The area where the most number of pupils have been excluded in Berkshire has been revealed as hundreds if not thousands of pupils are suspended each term.

Leaders at schools have a right to suspend a pupil by not allowing them to attend for a fixed period.

Suspensions are undertaken when a pupil has broken school rules, or allowing them to stay in school would harm the education and welfare of themselves or other pupils.

If leaders feel it necessary, they can also permanently exclude a pupil from school, meaning that they are no longer allowed to attend.

READ MORE: Figures for pupils permanently excluded from school in Reading revealed

The number of pupils suspended and expelled at state funded primary, secondary and special schools in Berkshire has been revealed in government data.

The latest figures are for the autumn term of the 2022/23 academic year, which began in September and ended in December 2022.

The data shows that 19 pupils who go to schools in Berkshire had already been excluded by Christmas last year.

West Berkshire had the highest amount of permanent exclusions with 11 pupils being expelled.

Meanwhile, hundreds if not thousands of pupils faced temporary suspensions.

The figures are highest in West Berkshire, where 1,263 pupils were suspended in the Autumn 2022 term, which is a record breaking amount for a single term.

The suspension and exclusion numbers are higher in West Berkshire as it has the most schools in Berkshire at 80.

Meanwhile, Wokingham has 67, the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead has 62, Reading has 54, Slough has 45 and Bracknell Forest has 37.

READ MORE: Hundreds of pupils suspended from schools in Bracknell

All of the figures provided are publicly available government data.

Full exclusion and suspension figures are available for the academic year beginning September 2021 and ending in July 2022.

Exclusions have fluctuated since 2018/19, with a decline in exclusions during the two academic years of the pandemic.

The number of pupils being permanently excluded was lower for almost every area in the 2020/21 academic year, which began in September 2020 and ended in July 2021.

The figures show that the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead had the highest amount of permanent exclusions in 2021/22, with 28 pupils being permanently expelled.

Even during the coronavirus pandemic between March 2020 and July 2021 hundreds of pupils were being suspended for misbehaving at schools in Berkshire.

A significant amount of pupils were suspended in the 2021/22  academic year, with Wokingham Borough being the only area seeing less than 1,000 pupils being suspended.

The total number of exclusions and suspensions for the full 2022/23 academic year will not be available until July 2024.

READ MORE: Which school in Windsor and Maidenhead excludes pupils most often?

A permanent exclusion can be overturned by making a representation to a school’s governing body, and can take place with the assistance of a council’s chidrens services department.

Brighter Futures for Children, Reading Borough Council’s children’s services company recorded that 12 exclusions in the 2022/23 academic year had been rescinded, including seven where the pupil in question had special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).