New figures reveal rise in number of children excluded for bullying in Sheffield

Using the latest Department for Education data, Oxford Home Schooling identified the regions which have experienced the biggest increases and decreases in bullying exclusions between 2016/17 and 2017/18.

Yorkshire and the Humber was the only region in England where the number of bullying exclusions rose between the two years with a two per cent increase.

Specifically in Sheffield there was a 57 per cent increase in fixed-term exclusions for bullying, rising from 28 in 2016/17 to 44 in 2017/18.

This represented one bullying exclusion per 2,842 students in 2016/17 dropping to one per 1,893 students the following academic year.

In Barnsley, there was an 18 per cent increase, whereas in Doncaster there was a four per cent increase in the same period.

However in Rotherham the number of bullying exclusions fell from 19 in 2016/17 to 17 in 2017/18,

But Wakefield ranked the worst performing authority in the region, with an 83 per cent rise.

Across the country, the national average number of exclusions for bullying dropped by 14 per cent between the two school years.

In 2017/18, there were 3,660 such exclusions in English schools, or 70 a week - fewer than in 2016/17, when there were 4,275 cases recorded, equalling 82 a week.

Councillor Abtisam Mohamed, Cabinet Member for Education and Skills at Sheffield City Council said: “I have campaigned for many years against exclusion in schools and I still remain focussed on lowering exclusion levels across the city.

“In Sheffield we saw an overall reduction in both fixed term and permanent exclusions in 2017/18, bucking the national rising trend. That reducing trend in Sheffield has continued in 2018/19. Early signs in the local data also suggests we have seen a reduction in the number of exclusions linked to bullying this year.

“It is essential that all children have access to consistent, high quality education and my ambition is for all children to be in education and we share a commitment with all schools across the city to make sure that is the case.”

For more information visit: https://www.oxfordhomeschooling.co.uk/blog/school-bullying-by-local-authority/