Pupils with a statement of SEN are around eight times more likely to receive a permanent exclusion from school and six times more likely to receive a fixed-term exclusion, compared to pupils with no SEN. These figures were recently published by the Department for Education, as part of school exclusion statistics for 2009-10. Although rates remain high, the percentage of pupils with SEN who have been permanently excluded has decreased by 0.04% since 2008-09.
In a recent survey by the NAS entitled Great Expectations, it was found 17% of children with SEN had been suspended from school. It is also important to note that the DfE figures do not include informal exclusions, where a child is sent home without being ill or officially excluded. One in three parents in the NAS survey had experienced this at some point.
Through the Great Expectations campaign, the NAS wants to ensure that parents have support when challenging the system on behalf of their children, and for local authorities to have enough information about the needs of children with autism in their area to plan effective support.
A summary of the Department for Education’s figures and a full PDF are available to download.
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