Schools suspend 1,000 violent pupils each day

A total of 79,180 were for assault against a pupil and 18,590 for assault against an adult.

Another 16,090 suspensions were for threatening other pupils, 89,880 for threats against an adult and 3,500 for sexual misconduct.

In total, there were 207,240 fixed period exclusions in English state schools in the academic year 2006/7 – the equivalent of 1,091 a day.

The highest number of suspensions was in the South-East, where there were 37,140, while the lowest was in the North-East, where there were 9,060. The figures come from official Government data, analysed by the Conservatives. They relate to the total number of suspensions, not the number of children suspended.

A total of 138,390 children received one suspension in 2006/07. The number of children suspended from school more than 10 times in a year has more than doubled since 2004, up to 830 from 310. There were just over 3,000 permanent exclusions in 2006/7.

Official Government guidance on offences meriting expulsion states that the decision to exclude a child permanently is a serious one, and is usually a final step for dealing with disciplinary offences. But it adds there are “exceptional circumstances” where it may be appropriate to exclude a child for a first, or “one-off” offence.

These might include serious actual or threatened violence against pupils or staff, sexual abuse or assault and supplying drugs or carrying a weapon.

The Tories claim large numbers of children are being handed suspensions because the Government has made it harder for headteachers to expel unruly pupils. Shadow Children’s Secretary Michael Gove said: “A handful of badly behaved children can ruin the learning environment for everyone in the class.

“Headteachers need discretion to choose the appropriate sanction when a child is seriously disruptive or violent.

These figures show that teachers have to rely on suspensions because they don’t have the necessary powers to exclude.”