Exclusions up among special needs students

June 29, 2004 in Children

Nearly one in 20 children with special educational needs were
excluded from school in 2002-3 – nearly 10 times the rate for
pupils without special educational needs.

DfES statistics show that school exclusions fell by 3 per cent –
the first fall in three years. Eighty-two per cent of excluded
pupils were boys, and 83 per cent were secondary school pupils.

Traveller children of Irish descent experienced the highest rate
of exclusions of any ethnic group, with 51 exclusions for every
10,000 children. The lowest exclusion rates were among Chinese
pupils (two in every 10,000) and Indians (three in every
10,000).

Education minister Ivan Lewis said: “We are getting the balance
right, helping teachers to improve behaviour in the classroom and
backing their authority when pupils’ behaviour warrants
exclusion.

“But more than anything, today’s figures are a tribute to
the professionalism of teachers and all those in the frontline who
are working to ensure our classrooms are free from disruption.”