850 pupils suspended every day for bad behaviour

More than 850 children are suspended for abuse and assault every school day, new research shows.

Almost half of the 331,000 students suspended last year were being punished for physically or verbally assaulting fellow pupils or teachers.

Persistent disruptive behaviour was the next most likely reason for pupils to be suspended.
But today's figures from the Department for Education show an overall drop in the number of children being either suspended or permanently excluded.

Last year 5,740 pupils were expelled permanently, the lowest number since records began in 1997, when the figure was 12,300. Twenty were boys under the age of five.

Schools minister Nick Gibb said: "We remain concerned that weak discipline remains a significant problem. Tackling poor behaviour and raising academic standards are key priorities for the coalition government."

The English Baccalaureate, given to students who pass English, maths, science, history or geography and a language GCSE, could force pupils to take inappropriate exams, a damning report said today.

The Commons education select committee said ministers should have waited for the results of a review of the national curriculum before introducing it.