More pupils being expelled from schools in Staffordshire and Black Country
The number of pupils expelled from schools in Staffordshire and the Black Country rose by more than a quarter in a year – a second successive increase, according to new figures.
In total, 454 students were ordered to permanently leave their school year 2015/16.
Persistent disruptive behaviour was the most common reason given, but violent attacks on pupils and staff as well as drugs and alcohol misuse were also the basis of the decisions.
Across the Black Country and Staffordshire region, it was Dudley with the highest rate of children expelled from
its schools, 82 pupils – a rate of 0.17 pupils per 100.
In Walsall, the rate was 0.16, with 78 pupils expelled.
In Wolverhampton it was 0.15 with 63 pupils expelled, Staffordshire was 0.13 with 152 and Sandwell 0.14 with 79.
Dudley Council’s cabinet member for children’s services, Anne Millward, said she would be calling for action after hearing of the latest figures.
She said: “Any child expelled from school is a travesty. We need to get a grip of this, find out what measures can be taken to stop so many children being expelled.
“Kids should be in school to be educated, the fact they are expelled means they are losing out on education.”
She added: “I’d like to see the children backgrounds. Find out what more we can do to help particular groups of people. This is a real concern.”
The statistics, released this week by the Department for Education, also showed school bosses handed out almost 59,631 exclusions to pupils.
Most were in Staffordshire – 17,304 – followed by Sandwell – 13,117 – and then Walsall – 11,304.
Nansi Ellis, assistant general secretary for policy at the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said: “As always, these figures make for sobering reading, particularly when we see the continuing disproportionate exclusion of pupils in poverty, or with a special educational need.
“These figures highlight that schools are consistently underfunded and increasingly understaffed, particularly at secondary, and are left to bear the brunt of the inevitable failure to meet the range of complex needs that pupils in the most challenging circumstances have.”
