10 July 2025

The latest Department for Education’s (DfE) annual exclusions statistics are out, and they make for a concerning read.

Figures for the academic year 2022/23 saw all the wrong records being smashed in state schools: suspension and permanent exclusion numbers reached record highs. 

Previous statistics showed that those with special educational needs (SEN) are more likely to be excluded than their classmates without SEN, and these latest figures show this remains stubbornly the case. This is despite it being unlawful for a school to exclude a pupil because they have SEN or a disability that the school feels unable to meet.   

Why is this so concerning? 

As parents know all too well, suspension and permanent exclusion can cause significant disruption to pupils’ education. The DfE is not unaware of this and refers to the likely potential for disruption in its statutory guidance on exclusion for maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units. 

Where suspensions are becoming a regular occurrence for a pupil, school shouldn’t just keep issuing them. It should review whether suspension alone is an effective sanction and whether additional strategies need to be put in place to address unwanted behaviour. 

Permanent exclusion is also a serious step. It should only be taken:

• in response to a serious breach or persistent breaches of the school's behaviour policy, and
• where allowing the pupil to remain in school would seriously harm the education or welfare of the pupil or others such as staff or pupils in the school.

In 2022/23 we saw a 44% increase in the number of permanent exclusions - 9,400 pupils in total, and we thought that was bad. In 2023/24 it got worse - even more pupils were excluded and 10,885 children and young people were excluded from their school community and their classmates.

What’s going on? 

We know that children with SEN are substantially more likely to be excluded – both for a fixed period and permanently, and this is telling.

The figures for children on SEN Support, combined with our casework experience, strongly suggest that some schools are not:

• following statutory guidance contained in the SEND Code of Practice 2015
• properly identifying needs
• meeting their duty not to discriminate against disabled pupils
• doing all that they can to put in place the support needed to meet SEN, and
• providing SEN Support consistently and as required by children’s needs (rather than timetabling or staffing considerations).

The statutory guidance is clear what schools need to do if they have concerns about the behaviour (or the risk of exclusion) of their pupils at SEN Support level. Working in partnership with others (including where appropriate external specialists and the local authority), schools should consider what additional support may be required and assess the suitability of provision for a pupil’s SEN (paragraphs 56 and 57). It may well be that an EHC needs assessment is required to fully understand a child’s needs or as the first step towards getting an EHC plan in place. 

That said, children with EHC plans do not fare much better in these figures. Remember, by law an EHC plan must specify all a child or young person’s SEN and the provision to meet those needs. Yet record numbers are being excluded overall, and the figures also show that the number of special school pupils being suspended continues to rise. 

So, what could be causing this? Some reasons are likely to be:

• EHC plans not properly recording children and young people’s SEN and required provision
• local authorities failing to meet their duty to secure provision set out in Section F of the EHC plan
• local authorities not carrying out annual reviews in line with the law
• schools not understanding that disabled pupils with EHC plans are still protected from discrimination under the Equality Act 2010, and
• EHC plans not being amended following review, for example when needs and provision requirements have changed, causing them to be out of date.

Again though, it is clear what schools should be doing before taking the decision to suspend or permanently exclude a pupil with an EHC plan. Schools should contact the local authority about any behavioural concerns at an early stage and consider requesting an early annual review (paragraph 57 of the statutory guidance). Local authorities are under a public law duty to act reasonably, and when requests are made for an early annual review, must act reasonably in deciding whether one is needed.  

What can be done? 

If your child has been excluded, you can get advice and take action. 

There are also a number of steps the school must take if your child is excluded, and you can check that this is happening. 

If your child has been excluded from a sixth form college or further education college, a non-maintained special school, a section 41 approved school, or an independent school or college, different rules apply and you can find information on our website about what you can do. 

If you would like to speak to us to discuss your child’s exclusion, please get in touch.

 

About the author

As a member of the legal team, Kate provides legal support to volunteers and supervises their helpline and Tribunal Support Service work. She also writes monthly updates for the volunteers, ensuring they are kept up to date with legal and policy changes. She helps maintain IPSEA’s legal resources and briefings, and provides training to parents, carers and professionals. Kate also supports the policy team in their work. In her spare time, Kate loves to have her nose in a new book, get outside and exercise, and play with her two sons.

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