Thanks again to Dorothy for alerting me to this.
From Channel 4 News last night, the above and:
England’s schools have been described as being gripped by rising levels of violence against both teachers and pupils, leading to permanent exclusions.
According to a new report, a record 3,320 pupils were permanently excluded last spring – which is about 21% higher than before the Covid pandemic.
The report also found vulnerable children were affected most – with their exclusions from school almost 6% higher than other pupils. More than 300,000 were suspended last spring. https://www.channel4.com/news/permanent-exclusions-up-21-as-violence-in-schools-rise
What are the comparable figures for Scotland?
From School exclusion statistics 19 December 2025 (latest), we see permanent exclusions down from 164 in 2007/2008 (First SNP Government) to one or less from 2020 and zero in 2024/25. Temporary exclusions fell from nearly 40 000 in 2007/2008 to between 8 000 and 12 000 in each the last five years. https://www.gov.scot/publications/school-exclusion-statistics/
Per head of population, England has, adjusting the Channel 4 seasonal data to annual estimates, around 12 000 permanent exclusions compared to zero or 1 in Scotland – a staggering more than 1 000 times as many (per capita!)
As for the temporary exclusions, England’s 1.2m is, per head, around 12 times as high, so:
With 12 times as many temporary school exclusions and 1 000 times as many permanent exclusions, per head, than Scotland, England’s schools are in a deep crisis fuelling County Lines gangs and street violence
In addition to the immediate and obvious consequences of such a phenomenon, what other consequences might there be?
Pupils excluded from school are at a “heightened risk” of being drawn into county lines drugs gangs, an official report warns. Police officers “reported a strong link between school exclusion and becoming a target for county lines criminals”, according to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services. https://www.tes.com/magazine/archive/strong-link-between-exclusions-and-drugs-gangs
Knife crime: Excluded pupils ‘sucked into criminality’ – Theresa May is being warned that a “broken” system of support for troubled and excluded youngsters lies at the heart of a rise in knife crime. Police commissioners and London’s mayor have written to the PM saying pupils, both formally and informally excluded, are being “sucked into criminality”.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-47470502
Imagine this was the other way round. Imagine the Scottish media coverage.
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I didn’t know permanent exclusions was a thing…the local authority has a statutory duty to provide an education to children up to the age of sixteen, and it’s meant to be according to the students, age, aptitude and ability.
It really does sound as if England is a mess, and it will get even ‘worse’, both with Labour in power and any far right party that might take control of Westminister..scary.
Remember Starmer said things will get ‘worse’ after he was installed as PM, he wasn’t joking.
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“I didn’t know permanent exclusions was a thing ..”. Indeed!
The definition of terms is important here. From the Scottish Government’s latest ‘School exclusion statistics’ for 2024-25 (see https://www.gov.scot/publications/school-exclusion-statistics/ )
‘These statistics relate to temporary exclusions and number of pupils removed from the register (previously known as ‘permanent’ exclusions). An exclusion is temporary when a pupil is excluded from a school but remains on the register of that school because they are expected to return when the exclusion period is completed. The term ‘removed from the register’ refers to a pupil who is excluded and their name removed from the school register. Such a pupil would then be educated at another school or via some other form of provision.’ (my emphasis)
As recorded in the aforementioned report, in Scotland in 2002-3, 292 pupils were ‘removed from the register’. There were 36,204 pupils excluded temporarily.
In 2006-7, 248 pupils were ‘removed from the register’. There were 44,646 temporary exclusions: temporary exclusions were on a marked rise before the SNP first gained power in Holyrood.
In 2008-9, 87 pupils were ‘removed from the register’. The number of temporary exclusions had dropped to 33,830.
In 2024-25, zero pupils were ‘removed from the register’: the number had been 5 or fewer since 2014-15. By 2024-25, the number of temporary exclusions had fallen to 10,647.
These are dramatic changes over time, with a clear shift downwards in numbers of exclusions following the first SNP government in Edinburgh.
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And Westminster can’t understand why we want to run our own affairs? OR, they couldn’t stand the shame of a Scottish run tv news reporting the reality of their cruel neoliberal policies..?
John (not anonymous) Lawson.
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Perhaps the statistics on school exclusions improve the longer the British Labour Party governs? After all, it’s only been in power a short time in Westminster. Perhaps the stats for Wales – after c. 30 years of a Labour government – will reveal what Labour can achieve!
From the latest set of official figures: ‘Permanent and fixed-term exclusions from schools: September 2023 to August 2024 (provisional) – Data on all pupils in maintained primary, middle, secondary and special schools and pupil referral units for September 2023 to August 2024′. (Last updated: 11 November 2025)
(Available at https://www.gov.wales/permanent-and-fixed-term-exclusions-schools-september-2023-august-2024-provisional-html)
This Welsh Government report contains a graph showing the rate of permanent exclusions per 1,000 pupils between 2011/12 and 2023/24. The rate has increased from 0.2 per 1,000 pupils in 2011/12 to 0.5 per 1,000 pupils in 2018/19. It dropped to 0.3 per 1,000 pupils in 2020/21 during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023/24 it increased to 1.0 per 1,000 pupils. The report notes that the latter figure is ‘the highest value recorded’.
The report also has a graph showing the rate of fixed-term exclusions of more than 5 days per 1,000 pupils between 2011/12 and 2023/24. The rate had fallen from 2.3 exclusions per 1,000 pupils in 2011/12 to 1.7 per 1,000 pupils in 2018/19, falling again during COVID-19. However, in the most recent year for which there is data, 2023/24, the rate has risen sharply to 2.7 exclusions per 1,000 pupils. The report notes that the latter is ‘the highest value recorded’.
There is a graph showing the rate of fixed-term exclusions of up to 5 days per 1,000 pupils between 2011/12 and 2023/24. The rate increased from 26.7 exclusions per 1,000 pupils in 2013/14 to 41.0 exclusions per 1,000 pupils in 2018/19. During the COVID-19 pandemic the rate dropped to 2013/14 levels. In the most recent year for which there is data, 2023/24, the rate increased to 73.2 per 1,000 pupils. The report notes this is ‘the highest value recorded’.
So in maintained schools in Wales in 2023/24, every type of exclusions has increased since 2022/23 and reached the highest rate since 2011/12. The rate of permanent exclusions has increased to 1.0 per 1,000 pupils in 2023/24, compared to 0.8 per 1,000 pupils in 2022/23 The rate of fixed-term exclusions of over 5 days has increased to 2.7 per 1,000 pupils in 2023/24, compared to 2.4 per 1,000 pupils in 2022/23. The rate of fixed-term exclusions of 5 days or less has increased to 71.9 per 1,000 pupils in 2023/24, compared to 63.6 per 1,000 pupils in 2022/23.
Whether is on health, social care, education, poverty, the economy etc. the evidence from Wales is clear: a British Labour Party government is not the answer to Scotland’s needs and wants!
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