Exclusions and bullying

Children are excluded due to bullying others 

Children who engage in bullying are more likely to be involved in crime and be excluded from school (Ofsted, 2003; Monks et al., 2009). The Department for Education data about numbers of exclusions relating to bullying is below. 

You can also see the data here. 

'Persistent disruptive behaviour' tends to be the biggest reason for children to be excluded either on a fixed term or permanent basis. The data published by the Department for Education provides us with some questions: 

• The excluded for 'other' reason is a relatively large group of children and we'd be keen to understand what those 'other' reasons are. 
• 'Verbal abuse of threatening behaviour against a pupil' is a fairly common reason for exclusion. We would like to understand if any of the cases within this category could also constitute bullying. 

Bullying is often more nuanced than a straightforward binary oppositions of a ‘bully’ and ‘victim’ – bullying is multi-faceted, regularly involving groups; often impacted by the wider peer, school and social culture, and too often involving vulnerable children who both bully and are bullied.

Ditch the Label research shows that 37% of pupils who have been bullied never tell anybody about it. Of them 23% don’t tell anyone because they are worried that it will make things worse. Many young people tell us they prefer responses to bullying that support perpetrators to understand the impact of their behaviour and less so sanction based responses that can make perpetrators focus on their own punishment.

Department for Education research shows that restorative approaches mixed with sanctions (that include exclusions in serious circumstances) can be effective in schools. 

Children who are bullied are more likely to be excluded

Children who experience bullying do not always display behaviours that show ‘typical’ signs of sadness or worry. The often ‘act out’ and can display similar behaviours to that of children who bully, may go on to bully others and can display poor behaviour.

We know that bullying has a significant impact on absence from school. Research on behalf of the Department for Education finds that children who say they are bullied every day are three times as likely, as children not being bullied, to be excluded. 

Government exclusion guidance for schools says that head teachers should consider whether a child has been bullied or not when deciding to exclude a child or not. 

Children with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND), bullying and exclusion

Children with SEND are particularly at risk of being excluded due to their involvement (both perpetrating and being a victim of bullying). Studies reveal that young people with SEND are disproportionately vulnerable to being bullied, as well as sometimes being perceived as being ‘bullies’ themselves. 

One study describes using a ‘threat assessment’ approach, which takes into account the social context of perceived threats and assesses the real level of danger they present. The authors note that when this approach is used, fewer young people with SEN and/or disabilities are excluded from school, presumably because their ‘bullying’ behaviour is better understood or is addressed through strategies other than exclusion.

Who else is more likely to be excluded? 

As well as children with SEND, the government's own data shows that some groups are much more likely to be excluded than others. They are: 

• Boys are more likely to be excluded than girls 
• Children on free school meals 
• Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children and young people 
• Black Caribbean children and young people 
• White and Black Caribbean children and young people 

The 2019 Timson Review of School Exclusions also showed that children who are care experienced are more likely to be excluded. 

The Timpson Review made a series of recommendations which have yet to be taken forward by the government.