The government is committed to ensuring that all pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), can thrive in mainstream education. High standards of behaviour are essential for creating calm, safe and supportive classrooms, and all pupils should be supported to meet those expectations.

That is why we are delivering a comprehensive programme of behaviour and attendance support, including our Attendance and Behaviour Hubs, which will work with schools to help build strong, inclusive school cultures and spread effective practice across the system.

We are also reforming the SEND system to ensure children and young people receive the right support at the earliest opportunity, helping to prevent needs from escalating and supporting more pupils to remain engaged in education. This is backed by an additional £4 billion investment over three years, including funding for specialist expertise in communities, earlier intervention in schools, and workforce training.

Alongside this, we remain committed to reforming the school exclusion system. We will consult on measures including an internal suspension framework, the introduction of Reintegration Support Partnerships, and a requirement for schools to provide schoolwork during the first five days of an exclusion.

We recognise the disproportionate impact repeated, preventable exclusion can have on pupils’ education and life chances. The findings published by ADR UK in April 2026 underline the importance of tackling repeat suspensions and ensuring vulnerable pupils receive the support they need to remain engaged in education.

To reduce lost learning, improve behaviour and strengthen inclusion, the Every Child Achieving and Thriving Schools White Paper, published February 2026, committed to reforming the exclusion system. We will consult on a new national framework for internal suspension, the introduction of Reintegration Support Partnerships and a requirement for schools to set schoolwork during the first five days of exclusion.

Statistics on suspensions by local authority by full academic year can be found in the following publication: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/suspensions-and-permanent-exclusions-in-england/2023-24. This has been available since 10 July 2025.

Inclusion bases will have specialisms, providing tailored and expert teaching and support for specific groups of children. We know there are lots of great examples of mainstream schools delivering specialist provision through inclusion bases, enabling children to benefit and remain part of mainstream education and wider school life.

Support bases, commissioned by individual settings and trusts will deliver ‘targeted plus’ support, whilst specialist bases, commissioned by the local authority, will deliver ‘specialist’ support.

We will shortly be publishing guidance to help mainstream settings implement high quality inclusion bases, including the importance of supporting integration.

Ofsted consider published destinations data as part of the inspection methodology when they gather inspection evidence to determine grades. The current data collection would not enable destination outcomes to be tracked in this way. Instead, inspectors will explore the extent to which inclusion bases are used in the best interests of pupils and improving their outcomes, as set out in school inspection operating guide for inspectors.

The department is clear that no teacher should feel unsafe or be subjected to violence in the workplace, and schools should take swift and robust action where such incidents occur. The Behaviour in Schools guidance states all schools are legally required to have a behaviour policy that sets out effective strategies to promote good behaviour.

We trust headteachers to use their professional judgement when deciding whether to exclude a pupil, including taking into account any risks posed to staff and other pupils. This provides schools with the flexibility and authority needed to act promptly and proportionately to maintain safe environments.

More broadly, our Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence (RISE) Attendance and Behaviour Hubs are supporting schools with the greatest need across the country to strengthen behaviour practice and build calm, safe and inclusive environments for all.

The department regularly monitors trends in suspension and permanent exclusion rates for various pupil groups and undertakes regular reviews of the evidence concerning the long-term outcomes of pupils who have experienced a suspension or permanent exclusion. We are aware that there is an association with adverse life outcomes for pupils who have been excluded and are clear that any decision taken to exclude must be lawful, reasonable and fair.

In all cases, school leaders should consider early intervention strategies and multi-agency assessments to address the underlying causes or contributing factors towards a pupil’s disruptive behaviour before issuing an exclusion.

The department does not plan to end or ban the use of school exclusions, as it remains necessary in the most serious cases to maintain calm and safe school environments.

The Race Equality Unit will work with key stakeholder groups to interrogate the evidence on what drives disparities in school exclusions between different ethnic groups.

The department monitors trends in suspensions regularly through our published statistical releases. The decision to exclude a pupil rightly lies with headteachers, and we are clear that exclusion may be necessary in the most serious cases to maintain safe, calm classrooms.

Compliance with the statutory suspension and permanent exclusion guidance is monitored through Ofsted inspection. Ofsted considers the use of exclusions as part of its evaluation of behaviour, including the rates, patterns and reasons for exclusion, and any differences between groups of pupils.

We are also taking forward measures to improve oversight and transparency, including enhanced monitoring of exclusions and pupil movement, and improved data‑sharing with Ofsted to support inspection.

We have published a guide on behaviour and exclusions for parents, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-exclusions-guide-for-parents/a-guide-for-parents-on-school-behaviour-and-exclusion. This explains their right to make representations to the governing board and request a review where they consider a suspension to be disproportionate or inconsistent with the guidance.

The department monitors trends in suspensions regularly through our published statistical releases. The decision to exclude a pupil rightly lies with headteachers, and we are clear that exclusion may be necessary in the most serious cases to maintain safe, calm classrooms.

Compliance with the statutory suspension and permanent exclusion guidance is monitored through Ofsted inspection. Ofsted considers the use of exclusions as part of its evaluation of behaviour, including the rates, patterns and reasons for exclusion, and any differences between groups of pupils.

We are also taking forward measures to improve oversight and transparency, including enhanced monitoring of exclusions and pupil movement, and improved data‑sharing with Ofsted to support inspection.

We have published a guide on behaviour and exclusions for parents, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-exclusions-guide-for-parents/a-guide-for-parents-on-school-behaviour-and-exclusion. This explains their right to make representations to the governing board and request a review where they consider a suspension to be disproportionate or inconsistent with the guidance.

The department’s School Complaints Compliance Unit considers complaints about exclusions including pupil suspensions in relation to both academies and local authority maintained schools. Complaints are categorised as exclusions complaints on our case management system. Data on complaints logged as exclusion complaints for the last five academic years is in the table below:

*Complaints received and closed up to and including 31 March 2026.

Statistics on suspensions, by academic year and school type, is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/suspensions-and-permanent-exclusions-in-england/2023-24. This has been available since 10 July 2025.

The department publishes termly and annual statistics on suspension and permanent exclusions, including the reasons why pupils are suspended. The latest full academic year release, covering 2023/24, is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/suspensions-and-permanent-exclusions-in-england/2023-24. This data sets out national patterns and drivers of suspension and informs the department’s ongoing approach to behaviour and exclusion policy.

The department publishes termly and annual statistics on suspension and permanent exclusions, including the reasons why pupils are suspended. The latest full academic year release, covering 2023/24, is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/suspensions-and-permanent-exclusions-in-england/2023-24. This data sets out national patterns and drivers of suspension and informs the department’s ongoing approach to behaviour and exclusion policy.

The department publishes termly and annual statistics on suspension and permanent exclusions, including the reasons why pupils are suspended. The latest full academic year release, covering 2023/24, is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/suspensions-and-permanent-exclusions-in-england/2023-24. This data sets out national patterns and drivers of suspension and informs the department’s ongoing approach to behaviour and exclusion policy.

Improving attendance and tackling school exclusion early is central to the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity. High-quality, timely data enables early identification of need and delivery of a support-first approach.

Thanks to our world-leading data collection, the department has access to near real-time attendance data for schools, including academies. For each morning and afternoon session, schools must record the relevant attendance and absence code for each pupil. This includes Code E, which is used when a pupil is absent due to suspension or permanent exclusion. Code E is recorded as absence but not classified as unauthorised absence.

Using this attendance data, key actors can take a curious approach to identify patterns in pupil movement that could suggest off-rolling or other concerning practices, including off-site direction and managed moves, and will follow up on a targeted basis with responsible bodies to understand and challenge where there are possible concerns.

Formal data on suspension and permanent exclusion is also collected through the termly school census, which is published two terms in arrears.

The department will consult on an internal suspension framework to help schools use these sanctions effectively within their behaviour policies, supporting pupils to remain engaged in their education and reducing lost learning. The consultation will seek views on appropriate requirements for recording and reporting internal suspension to ensure consistent practice, transparency, and effective oversight.

This government is clear that off-rolling in any form is unacceptable, and we will continue to work closely with Ofsted to tackle it.

Pupils may leave a school roll for many reasons, including permanent exclusion, transfer to another school or change of circumstances. All schools are legally required to notify the local authority when a pupil’s name is removed from the admissions register.

The law is clear a pupil’s name can only be deleted from the admission register on the grounds prescribed in Regulation 9 of the School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024.