'No spike yet' in school pupil exclusion figures since start of September

Concerns were raised last month that a crackdown on fake coughing and Covid-related humour may lead to head teachers turfing more students out of school.

But although it's previously been reported that the numbers of children in care being excluded are high - a problem that's been linked to a lack of PE lessons and the stress of social distancing in schools - Wakefield Council says that spike has not been reflected across all students.

The council's education scrutiny committee on Thursday was told that schools had been given specific guidance on how to help students adjust to a new way of learning.

No official figures covering exclusions since the start of September have been released yet.

But council officer Julie Killey said: "In terms of exclusions there has been lots of information and support given to schools in terms of expectations and how to support pupils.

"They've been told to expect a change in behaviours and they have been given support on how to manage that.

"We're pleased at how that's been progressing and that we haven't seen the spike that we might have been expecting."

The number of pupils being expelled in Wakefield rose every single year between 2015 and 2019.

Committee chair Coun David Jones said: "As a chair of governors I get regular updates from the head and it's clear that even from the outset from March, the relationship between the council's teams and the schools has born fruit.

"There's been a lot of work put into making sure that pupils aren't being excluded, either briefly or permanently.

"That's been one of the key developments we've seen."

Local Democracy Reporting Service