A RECORD number of school suspensions were handed out in the last academic year, new figures have revealed.
Statistics from the Department for Education show 9,085 suspensions were handed out in Barnsley schools in the 2023/24 academic year - up from 7,338 a year earlier.
It was also the highest figure since local records began in 2006/07.
It meant the area had a rate of 25.8 suspensions per 100 pupils last year.
Barnsley recorded a rate of 59.7 suspensions per 100 pupils receiving the free school meals benefit.
Coun Ashley Peace, cabinet support member for children’s services, said: “Barnsley Schools Alliance is focused on improving attendance, engagement, and inclusion, with an emphasis on relational practice to reduce disparities in educational attainment for vulnerable children.
“The data published by the Department for Education is for the academic year 2023/24 , and we know there has been an improvement locally since then.
“While the suspension rate for pupils receiving free school meals was 59.7 per 100 pupils, this does not mean that 59 out of every 100 pupils were suspended.
“This figure reflects the number of suspensions, not the number of individual pupils suspended.”
