75 per cent of expelled pupils have SEN

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Three quarters of pupils expelled from English schools have SEN, according to new Government statistics.

While figures for 2009/10 released by the Department for Education (DfE) show an overall fall in expulsions of around 12 per cent, the rates for pupils with special needs remains very high, with those with a statement of SEN being roughly eight times more likely to be excluded than those with no SEN.

Boys are also much more likely to be excluded, with the permanent exclusion rate for boys being approximately four times higher than that for girls. Children who are eligible for free school meals are around four times more likely to receive a permanent exclusion.

There were an estimated 5,740 permanent exclusions from primary, secondary and all special schools in 2009/10, with 279,260 fixed period exclusions from state funded secondary schools, 37,210 fixed period exclusions from primary schools and 14,910 fixed period exclusions from special schools.

On release of the figures, Schools Minister Nick Gibb said that the Government is “concerned that weak discipline remains a significant problem in too many of our schools and classrooms”. He concluded that “Tackling poor behaviour and raising academic standards are key priorities for the Coalition Government.”

SEN News Team
Author: SEN News Team

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