THE number of pupils excluded from schools across the Bradford district fell last year, new figures have revealed.

The decrease goes against national and regional trends, which saw a rise in numbers described as "extremely worrying" by teaching unions.

Bradford Council said all schools across the district took discipline seriously, with some now investing in specialist behaviour teams.

According to national statistics released today by the Department for Education, the number of permanent exclusions from state-funded primary, secondary, and special schools rose from 670 in 2012/13 to 870 in 2013/14, with figures rounded to the nearest ten.

Across Yorkshire and the Humber, the figure increased from 30 to 40.

T&A COMMENT: DISCIPLINE VITAL COMPONENT OF OUR SCHOOLS

The regional figure for fixed-term exclusions rose from 32,250 to 35,080, mirroring a national increase from 267,520 to 269,480.

In Bradford, the number of permanent exclusions fell from 20 in 2012/13 to ten in 2013/14, equating to 0.01 per cent of the district's school population.

The number of fixed-term exclusions dropped from 2,740, 2.96 per cent of the school population, to 2,600, a rate of 2.72 per cent, the second lowest anywhere in the region, behind York.

Reasons given for permanent exclusions included physical assaults against fellow pupils and adults, verbal abuse or threatening behaviour against adults, theft, and persistent disruptive behaviour.

For fixed-period exclusions in 2013/14, the most common reasons were physical assaults and verbal abuse against pupils and adults, with students also punished for behaviour such as racist abuse, sexual misconduct, drug and alcohol issues, damage, and bullying.

Despite the overall decrease in the number of incidents, the number of physical assaults against adults in Bradford schools rose from 146 in 2012/13 to 200 last year, a 37 per cent rise higher than the national increase of 12 per cent.

Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, executive member for education at Bradford Council, said: "Discipline in our schools is vital to make sure that children can learn. All schools take this seriously in Bradford.

"I know some schools have invested in specialist behaviour teams with the aim of ensuring that any poor behaviour is tackled before they get to the stage of considering exclusion.

"There is strong partnership-working in place between schools to make sure good practice is shared, and it’s good news to see that this is starting to pay off with a lower number of exclusions."

The Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) said the national exclusion figures made for "worrying reading", describing permanent exclusions as a "tragedy" for children and their families.

Attempting to explain the decrease in Bradford's figures, Tom Bright, branch secretary for the ATL in Bradford, said: "Most head teachers now tend not to exclude if they can avoid it.

"This reflects a change in style rather than in the behaviour of students.

"I have not seen a marked difference in the behaviour of students over the past year, it has been about the same.

"The decrease is likely to be down to a decision by head teachers to try to promote behaviour management internally rather than externally.

"There may have been a rise in internal exclusions, or negotiations between schools or chains of schools, which is much easier to do."