Stockton schools lost 73 years’ worth of education due to suspensions

More than 100 children, including 13 primary pupils, were permanently excluded from Stockton schools in 2024-5, says a Stockton Council school performance report. And 13,807 days – about 73 academic school years – were lost to suspension, mostly due to disruptive behaviour.

“Persistent disruptive behaviour” was the most frequent reason in 103 exclusions of secondary-age students. With 13 exclusions of primary-aged pupils, the most common reason was “physical assault against an adult”.

The report says the 116 exclusions was a 11.5% rise, including an almost 86% rise for primary schools, with boys more likely to be excluded. It says: “Unfortunately, this year, we have continued to see permanent exclusions of primary-aged children.

“We have continued to see permanent exclusions for a ‘one-off incident’ where a child has breached a school’s behaviour policy.” It says the council carefully reviews exclusions and works with schools to “explore and promote alternative approaches”.

It says the council is working to reduce the numbers. Several exclusions were avoided through support, “rigorous challenge” and a virtual school, and there were no exclusions from special schools.

School attendance had improved slightly with absence rates of 9% for secondary schools, 4.7% for primary and 12% for special schools. The report says absence is still higher than national and regional averages at secondary schools, and a 63% absence rate at the Bishopton pupil referral unit was a “concern”.

The report says Stockton has “some of the most pronounced neighbourhood-level inequalities in the country”, with almost 31% of school pupils classed as disadvantaged and 28% living in poverty. Disadvantaged pupils’ attainment improved in 2025, reaching higher than national and regional averages, but the gap with their peers widened for some.

Both girls and boys outperformed their peers nationally, children in care performed at or above national outcomes, and outcomes for pupils with education, health and care plans and special educational needs (SEN) plans improved. Children with a social worker “achieve significantly worse academically” and “make up a disproportionate number of those suspended or permanently excluded”, adds the report.

Education service lead Gill McCleave told a cabinet meeting it was a “very diverse pupil population”, with varying levels of vulnerability and a “higher than average proportion of disadvantaged pupils”. She said: “We know there are a lot of strengths to celebrate.”

She said there was “a positive direction of travel” in overall attainment, with “notable improvements” for disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND), with outcomes “particularly strengthened” for some age groups. She added: “Stockton frequently out-performs national benchmarks across multiple groups in all key stages. Children in our care achieve well.

“However we’re absolutely not complacent. There are areas of continued focus – suspensions and attendance challenges continue, particularly for children in our care and children with a social worker. Early years outcomes for children with SEND remain below national despite the progress elsewhere.

“Permanent exclusions remain too high. And access to specialist services is still a barrier to some groups.”

Councillor Clare Besford, cabinet member for children and young people, said: “Those children from disadvantaged backgrounds do continue to represent a significant proportion of our school population, and the progress and outcomes act as key markers of the effectiveness and inclusivity of our education system.

“I think what the report shows is that right across the borough our schools have demonstrated a strong commitment to improving equity and embedding a culture of early intervention. We’ve continued to work closely with school leaders, multi-academy trusts and wider partners to reduce inequality, strengthen SEND provision and respond to the challenges that affect our learners, including persistent absence, emotional wellbeing needs and continuing socio-economic pressures on families.”

She said targeted interventions and working with families led to a noticeable attendance rise in vulnerable groups, with more consistent SEND support pinpointed: “We know there are areas of improvement. Disadvantaged pupils do continue to achieve lower outcomes than their peers and closing that gap remains a priority for us.”