Rise in school exclusions in England including among children under six

Charity says system is failing to support children at a young age and points to Covid as contributing factor

More than 10,000 children were excluded from England's state schools last year, alongside record numbers of suspensions involving pupils younger than six or with special needs, as teachers struggled to cope with worsening behaviour.

The figures for the 2023-24 academic year revealed that the number of permanent exclusions leapt up by 16% compared with the year before, while the total number of suspension days rose by 21% to 955,000.