The Preston high school making 10 times more exclusions than the Lancashire average

Latest Department of Education figures for the 2020-21 academic year show that Fulwood Academy ordered three permanent exclusions and 299 temporary exclusions.

This equates to 42.7 exclusions per 100 pupils – 10 times the Lancashire average.

Across Lancashire, there were a total of 7,418 permanent or temporary exclusions across the 595 state schools, with an average exclusion rate of 4.2 per 100 pupils – similar to the average of 4.3 across England.

Which were the schools with the highest number of exclusions?

These are the schools with the highest exclusion rates in Lancashire in 2020-21. It is not known if the some pupils were repeatedly given temporary exclusions:

Fulwood Academy – state-funded secondary – 42.7 exclusions per 100 pupils

Fleetwood High School – state-funded secondary – 38.2

Corpus Christi Catholic High School – state-funded secondary – 38

Walton-Le-Dale High School – state-funded secondary – 26.9

Carr Hill High School – state-funded secondary – 25.7

At the other end of the scale, 234 schools in the area did not exclude a single pupil.

Around 37 per cent of schools across England did not suspend or permanently exclude any students in 2020-21, while almost a dozen issued more exclusions than they have pupils.

What do the schools say?

A spokesman for Fulwood Academy said: “Historically, exclusions at Fulwood have been higher than the national average – particularly prior to the national lockdowns.

"There has, however, been a significant shift over the last academic year, particularly since the new leadership team was in place from just after Easter.

"In the last half term of the 2021/22 academic year, exclusions were down 75 per cent. This downward trend has continued over the first weeks of this term. This is a reflection of the improved expectations, standards and culture we now see on a daily basis at Fulwood Academy.”

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Richard Barnes, headteacher of Fleetwood High School said: “It is important to stress that this data is from the 20/21 academic year. In September of 2020 we are just returning to school after the first national lockdown, and the school was implementing a new behaviour policy and resetting expectations.

“As a result, exclusions were, for a short period of time, higher than we would hope. It is important to stress, however, that the vast majority of the exclusions were for less than a day – and students were provided with work and pastoral support during this time.

“Our exclusions are now broadly in line with national average. Ofsted has recently been to the school and, for the first time, graded us a Good in all areas. They note that: “Pupils are polite and focus fully on their work in class. Their learning is not disrupted by poor behaviour in lessons.”

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He added: “We have also invested heavily in a new offering to support students who struggle with the routine of normal school life. This specialist support has also further helped ensure that we are meeting the needs of all our brilliant learners.”

"Strategy”

James Harris, headteacher at Walton-le-Dale High School said: “As we have emerged from the pandemic our key priority has been the mental health and wellbeing of our students and our staff.

"We have deliberately made targeted use of short fixed-term suspensions as a strategy to support our ethos as a calm, friendly, supportive place for everyone who walks through our doors and this has been extremely successful.

"We are nationally known as a highly inclusive school with excellent pastoral provision so, going forward, we are investing significant resources in further developing our mental health and behaviour support for our students.

"We will continue to use short periods of suspension as appropriate, but we anticipate a significant fall in the use of this strategy as we move forward. Maintaining a calm, friendly, supportive environment is essential for the mental health and wellbeing of all our students and staff.”

“Huge differences”

The Children’s Society said there may be a number of reasons for the wide discrepancies in exclusion numbers between schools, and called for stronger Government guidance on the issue.Iryna Pona, policy and impact manager for the organisation, said: "Behavioural issues that could lead to exclusion, are often an indicator of larger issues children are experiencing, such as unmet special educational needs, bullying, abuse or exploitation.

“Some schools may have more children that require additional support, some may lack resources or awareness and training so they don’t know how to support the child and tackle any issues before resorting to excluding.

“Whatever the reason, the numbers show that there is the lack of consistent child centred approach that allows for the needs of the child to be understood and supported across all schools in the same way that would reduce the number of exclusions."

She also called for stronger government guidance that requires schools to work with partners in social care and the community to ensure greater oversight of exclusion decisions.

What the Government says

The Department for Education said it supports headteachers to choose how and when to use suspensions to maintain a calm, safe, and supportive environment.

A spokeswoman added: "We are clear that permanent exclusion should only be used when absolutely necessary, as a last resort and this should not mean exclusion from education.

“Our updated statutory guidance, coming into force this academic year, sets out how and when to use suspensions in particular circumstances as a behaviour tool, and supports decisions to exclude when required.”