West Berks tops the schools suspension and expulsion tables reveal government education stats

West Berkshire has the highest number of school exclusions in the county.

And it has more than twice the number of school suspensions in state-run and special schools under its control.

Government data says 1,263 suspensions were issued in West Berkshire in the 22.23 autumn term to 532 pupils.

That compares to 569 in Reading, 401 in Slough, 406 in Windsor and Maidenhead and 358 in Wokingham.

Eleven pupils were expelled in the same term in West Berkshire.

Of those, two were from special schools, two from primary schools and seven from secondary schools.

That compares to three in Reading, six in Slough, five in Windsor and Maidenhead and seven in Wokingham.

Figures from the Department for Education put the district at the top of the table for permanent exclusions in the district.

Slough, Wokingham and Windsor and Maidenhead expelled seven pupils in the 22/23 autumn term.

A spokesperson for West Berkshire Council said: "There was a significant increase in suspensions issued during autumn term 2022 compared with the same period the previous year.

“A significant number of those were issued by a school facing unique challenges as a new academy trust.

"We are pleased to see a decrease in the number of suspensions being issued during the autumn term 2023.

“Throughout the authority, since Covid, schools have faced unprecedented challenges which they have worked tirelessly to overcome.”

In England, permanent exclusion numbers have increased compared to previous terms.

In autumn term 2022/23, there were 3,100 permanent exclusions.

This is an increase from 2,100 in autumn 2021/22 but is slightly lower than the final pre-pandemic autumn term (2019/20) when there were 3,200 permanent exclusions.

Across England, the most common reason for suspensions and permanent exclusions was persistent disruptive behaviour.

Persistent disruptive behaviour was included as a reason in 55 per cent of all suspensions and 49 per cent of all permanent exclusions in autumn term 2022/23.

This is in line with previous terms and years where this reason was the most commonly recorded.

The total number of exclusions and suspensions for the full 2022/23 academic year will not be available until July 2024.