New data has revealed pupil exclusion numbers in Calderdale schools and the reasons for exclusion.

The council collects data at points throughout the year on how many pupils are excluded from Calderdale schools and the main reason why.

Exclusions fall into two categories: fixed exclusions, which are temporary and last for a maximum of 45 days; and permanent exclusions, which are decided by the headteacher as a last resort, in response to a serious breach or persistent breaches of the school's behaviour policy and/or where allowing the pupil to remain in school would seriously harm the education or welfare of the pupil or others in the school.

The exclusion data is not based on academic years, but is taken from the school census, which collects data from the previous two terms.

Recently published data has revealed how many pupil exclusions were recorded in the Spring census across all Calderdale schools.

placeholder image — Recently published data has revealed how many pupil exclusions were recorded in the Spring census across all Calderdale schools.

The most recently published data is for January 2026 (Spring census) which collects data for all suspensions and permanent exclusions with start dates between April 21, 2025 (Easter Monday) and December 31, 2025.

Across all Calderdale schools, there were 2,552 fixed exclusions/suspensions with start dates within that time period.

For fixed exclusions/suspensions in that time period, the most common reason was for persistent disruptive behaviour, with 1,467 pupils receiving a fixed exclusion/suspension for this reason.

For 370 pupils, it was for verbal abuse/threatening behaviour against an adult, and for 299 pupils, for physical assault against a pupil.

A total of 152 pupils received a fixed exclusion/suspension for physical assault against an adult.

There were 20 permanent exclusions recorded for the same time period.

A total of 11 pupils were permanently excluded for persistent disruptive behaviour, four for physical assault against an adult, and three for physical assault against a pupil.

The number of permanent exclusions recorded in the most recent Spring census has, however, more than halved since the Spring census last year, when 45 were recorded.

The most common reason was again for persistent disruptive behaviour, with 27 pupils recorded as permanently excluded.

The number of fixed exclusions/suspensions also decreased from the same time period last year, when 3,098 were recorded.

A full explanation of how the data is recorded can be found at: https://dataworks.calderdale.gov.uk/dataset/school-exclusions-v83j7