Strictest academy schools in England suspend 30 times more pupils than the national average

200% suspension rates at ‘zero tolerance’ trusts in England could affect highly vulnerable children, experts warn

The suspension rate at some of England’s strictest academy schools is 30 times the national average, with experts warning that this is affecting some of the country’s most vulnerable children.

An Observer analysis of the latest Department for Education (DfE) annual data on suspensions has found that dozens of multi-academy trusts had suspension rates that far exceeded the national average in a number of their schools in 2021-22. Two of the country’s biggest trusts, Astrea and Outward Grange Academies Trust (OGAT), had schools with a suspension rate of about 200% of their pupil numbers – although some pupils were counted several times because they were suspended repeatedly – compared with a national average of 6.9%.