Portsmouth schools report discrimination related suspensions amid sharp national rise

A rise in school exclusions linked to racist, homophobic and disablist abuse is being reported across England, with Portsmouth schools also reflecting the national trend.

A rise in discrimination-related suspensions is being driven by cuts to anti-bullying support and wider societal issues, education specialists say.

Between 2020/21 and 2024/25, English schools recorded nearly 55,000 suspensions and hundreds of permanent exclusions linked to racism.

Schools also logged more than 13,000 suspensions related to homophobia or transphobia and around 1,600 linked to disablist abuse.

Figures analysed by the BBC Shared Data Unit show a 68 per cent rise in mentions of abuse linked to discrimination between the spring term of 2021/22 and the spring term of 2024/25.

Experts said that cuts to outreach services, harmful social media content, divisive politics and a lack of mandatory teacher training were contributing factors.

Others said the rise also reflected greater awareness of discriminatory language, lower tolerance for abuse and an overall increase in suspensions.

In Portsmouth state-funded schools, there were 100 suspensions linked to racism, nine linked to ableism and 77 related to sexism and homophobia between 2020/21 and 2024/25.

Overall, schools recorded 18,007 suspensions, including 89 permanent exclusions. Secondary schools accounted for 79 per cent of suspensions.

In Southampton, there were 18,141 suspensions over the same period of which 246, 78 and 15 were due to racism, sexism and homophobia and ableism respectively.

Portsmouth has a population of around 215,000, cities with similar populations include Luton and Brighton and Hove.

Luton saw 11,013 suspensions of which 269 were due to racism, 46 due to sexuality and gender and less than five ableist suspensions.

Brighton and Hove saw 10,230 suspensions, racism accounted for 106 while gender and sexuality saw 68 and there were less than five due to ableism.

Portsmouth city councillor Nicholas Dorrington, cabinet member for children, families and education, said: “Portsmouth’s schools take all incidents of discriminatory behaviour seriously, and act in line with their behaviour and safeguarding policies to keep pupils safe.

“While national reporting suggests an increase in identified incidents, this is likely to reflect a combination of greater awareness, more consistent recording, and the wider behavioural challenges schools have experienced in recent years.

“Across the city, schools and partners promote inclusive environments through behaviour policies, pastoral support and wider inclusion work, including activity focused on relational practice, respect and tackling bullying.

“Suspensions are used as a last resort, and there is a strong focus on early support and education to help pupils understand the impact of their behaviour. We continue to work closely with schools and partners to support inclusive environments for all children.”

Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Educational Union, added: “The picture this report paints of rising incidents of racist, sexist, homophobic, and disablist abuse in schools is unfortunately one that many teachers will recognise.

“It is clear that the amplification of far right narratives in our society, as well as social media platforms which are feeding harmful, violent and discriminatory content to young people, have a role to play in the abuse identified in this report.

“The NEU believes that exclusions should be the last resort. Young people at risk of exclusion need support. We know that school staff are doing their best to deliver that support but without much-needed funding for pastoral care, counsellors, and family support workers, we will not see the radical change we all want to see in the rate of school exclusions.”

Simon Magorian of the Portsmouth Stand up to Racism group said that there has been a “general coarsening of attitudes in society” with “grossly transphobic and racist comments” seen in the media.

He added the “rise in racism, anti LGBT prejudice and misogyny” has been fuelled by social media, blaming the “manosphere” in particular for the “appalling sexist behaviour of children in schools”.

Mr Magorian said that while teachers have been “doing their best”, a lack of resources and tolerance in the media “has led to an almost perfect storm”.

He added that while the council should “give as much support as possible in dealing with the situation” the issue is “clearly not just a local problem and requires a national intervention to address the situation”.

A Department for Education spokesperson described the national statistics as “shocking” and said that discrimination has “no place in our schools”.

They added they are taking steps to “tackle poor behaviour at source” such as breakfast clubs, clearer guidance for suspensions and teacher training to “make sure all teachers have the clarity and confidence to act swiftly when they need to”.

A Local Government Association spokesperson said the partnership between councils and the voluntary sector is vital for communities with “more than £7bn of funding per year”.

“Local government continues to face funding pressures with difficult decisions on a range of spending, including grants, having to be made.”