AN ECHO investigation has revealed shocking figures about suspensions in Dorset schools that include a young child committing sexual misconduct and pupils physically assaulting adults.

A reception child was temporarily excluded from the Beaminster school pyramid for sexual misconduct.

Across the county, 62 pupils were suspended for physically assaulting adults during 2008/09 – including children as young as five, while 400 were suspended for violence towards fellow students.

These were among the findings of a Freedom of Information request to Dorset County Council, which also found that 15 permanent exclusions occurred in 2008/09 – the last full year for which figures are available – across Dorset schools for persistent disruptive behaviour, drug and alcohol reasons, physical assaults against pupils and theft.

Seven pupils were expelled up until the end of spring term during 2009/10.

Figures showed that Weymouth and Portland pyramid suspended four times more pupils than most other school pyramids in the county – at 441 for 2008/09 and 270 up until the end of spring term in 2009/10 – due to having four secondary schools, while many pyramids have one.

There were 94 suspensions in the Beaminster pyramid, 141 in Blandford, 79 in Bridport, 54 in Dorchester, 56 in Lyme Regis and 78 in Purbeck and 84 in Sherborne for 2008/09.

Last year, 125 borough pupils were suspended for verbal abuse or threatening behaviour towards adults, the second highest reason was physical assault against a pupil – with 116 youngsters suspended for that in Weymouth and Portland.

Headteachers in the borough warned that local authority budget cuts would lead to increased exclusions, if cutbacks hit support staff.

Deputy head Jay Rangdale, of Beechcroft St Paul's Primary School, Westham, Weymouth, said: “Exclusion is very much a last resort but increasingly we’re finding it’s an issue for the children who need to have extra or additional support in class.

“We’re finding with the budget cuts that there’s less money for support staff available and consequently it becomes hard for us to manage the children.”

Mr Rangdale said Beechcroft’s own behaviour policy meant every child in school knew that after ‘three strikes’ a letter would be sent home to explain why they needed ‘time out in another class’.

He said the home-school link was ‘very important’ and after suspension, which could be ‘an afternoon to a fortnight’, parents or guardian and child had a ‘return interview’ to discuss how to move forward positively.

Mr Rangdale, who has eight-years’ teaching experience at Westfield School, said Weymouth and Portland’s high exclusion rate were ‘not surprising’ and added: “The issue isn’t children’s behaviour but how they’re managed in school and that’s a lot to do with funding.”

Headteacher Trevor Jameson of St George’s Primary School, Portland, said: “Generally there’s been a shift from longer-term permanent exclusions to short-term temporary ones.

“There’s a six-day rule where the school or county council has to provide education for the child if the exclusion is more than five days.

“If funding to schools reduces and puts pressure on pastoral support it’s likely there will be more exclusions in the future.

“It’s one of those things we won’t know until it happens.”

He added: “The Compass centre run by Allan Wood has around 100 kids on its books who would otherwise be out of school, some primary but mostly secondary age.

“Weymouth and Portland is very lucky to have The Compass centre.”

n laura.kitching@dorsetecho.co.uk