HC Deb 13 March 2000 vol 346 cc74-5W
Mr. Ruane

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many pupils were excluded from school(a) in total and (b) as a percentage of the school population for each of the past 10 years. [113278]

Ms Estelle Morris

[holding answer 6 March 2000]: The number of permanent exclusions from maintained schools (except Special Schools) submitting returns under the voluntary National Exclusions Reporting System which covered the period from April 1990 to April 1992 was 2,910 in year one and 3,833 in year two.

My Department first began collecting data on permanent exclusions from maintained schools in England in relation to the school year 1994–95 and the latest available data relate to the school year 1997–98. The available figures are shown in the table.

Information on permanent exclusions for the academic year 1998–99 is currently being collected and national estimates are expected to be published in a Statistical First Release in May.

Number and percentage of pupils who were permanently excluded

from maintained primary and secondary schools and special

schools' in England: 1994–95 to 1997–98

Number of permanent exclusions Percentage of school population2
1997–98 12,298 0.16
1996–97 12,668 0.17
1995–96 12,476 0.17
1994–953 11,084 0.15
1 Includes both maintained and non-maintained special schools.
2 The number of permanent exclusions expressed as a percentage of the number (headcount) of full-time and part-time pupils of all ages.

3 The number of permanent exclusions was estimated to take account of a small number of schools that did not provide any information on their permanent exclusions (excluding dually registered pupils in special schools) in January of the academic year.