Fifty English secondary schools suspended more than a quarter of pupils after pandemic

Exclusive: Children in disadvantaged areas three times as likely to be sent away as pupils in wealthier places

• Bubble' of post-pandemic bad behaviour among school children predicted to peak
• It's about developing relationships with pupils': the school working to reduce suspensions

Fifty secondary schools in England suspended more than a quarter of their students after the pandemic, with children at schools with the most disadvantaged pupils three times as likely to be suspended as those in wealthier areas, according to analysis by the Guardian.

The proportion of schools suspending large numbers of pupils has risen sharply since schools were closed to many children during Covid, and teachers have struggled with deteriorating behaviour since they reopened.