Rate	All Number	Asian Rate	Asian Number	Black Rate	Black Number	Chinese Rate	Chinese Number	Mixed Rate	Mixed Number	White Rate	White Number	Other Rate	Other Number
Barking And Dagenham	1.83	815	0.54	66	1.71	192	0.00	0	3.58	154	2.56	392	0.25	2
Barnet	2.33	1,400	0.83	64	4.23	269	0.84	7	3.17	207	2.09	636	2.51	164
Barnsley	6.38	2,212	3.69	8	7.48	19	0.00	0	6.57	55	6.40	2,109	0.61	1
Bath And North East Somerset	6.94	1,900	2.28	10	11.43	24	1.00	1	13.45	203	6.27	1,525	4.52	8
Bedford	2.95	879	1.73	81	2.50	45	0.00	0	4.76	152	2.99	580	2.01	8
Bexley	3.40	1,493	0.66	28	3.02	240	0.76	5	3.52	126	3.92	1,030	3.50	22
Birmingham	3.53	7,105	1.97	1,484	4.50	1,127	0.09	1	5.76	1,072	4.42	2,901	2.36	264
Blackburn With Darwen	2.93	801	1.60	196	1.21	4	0.00	0	3.76	39	4.11	529	1.85	8
Blackpool	6.51	1,262	0.22	1	5.26	5	1.67	1	7.96	54	6.61	1,184	1.90	2
Bolton	5.55	2,885	1.21	157	3.11	103	0.00	0	5.76	142	7.66	2,431	2.01	21
Bournemouth, Christchurch And Poole	5.68	2,947	0.54	9	2.60	11	0.77	2	6.17	194	5.91	2,653	5.05	32
Bracknell Forest	2.90	532	0.27	3	2.09	11	0.00	0	2.85	33	3.16	477	0.83	1
Bradford	5.12	5,099	4.07	1,712	4.93	85	1.09	1	7.70	477	5.72	2,645	3.12	51
Brent	2.20	1,052	0.86	127	3.62	341	0.00	0	3.43	130	2.18	270	2.57	148
Brighton And Hove	4.42	1,400	0.97	11	3.41	23	1.93	4	5.11	165	4.55	1,145	1.94	17
Bristol, City Of	6.02	3,680	1.94	91	6.81	431	0.36	1	9.22	518	5.76	2,428	5.15	42
Bromley	2.73	1,437	0.58	22	3.53	198	0.30	2	3.75	233	2.71	926	1.75	13
Buckinghamshire	2.89	2,505	1.98	334	4.02	102	0.71	3	4.26	292	2.92	1,702	4.02	26
Bury	4.45	1,300	1.98	87	3.77	30	0.00	0	4.43	69	5.06	1,096	1.77	8
Calderdale	6.24	2,292	10.72	703	11.27	39	0.00	0	7.33	119	5.11	1,416	2.54	5
Cambridgeshire	4.07	3,596	1.57	57	6.02	76	0.47	3	4.31	231	4.18	3,109	0.79	7
Camden	3.24	706	1.88	78	4.55	181	0.73	1	4.46	125	3.02	259	2.64	40
Central Bedfordshire	3.75	1,711	0.60	8	5.10	61	0.00	0	5.42	166	3.69	1,444	4.82	11
Cheshire East	4.07	2,252	0.54	6	3.98	13	0.00	0	3.69	82	4.06	2,052	1.31	4
Cheshire West And Chester	3.95	2,015	0.97	8	3.04	9	0.61	1	2.98	46	4.09	1,940	0.79	2
City Of London	0.00	0	0.00	0	0.00	0	0.00	0	0.00	0	0.00	0	0.00	0
Cornwall	3.85	2,842	2.55	7	1.39	1	1.72	2	4.24	77	3.84	2,684	3.88	9
County Durham	4.82	3,516	0.83	5	0.70	2	2.74	6	2.83	35	4.93	3,448	1.23	4
Coventry	4.18	2,403	1.17	141	4.02	294	0.44	1	5.24	221	5.27	1,690	2.05	23
Croydon	3.46	1,986	1.11	102	5.78	920	0.00	0	4.03	357	2.30	465	4.18	60
Cumbria	4.29	3,003	1.94	9	7.27	12	0.00	0	4.29	54	4.19	2,757	1.43	4
Darlington	6.98	1,118	1.10	6	1.55	2	0.00	0	5.42	23	7.35	1,075	3.28	4
Derby	3.29	1,425	1.60	136	2.61	49	0.00	0	4.43	149	3.79	1,046	2.02	20
Derbyshire	4.62	4,988	1.11	14	7.23	34	0.00	0	4.34	146	4.65	4,703	4.66	13
Devon	5.75	5,757	0.80	6	2.98	7	0.98	2	5.60	140	5.75	5,405	1.74	14
Doncaster	12.34	5,826	1.21	19	12.71	83	0.48	1	8.75	137	12.83	5,437	21.51	114
Dorset	4.80	2,326	1.09	5	1.44	2	1.18	1	4.08	56	4.84	2,208	1.46	2
Dudley	5.23	2,491	3.13	153	8.24	112	0.00	0	9.80	351	4.92	1,764	2.09	19
Ealing	2.00	1,080	1.09	178	3.99	300	0.00	0	3.11	152	1.60	249	2.09	180
East Riding Of Yorkshire	3.71	1,679	0.00	0	1.19	1	0.00	0	3.53	37	3.74	1,610	3.73	10
East Sussex	5.54	3,754	1.81	25	4.91	26	0.54	1	5.03	180	5.62	3,412	4.68	17
Enfield	2.94	1,677	0.81	38	3.79	478	0.00	0	3.85	240	2.74	763	2.92	95
Essex	4.01	8,683	1.23	88	3.32	257	0.67	6	4.99	577	4.07	7,442	1.76	32
Gateshead	6.70	1,930	1.27	10	3.08	17	0.53	1	7.64	56	7.04	1,804	3.92	28
Gloucestershire	4.71	4,224	1.17	40	7.86	115	0.39	1	7.67	349	4.64	3,608	5.16	18
Greenwich	3.68	1,614	0.88	35	3.30	440	0.64	4	4.07	210	4.55	848	1.85	23
Hackney	4.66	1,606	2.40	97	6.17	698	0.84	2	6.45	270	3.51	424	4.11	88
Halton	2.41	460	0.00	0	0.00	0	0.00	0	1.89	11	2.47	443	0.76	1
Hammersmith And Fulham	4.00	816	1.03	16	5.58	236	0.93	1	6.01	177	3.25	274	2.88	66
Hampshire	3.84	6,948	0.76	45	3.67	90	0.65	4	3.42	269	3.98	6,426	2.45	26
Haringey	2.94	1,118	0.60	14	4.41	361	0.56	2	4.42	207	2.08	383	2.69	75
Harrow	1.44	547	0.79	146	3.69	129	1.00	2	2.21	72	1.37	137	2.71	54
Hartlepool	8.26	1,256	1.22	4	2.11	2	0.00	0	3.86	8	8.66	1,242	0.00	0
Havering	2.79	1,129	0.68	26	3.39	149	0.00	0	3.90	126	2.81	778	1.24	5
Herefordshire, County Of	3.56	838	1.68	3	0.00	0	0.00	0	1.69	12	3.67	816	0.70	1
Hertfordshire	3.07	6,052	1.14	196	3.24	284	0.64	7	3.73	581	3.21	4,802	2.07	44
Hillingdon	2.88	1,505	0.95	149	4.03	209	0.79	1	3.12	197	4.15	821	2.31	101
Hounslow	3.01	1,351	0.98	156	4.67	224	0.67	1	4.71	192	4.25	600	2.49	122
Isle Of Wight	6.55	1,105	0.00	0	1.45	1	0.00	0	7.10	36	6.55	1,035	1.41	1
Isles Of Scilly	0.00	0	0.00	0	0.00	0	0.00	0	0.00	0	0.00	0	0.00	0
Islington	6.47	1,551	2.29	48	8.40	458	0.95	1	7.13	288	6.77	692	3.02	52
Kensington And Chelsea	3.37	443	1.08	6	4.60	105	0.00	0	4.75	115	2.14	110	4.24	90
Kent	3.29	7,956	0.88	95	2.75	227	0.35	3	3.17	452	3.45	6,977	2.68	68
Kingston Upon Hull, City Of	5.45	2,277	0.73	5	4.14	35	0.00	0	3.83	65	5.59	2,051	4.34	54
Kingston Upon Thames	1.32	351	0.78	38	3.26	26	0.00	0	1.42	43	1.19	181	1.77	28
Kirklees	4.84	3,258	2.12	397	5.01	70	0.00	0	8.74	416	5.73	2,315	2.85	24
Knowsley	2.82	590	1.06	3	4.04	8	0.00	0	1.29	7	2.80	547	1.34	2
Lambeth	2.51	925	0.66	12	3.74	537	0.00	0	2.76	153	1.19	140	2.02	42
Lancashire	4.16	7,270	2.04	419	5.31	52	0.22	1	4.79	300	4.30	6,151	1.76	21
Leeds	3.87	4,943	2.08	325	2.19	215	0.00	0	4.96	442	4.34	3,825	1.88	48
Leicester	2.38	1,385	1.09	291	2.80	156	0.00	0	4.10	179	3.77	720	1.31	19
Leicestershire	2.95	2,935	0.57	48	1.47	20	0.30	1	4.42	235	3.14	2,594	2.06	9
Lewisham	3.71	1,444	0.57	13	5.57	721	0.19	1	4.80	305	2.15	295	1.80	26
Lincolnshire	3.94	4,218	0.66	12	1.85	12	0.35	1	3.19	112	4.00	3,955	1.68	10
Liverpool	3.23	2,405	1.08	35	2.34	88	0.30	3	3.41	144	3.51	2,032	1.61	60
Luton	2.56	997	1.77	324	2.70	104	0.00	0	4.37	153	3.23	385	2.67	21
Manchester	4.35	3,883	1.59	341	3.54	548	0.11	1	5.97	501	6.19	2,156	3.55	242
Medway	5.24	2,498	0.79	21	2.52	101	0.00	0	5.36	173	5.86	2,149	1.21	6
Merton	1.93	543	0.47	26	3.22	121	0.00	0	2.80	94	1.95	272	1.97	17
Middlesbrough	13.36	3,332	3.22	86	3.68	22	0.00	0	9.40	137	15.80	3,019	4.20	38
Milton Keynes	3.87	1,878	1.13	72	2.65	177	0.72	2	4.72	200	4.66	1,335	3.67	18
Newcastle Upon Tyne	8.73	3,590	2.52	132	3.76	86	0.00	0	5.59	120	10.61	3,107	7.68	109
Newham	2.34	1,478	1.15	352	3.71	455	0.31	1	4.90	229	3.17	349	1.75	58
Norfolk	4.93	5,772	0.58	11	3.78	51	0.00	0	4.65	195	5.06	5,362	1.60	16
North East Lincolnshire	4.11	985	0.53	1	3.41	3	0.00	0	2.46	16	4.24	952	1.61	3
North Lincolnshire	6.60	1,632	0.77	7	3.01	4	0.00	0	4.87	25	6.88	1,557	12.00	33
North Somerset	3.95	1,220	2.18	8	4.33	10	0.00	0	4.87	56	3.92	1,127	6.52	6
North Tyneside	3.36	1,043	1.30	10	1.80	4	1.12	2	2.22	20	3.47	990	1.52	3
North Yorkshire	4.32	3,556	1.15	18	1.86	7	1.52	3	6.07	138	4.36	3,338	0.59	2
Northamptonshire	4.01	4,813	1.08	62	2.58	169	1.12	4	4.95	365	4.13	4,028	1.86	17
Northumberland	4.68	2,131	0.98	6	1.19	1	0.00	0	4.84	44	4.75	2,061	2.70	5
Nottingham	11.33	5,338	2.68	226	6.84	383	0.89	2	13.89	893	15.00	3,582	4.90	76
Nottinghamshire	4.98	6,188	0.92	33	3.86	71	1.33	7	5.32	332	5.06	5,489	2.58	22
Oldham	3.09	1,389	1.70	250	1.63	33	0.00	0	4.90	113	3.92	963	1.48	8
Oxfordshire	4.41	4,286	2.54	153	4.67	119	0.51	2	6.29	439	4.42	3,412	2.24	34
Peterborough	5.19	2,027	3.81	255	7.09	117	1.61	2	5.24	154	5.49	1,430	1.93	12
Plymouth	6.71	2,618	2.32	11	1.22	5	1.18	2	2.43	30	7.06	2,504	2.00	13
Portsmouth	4.92	1,319	1.18	21	2.03	20	0.00	0	4.16	59	5.37	1,155	3.13	15
Reading	3.82	882	0.88	50	3.74	74	0.00	0	8.24	223	4.46	508	4.18	20
Redbridge	2.32	1,355	1.78	580	4.99	276	0.00	0	3.26	150	2.33	310	2.34	21
Redcar And Cleveland	18.52	4,006	5.24	10	19.35	6	0.00	0	6.65	34	18.34	3,754	11.85	16
Richmond Upon Thames	2.14	609	1.02	24	4.51	37	0.65	2	3.06	101	1.88	378	2.47	20
Rochdale	5.81	2,150	1.88	175	3.57	64	0.00	0	8.46	172	7.35	1,681	2.10	11
Rotherham	5.46	2,429	1.68	60	3.99	29	0.00	0	7.02	106	5.80	2,197	0.54	2
Rutland	1.92	113	0.00	0	2.53	2	0.00	0	2.72	5	1.95	106	0.00	0
Salford	4.12	1,524	0.26	3	1.43	35	0.00	0	1.95	63	4.84	1,366	1.27	16
Sandwell	2.98	1,830	1.39	264	4.16	248	0.96	2	4.10	234	3.60	1,007	0.98	16
Sefton	2.00	796	0.65	3	3.01	8	0.00	0	1.58	18	2.05	759	1.20	5
Sheffield	6.04	4,971	3.04	306	3.82	205	0.00	0	8.67	583	6.58	3,636	3.80	116
Shropshire	4.68	1,844	0.00	0	3.42	5	0.00	0	6.29	67	4.63	1,709	3.19	3
Slough	2.14	691	0.87	145	3.79	89	0.00	0	2.96	102	4.06	322	1.50	19
Solihull	3.67	1,467	1.58	84	5.49	51	0.00	0	6.72	231	3.65	1,062	0.28	1
Somerset	7.78	5,556	2.51	23	6.56	20	0.82	1	8.15	167	7.92	5,286	4.76	14
South Gloucestershire	5.50	2,197	1.62	25	9.56	81	0.53	1	8.84	196	5.25	1,810	5.14	15
South Tyneside	4.08	909	1.51	13	4.35	7	0.00	0	2.92	19	4.28	863	0.00	0
Southampton	3.30	1,084	1.07	46	2.02	24	0.58	1	2.69	63	3.87	932	0.51	3
Southend-On-Sea	3.44	1,050	1.76	47	2.31	44	0.50	1	3.47	72	3.78	869	1.03	3
Southwark	3.70	1,579	1.08	25	4.93	831	0.38	2	4.13	226	2.89	366	2.59	80
St. Helens	4.56	1,231	2.14	7	2.87	5	3.33	3	8.29	49	4.56	1,165	0.00	0
Staffordshire	3.99	4,814	3.44	181	5.22	50	0.58	2	5.11	241	3.94	4,248	2.37	15
Stockport	4.06	1,731	1.40	46	8.49	53	0.00	0	4.67	118	4.23	1,482	2.20	11
Stockton-On-Tees	7.26	2,328	2.26	39	3.69	16	1.05	1	6.08	61	7.69	2,187	2.60	5
Stoke-On-Trent	6.36	2,571	4.13	270	4.15	69	1.56	3	6.52	144	7.09	2,045	4.20	37
Suffolk	4.82	4,966	1.44	28	6.96	72	0.00	0	4.37	259	4.80	4,343	2.79	29
Sunderland	5.33	2,151	0.86	14	1.56	6	0.00	0	3.59	29	5.58	2,064	6.33	10
Surrey	3.43	5,496	1.36	160	3.21	106	0.13	1	3.21	355	3.63	4,651	2.79	48
Sutton	3.40	1,363	0.64	59	5.22	171	0.51	4	4.61	191	4.27	900	0.57	5
Swindon	4.94	1,774	0.61	28	3.15	38	0.00	0	7.68	166	5.62	1,515	1.00	4
Tameside	7.17	2,668	1.87	81	3.65	38	0.57	1	6.91	149	8.21	2,361	3.26	12
Telford And Wrekin	7.39	2,267	2.58	59	1.88	26	0.86	1	6.39	114	8.31	2,041	1.82	2
Thurrock	3.73	1,129	0.86	18	2.43	102	0.00	0	4.15	95	4.24	871	0.29	1
Torbay	7.02	1,427	0.40	1	2.94	1	0.00	0	6.55	45	7.22	1,372	0.90	1
Tower Hamlets	1.69	767	1.28	381	2.82	124	0.80	2	2.39	79	2.48	150	1.36	17
Trafford	2.40	1,022	0.63	40	2.90	51	0.21	2	2.71	98	2.87	807	1.13	12
Wakefield	9.08	4,869	3.12	69	4.11	37	1.24	2	7.84	146	9.54	4,522	1.27	6
Walsall	2.89	1,498	2.01	246	3.20	98	0.96	2	4.45	167	3.04	955	1.49	11
Waltham Forest	2.34	986	1.29	134	4.62	339	0.00	0	3.34	174	1.82	308	1.52	24
Wandsworth	2.10	713	0.86	50	3.97	267	0.00	0	2.78	131	1.37	192	2.46	39
Warrington	3.59	1,159	0.50	5	6.60	19	0.53	1	3.14	37	3.67	1,059	3.10	9
Warwickshire	4.08	3,496	0.54	31	2.43	32	0.00	0	4.80	219	4.32	3,102	2.45	18
West Berkshire	4.07	1,077	0.74	8	6.94	29	1.19	1	4.98	72	4.09	939	1.81	4
West Sussex	3.85	4,454	1.64	100	4.52	86	2.56	8	4.94	310	3.90	3,866	2.01	16
Westminster	3.35	736	1.14	35	6.17	256	0.00	0	2.96	75	2.07	121	3.90	211
Wigan	4.35	2,078	0.27	2	3.46	27	0.00	0	4.27	55	4.48	1,965	0.66	4
Wiltshire	4.32	3,034	0.28	4	3.83	44	0.00	0	6.64	168	4.33	2,707	2.01	11
Windsor And Maidenhead	2.98	672	2.86	99	4.75	18	0.00	0	3.72	78	2.79	439	5.21	21
Wirral	4.06	2,057	0.87	12	1.63	4	0.00	0	3.61	57	4.24	1,976	0.72	2
Wokingham	1.18	332	0.40	17	1.91	18	0.37	1	1.65	36	1.26	247	1.32	4
Wolverhampton	3.71	1,750	1.31	156	4.78	260	0.00	0	6.34	363	3.99	912	2.06	14
Worcestershire	3.45	2,809	2.11	67	4.36	25	0.00	0	4.75	155	3.45	2,498	1.49	6
York	4.64	1,191	0.34	2	1.92	3	0.00	0	2.32	21	4.89	1,139	1.17	2

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Suspensions Suspensions by ethnicity and local authority Summary

Figures for the Chinese ethnic group are based on small numbers of suspensions, so generalisations based on these figures are not reliable.

The data shows that:

• the overall suspension rate was highest in Redcar and Cleveland (18.52%, or 1,852 per 10,000 pupils), and Middlesbrough (13.36%, or 1,336 per 10,000 pupils)

• for Asian pupils, the highest suspension rate was in Calderdale (10.72%, or 1,072 per 10,000 pupils)

• for black pupils, the highest suspension rate was in Redcar and Cleveland (19.35%, or 1,935 per 10,000 pupils) – however, this figure is based on a small number of pupils

• for white pupils, the highest suspension rate was also in Redcar and Cleveland (18.34%, or 1,834 suspensions per 10,000 pupils)

• for pupils from a mixed ethnic background, the highest rate was in Nottingham (13.89%, or 1,389 suspensions per 10,000 pupils)

• for pupils from the 'other' ethnic group, the highest rate was in Doncaster (21.51%, or 2,151 suspensions per 10,000 pupils)

7. Suspensions by ethnicity and reason

• Location: England
• Time period: 2020 to 2021 school year
• Source: Permanent exclusions and suspensions in England

Percentage and number of suspensions, by ethnicity and reason

	All		Asian		Black		Chinese		Mixed		White		Other
Reason	All %	All Number	Asian %	Asian Number	Black %	Black Number	Chinese %	Chinese Number	Mixed %	Mixed Number	White %	White Number	Other %	Other Number
Abuse Against Sexual Orientation And Gender Identity	0.30	1,072	0.50	76	0.40	85	1.20	2	0.30	85	0.30	783	0.50	21
Abuse Relating To Disability	0.02	74	0.00	5	0.00	9	0.00	0	0.00	3	0.00	56	0.00	0
Bullying	1.01	3,563	1.60	251	1.80	351	0.60	1	1.30	344	0.90	2,436	1.90	86
Damage	2.80	9,874	3.40	540	2.70	513	3.70	6	2.80	729	2.80	7,740	3.10	138
Drug And Alcohol Related	3.13	11,046	4.90	777	2.80	531	3.70	6	3.20	819	3.00	8,500	2.70	122
Inappropriate Use Of Social Media Or Online Technology	1.47	5,179	3.40	538	2.90	551	5.50	9	1.80	470	1.20	3,340	3.30	148
Persistent Disruptive Behaviour	34.53	121,695	19.30	3,041	22.20	4,256	12.30	20	30.20	7,796	36.90	102,781	24.40	1,100
Physical Assault Against A Pupil	20.78	73,243	32.50	5,109	32.50	6,220	32.50	53	24.60	6,352	18.70	52,240	31.20	1,405
Physical Assault Against An Adult	6.01	21,168	3.80	595	6.50	1,253	6.10	10	6.80	1,749	6.10	16,953	4.00	182
Racist Abuse	1.75	6,175	2.50	395	1.50	283	4.90	8	1.20	310	1.80	4,931	2.50	113
Sexual Misconduct	0.77	2,704	1.50	234	2.00	382	2.50	4	1.00	249	0.60	1,699	1.50	69
Theft	0.57	1,994	0.80	130	1.30	258	1.80	3	0.70	174	0.50	1,343	0.70	32
Use Or Threat Of Use Of An Offensive Weapon Or Prohibited Item	1.88	6,640	4.80	751	2.70	519	8.60	14	2.00	525	1.60	4,495	3.40	154
Verbal Abuse/ Threatening Behaviour Against A Pupil	5.16	18,191	6.80	1,063	7.80	1,490	5.50	9	6.10	1,565	4.80	13,291	7.10	320
Verbal Abuse/ Threatening Behaviour Against An Adult	17.83	62,854	11.40	1,793	10.90	2,095	9.20	15	16.40	4,241	18.90	52,710	11.70	526
Wilful And Repeated Transgression Of Protective Measures In Place To Protect Public Health	1.99	7,009	2.70	427	1.80	345	1.80	3	1.60	410	2.00	5,583	1.80	83

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Suspensions Suspensions by ethnicity and reason Summary

Percentages for each ethnic group are calculated out of all suspensions, not all pupils.

Figures for the Chinese ethnic group are based on small numbers of suspensions, so generalisations based on these figures are not reliable.

The data shows that:

• overall, the most common reasons for suspensions were persistent disruptive behaviour (34.53%), physical assault against a pupil (20.78%), and verbal abuse or threatening behaviour against an adult (17.83%)

• overall, the least common reasons for suspensions were abuse relating to disability (0.02%), abuse against sexual orientation and gender identity (0.30%), and theft (0.57%)

• physical assault against another pupil was the most common reason why Asian (32.5%) and black (32.5%) pupils were suspended

• persistent disruptive behaviour was the most common reason why white pupils (36.9%) and pupils from the mixed ethnic group (30.2%) were suspended

8. Data sources

Source

Permanent exclusions and suspensions in England

Type of data

Administrative data

Type of statistic

National Statistics

Publisher

Department for Education

Publication frequency

Yearly

Purpose of data source

The data helps schools, local authorities and the government have a greater understanding of the level of exclusions and suspensions and the reasons for them.

9. Download the data

exclusions-national-data - Spreadsheet (csv) 316 KB

This file contains the following variables: measure (permanent or temporary exclusions), time (academic year), ethnicity, type of school, value (exclusion rate), numerator (number of exclusions), denominator (pupils)

exclusions-reasons-data - Spreadsheet (csv) 85 KB

This file contains the following variables: measure (permanent or temporary exclusions), reason for exclusion, ethnicity, value (percentage) and number of exclusions

exclusions-local-authority-data - Spreadsheet (csv) 3 MB

This file contains the following variables: measure (permanent or temporary exclusions), time (academic year), ethnicity, local authority, type of school, value (exclusion rate), numerator (number of exclusions), denominator (pupils)

Publication release date: 7 February 2023

full page history

1. 7 February 2023 Updated with the latest available data.

From: Department for Education

Previous editions:

1. 4 September 2020
2. 1 April 2019
3. 1 March 2018

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