More than 500 suspensions-linked to racism in county schools

Experts are warning that the rise in the number of school exclusions linked to racist, homophobic, and disablist abuse is being driven by cuts to anti-bullying initiatives in schools and wider societal issues.

Between 2020/21 and 2024/25, there were nearly 55,000 suspensions and hundreds of permanent exclusions linked to racist abuse in English schools.

Department for Education data documenting the reasons for suspensions also shows schools logged homophobic or transphobic abuse more than 13,000 times nationally, and disablist abuse about 1,600 times in the same period.

Because schools can record up to three reasons for suspension, these figures do not represent individual incidents but show how often different forms of abuse were cited.

Between autumn 2020‑21 and spring 2024‑25, schools (state-run primary, secondary and special) in Cambridgeshire recorded a total of 37,884 suspensions and permanent exclusions.

In the same period, abuse related to race, sexuality, gender identity or disability was cited 669 times, with the vast majority, 558, mentioning racist abuse.

Abuse linked to sexuality or gender identity was mentioned 94 times, while disablist abuse linked to disability was cited 17 times.

Campaigners say those numbers almost certainly understate the scale of the problem because many incidents are still dealt with informally or go unrecorded.

The government has described the data as "shocking" and said discrimination has no place in schools.

The statistics analysed by the BBC Shared Data Unit also show a 68% rise nationally in mentions of abuse linked to race, gender identity, sexuality or disability between spring term 2021-22 and spring term 2024-25 - the latest data available excluding 2020-21 due to the impact of the pandemic on school attendance.

A range of experts told the BBC that funding cuts to outreach services, social-media harms, divisive politics, and a lack of mandatory teacher training were among issues contributing to a growing problem.

Charities, unions and teachers also cited less tolerance of discrimination and discriminatory language in schools, heightened awareness and a growth in the use of suspensions overall as reasons for the increase.

They are among those now calling for a consistent national strategy across the UK to record and tackle bullying - and to monitor when it is prejudice-based.

Heads say they are trying to balance keeping classrooms safe with giving pupils chances to learn from serious mistakes.

But they warn that growing pressure on mainstream schools, coupled with long waits for mental health support and patchy early‑help services, leaves staff managing complex needs without the back‑up they once had.

Charities also point to rising tensions outside the school gates – from online hate to polarising national debates – which they say are increasingly playing out in corridors and playgrounds.

They fear that unless long‑term funding is restored for youth work, family support and specialist inclusion teams, exclusion rates in places like Cambridgeshire will likely continue to rise despite schools’ efforts to clamp down on racist and homophobic abuse.

They are calling for a consistent national strategy across the UK to record and tackle bullying - and to monitor when it is prejudice-based.

Pepe Di'Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) said schools exclude or suspend pupils as a "last resort" but would not tolerate discriminatory behaviour.

Highlighting the influence of "inflammatory" social media content, and "divisive rhetoric from some politicians and commentators, Mr Di'Iasio added: "The problems we are seeing are huge societal issues which cannot be solved in the classroom.

"It feels as though we are living in an increasingly abrasive era."

A spokesperson for the Equality and Human Rights Commission said: "There’s currently no legal obligation on schools to record pupil-to-pupil bullying, but bullying because of a protected characteristic should be dealt with very seriously, and schools are required to ensure they do not discriminate in the way they deal with it.

“As Britain’s equality regulator, we have previously recommended improvements to the data on bullying in schools. More regular collection and monitoring of this data – broken down by protected characteristics – would help schools ensure that every pupil is safe, supported and protected from discriminatory bullying.”