'Shocking' rise in school suspensions for racist and homophobic abuse
Summary
There has been a large increase in school suspensions in England due to racist, homophobic, and disablist abuse from 2020 to 2024. Education experts link this rise to less anti-bullying support and wider social problems. A mother whose autistic son died by suicide said bullying played a major role in his struggles.Key Facts
- Over 55,000 suspensions were related to racist abuse in English schools from 2020-21 to 2024-25.
- Homophobic or transphobic abuse led to more than 13,000 suspensions in the same period.
- Disablist abuse caused about 1,600 suspensions during these years.
- There was a 68% increase in suspensions mentioning prejudice-related abuse in under four years.
- Schools can list up to three reasons for each suspension, so these numbers show how often abuse types are recorded, not exact incidents.
- The mother, Kirsten Coutts, said her son Sam was deeply affected by bullying due to his autism, impacting his mental health.
- Education experts say cuts in support services, social media harms, political divisions, and lack of teacher training contribute to rising abuse issues.
- School leaders and unions say discriminatory behavior is not tolerated but note larger societal problems influence schools.
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