Surge in pupils permanently excluded from Wolverhampton schools

In the 2015/16 academic year, 89 pupils were permanently excluded, surging from 28 the previous year.

The number of temporary exclusions also increased dramatically from 1,171 in 2014/15 to 1,647 last year.

The figures - released following a Freedom of Information request - incorporate all primary, secondary and special schools for which Wolverhampton council has responsibility.

Wolverhampton council's education chief, Councillor Claire Darke, said the council was concerned by the rise in permanent exclusions.

Responding to the figures, she said: "The council is very clear about the fact that permanent exclusion – except in extreme circumstances – is not the best option, because the child concerned will still need access to education and their outcomes can be adversely affected by exclusion.

"There are a range of options which schools should take before resorting to permanent exclusion, such as investigating whether the child has any special educational needs which can be met, or arranging alternative educational provision.

"We are concerned about the recent rise in numbers of permanent exclusions in Wolverhampton, and are working with schools to better understand the reasons for this.

"We are also providing advice and guidance to schools and governing bodies about the support which can be made available for pupils and the steps they can take which may avoid exclusions.

Of the 89 permanent exclusions in 2015/16, 67 were secondary school pupils, 20 were from primary schools and two were from special schools.

Of the 1,647 temporary exclusions, 1,251 were from secondary schools, 211 were from primary schools and 185 were from special schools.

Councillor Darke, added: “We are also working with partner agencies to review and redesign Wolverhampton’s Local Offer for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities with a view to reducing the requirement for schools to resort to exclusion when faced with meeting extreme cases of difficult behaviour.

“It should be noted that this is not a unique issue here in Wolverhampton – many areas, both regionally and nationally, are seeing a growth in the number of fixed term and permanent exclusions.”

Government figures on fines for non attendance revealed Wolverhampton bucked the regional trend in that fines for parents fell from 698 in 2014/15 to 645 in 2015/16, with 42 prosecuted.

The number of fines in Staffordshire and Dudley more than doubled, while they increased by smaller amounts in Sandwell and Walsall.