Twice as many students suspended in colleges since Covid

College student suspensions have doubled since the Covid pandemic and exclusions are up 50 per cent, new data reveals.

The figures obtained by FE Week shine a light on worsening behaviour in post-16 education – with sexual harassment, drug abuse, revenge porn and the killing of a sheep among the reasons for expulsions.

FE Week submitted a freedom of information request to around 200 colleges for annual suspension and exclusion figures since the pandemic began.

Of the 134 responses received, the data showed suspensions soared from 2,104 in 2019-20 to 4,173 in 2023-24.

Exclusions ballooned from 981 to 1,526 during the same period (see table).

While the Department for Education collects and publishes suspension and exclusions data for schools it does not collect figures from FE colleges.

Colleges get tough

FE Week’s probe found that colleges had proactively strengthened policies to manage misconduct on campus in recent years.

The scale of issues including bullying, alcohol and drug abuse and racism in colleges across England has sparked concern from FE leaders who have pleaded for more investment to improve access to social care and mental health support.

It has also prompted calls for the government to collect official figures from colleges so issues can be monitored.

Responding to FE Week’s figures, the DfE said: “The number of suspensions and permanent exclusions puts into sharp focus the massive scale of disruptive behaviour that has developed in schools and colleges across the country in recent years – harming the life chances of our young people.”

The department said there were no plans to extend suspension and exclusions data collection to colleges.

Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said the government must work to tackle soaring suspension and exclusion levels.

He added young people “are less likely to achieve good educational outcomes and to progress through education and into fulfilling careers – it is vital that we do everything possible to prevent this downward spiral”.

The most common reason for suspensions stated by colleges in their FOI responses was violent or inappropriate behaviour, violence or assault, and drugs use and possession.

Ben Beer, director of The Safeguarding Group which regularly audits colleges’ safeguarding data, told FE Week that colleges were being more “proactive” on issues such as misogyny, sexual harassment, assault and misconduct, and as a result bad behaviour now had “serious consequences”.

He said: “Of course, with the wake of the pandemic still very present, and FE seeing young people entering their colleges who spent some of their very formative years in lockdown, it is no surprise this continues to be a challenge.”

Earlier this year FE Week investigated the rise of bad behaviour in colleges.

Behaviour concerns were underlined by research out this week from the Institute for Public Policy and Research and The Difference, which found 90 per cent of excluded secondary school pupils do not pass GCSE maths or English.

A recent report from the Education Policy Institute also warned there was a “strong association” between suspensions during secondary school and young people not being in sustained education, employment or training (NEET).

College leaders have maintained that suspensions are a “neutral act” and merely a “cooling off-period” pending investigation into a student’s conduct.

Blackpool & The Fylde College, which suspended 93 students last year, said learners were given online learning materials whilst suspended for usually up to five days and were expected to reintegrate into college upon return “ideally with their behaviour changed”.

A spokesperson added: “It is unlikely that suspensions cause poor outcomes. It is much more likely that underlying behaviours, if not effectively challenged and supported, lead to poor outcomes in school and afterwards.”

‘Last resort’ exclusions

Permanent exclusions are typically seen as a “last resort” and colleges have multiple stages of disciplinary procedures in place – including a right of appeal for students – before they are expelled.

In serious cases of gross misconduct, cases are accelerated. For example, last year Plumpton College in East Sussex expelled two students who were arrested after a sheep was attacked and killed on the South Downs. Two others treated as significant witnesses were “withdrawn from their course”.

Colleges said exclusions were recorded as withdrawals on their system, many of which were due to non-attendance.

Eddie Playfair, senior policy manager at the Association of Colleges, said: “Post-16 college students commit to college attendance and behaviour policies which are based on an expectation of high attendance, safe, respectful and responsible behaviours. Withdrawal is absolutely a last resort.”

Local authorities are required to find alternative education for excluded students under the age of 18 but have no obligation for over-18s. Excluded students are able to reapply to the same college in the next academic year.

Holistic help needed

Playfair said colleges would “definitely welcome” more data on exclusions and suspensions in FE from the DfE to allow them to see the “full picture and respond accordingly”.

He added: “There is always clearly more that can be done, and it does require a collective approach from organisations across the further education landscape.”

The DfE said that while it did not apply the same pupil information regulations to FE as schools, the department was “committed to supporting colleges in managing these challenges effectively”.

Some colleges have strengthened policies and support teams to manage behaviour and promote student wellbeing.

Nottingham College, for example, said it invested in a “strong wraparound network” including a wellbeing and behaviour team which the Association of Colleges recognised as a model of best practice.

Last year the number of exclusions at the college doubled from 20 to 40 cases due to low attendance and unacceptable behaviour.

Meanwhile, Lincoln College revealed it saw a large jump in exclusions in 2022-23, from two to 40, due to a combination of a “zero-tolerance approach”, a rise in student numbers and an increase in incidents on campus.

It said: “In recent years the group has focused staff on the rigorous application of our disciplinary policies, particularly in relation to incidents like physical altercations, intimidating behaviour and malicious communications.”

At Hopwood Hall College, in Rochdale and Middleton, Greater Manchester, the number of suspensions shot up from 95 in 2022-23 to 217 last year.

The college, like many others, has adopted trauma-informed practices to holistically improve behaviour and implemented a free breakfast club and mental health access to address the potential causes of bad behaviour.

It also carried out a transition project in 2019 which targeted 200 young people at risk of being NEET who is said ended up “thriving” in education.

Beer added that college leaders shouldn’t lose sight of low-level disruptive behaviours, such as vaping, using phones in class and not wearing lanyards, as it could “chip away at the resilience and wellbeing of staff”.