There has been a dramatic increase in the number of suspensions and exclusions in Isle of Wight schools in the 2023/24 school year.
Local National Education Union (NEU) boss Peter Shreeve believes what he has described as a ‘tsunami’ of drastic disciplinary actions is ‘devastating lives’.
Suspensions locally have risen by 281 pupils compared with the 2022/23 school year: from 565 to 846. The rate of suspension has gone up from 337 per 10,000 pupils to 510. Nationally, the rate of suspension at state schools is significantly lower at 413.
The rate of permanent exclusions in the local area has more than doubled in a year. 7 Isle of Wight pupils were permanently excluded over the last school year, up from 3 in 2022/23. The rate of exclusion on the Island is 7 per 10,000, compared with just 5 nationwide
Commenting on the latest data on school suspensions and permanent exclusions provided by the Department for Education, Peter Shreeve has said:
“Considering the historic savage cuts to mental health, specialist behaviour support as well as SEND, this latest shocking data is hardly a surprise.
“Cuts to school funding has led to reduced pastoral teams and the loss of essential school support staff. Factor in child poverty rates and the exam factory style education system and we see immense and unnecessary pressure on pupils and staff.
“The DfE acknowledges ‘there are more pupils being suspended, and more frequently’ and for longer. Persistent disruptive behaviour is the core reason, driven by insufficient support and an inappropriate ‘one size fits all’ curriculum and exam system.
Article continues below this advertisement “The new Government has quickly recognized, we need real funding for schools, colleges and Local Authority support services. Child poverty too.
“For too long, we have suffered one step forward and two steps back. To reverse these suspensions and exclusion figures, we urgently need two steps forward and no steps back.”
Treating the symptoms with all the do goody support services is not the answer.
Why are all these children acting like this? Perhaps, broken homes, child care (at too early an age, resulting in bad parenting) absent fathers, lack of discipline at school, inappropriate social media, ultra processed foods . . . . . Need I go on?
You only have to look at the poor children’s parents
many of them can’t look after themselves yet alone their
children.
Too many are from unmarried mums who chop and
change their fella’s like the weather.
It’s no wonder many of the poor children suffer.
It is because of this attitude that school children are failing, do you protect the interests of the one very disruptive pupil in class or protect the other 30 so they can learn in a peaceful and calm environment, as a school governor I saw first hand how schools desperately tried to hang onto the additional funding that comes with certain individuals to the detriment of the other pupils.
Problem families are the answer,
it is not the childrens thought if their
parents are bad parents.
Bad parents effect their children’s futures.