Shocking new figures have revealed that England has seen record numbers of school suspensions and exclusions in a single school year.
Government figures show that suspensions have risen by more than a third, with 790,000 happening in 2022/23. That’s 36% higher than the previous record, 578,000 in 2021/22.
There has also been a 44% rise in exclusions from 2021/22 with 9,000, compared to the 7,900 in 2017/18.
These numbers have a huge impact on under-privileged children, with the expulsion rates being four times higher for those on Free School Meals.
Inspire’s Pre-16 project co-ordinator Jay Wallace-Langan said: “It’s why I’m passionate about what I do. Forget the job title, this needs to be fixed.
“At Inspire we are proud to partner with The Princes Trust and have for many years. We have received some funding [through Suffolk County Council’s Ipswich Investment Fund] to deliver our Achieve programme to 240 young people across Ipswich in the next academic year. That’s for two terms.
“These students are the ones that are behind that statistic. We’re also helping those previously expelled or suspended gain new qualifications.
“This is why our charity exists, to give young people a chance.”
Our Achieve programme is a project designed to support young people at risk of disengaging with mainstream education the opportunity to develop essential skills which can be transferred into young people’s educational settings.
Students will have improved attitudes to learning, engagement and attendance and improved mental health, bridging gaps to employment.
Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the National Education Union said in a statement: “The marked increase in suspensions and exclusions shows the precarious position of schools and secondary schools in particular.
“Schools have been managing with increasingly scarce resources for over a decade and then they were hit by the disruption of the pandemic. As a result of the disruption, many pupils lost a sense of belonging to their school.
“We need a curriculum that engages and is inclusive as well as reforms to our assessment system. The Government has said that these are areas they want to address, and we look forward to working with them on it.”
Stoke High School’s Claire Lockett previously said of our Achieve Programme: “I just wanted to say what a significant impact the Inspire programme is having with our students.
“It has allowed some of our most disengaged students achieve success and a sense of pride in themselves. The students attendance to lessons has since increased and their attitude towards school is also improving. The students have recognised they can be successful and the programme has both engaged them to complete work through the love of sports.
“We have had parents email to say the relationship Jay has with our students has had a positive impact on their child at home to. Jay is apart of the culture we are building at Stoke and the programme has had an invaluable positive impact all students, staff and parents.”
