NEW figures show Swindon has one of the highest rates of pupil exclusion in the country.

In the 2014 autumn term, 696 children were given fixed term exclusions across the town, which is an increase of 126 on the same term in the previous year.

More than 620 of these were secondary school pupils while primary pupils made up ten per cent of the figure.

These numbers put Swindon at 20th out of 150 local authorities in the country for exclusions. While the decision whether to exclude a pupil is down to the headteachers at each individual school, work is now being done to examine why the figures are so high in Swindon and what action can be taken to reduce the number of exclusions.

A council spokesman said: “The reasons why pupils might be excluded from school are many and various, but the decision is always made by the head teacher.

“Parents have a right of appeal, and these are heard by the school’s governors.

“The council is not involved in exclusion decisions at all, but we are aware – as are the schools – that overall, the fixed term exclusion rate in Swindon is higher than the national average.

“Because of this a body called the Fair Access Panel has been set up, which is made up of senior representatives from schools and council staff. It meets monthly and looks at the exclusion data to understand the reasons for the numbers and what can be done to reduce them.

“The schools learn from each other’s experiences and from wider research and examples.”

The length of time pupils can be excluded for varies but most of the time it is for a period of two days.

While effort is often taken to find alternatives to exclusion, the education of all pupils in the school has to be taken into account and the behaviour of some means taking them out of the school for a period of time is the only option.

The council spokesman said: “Teachers have a difficult job when it comes to dealing with disruptive pupils, because a balance has to be struck between the long-term needs of the pupils who might be excluded, and the interests of the majority of pupils whose education is being affected by their behaviour.”