Blog Two: Behaviour and Challenging Behaviour in Schools Today

Every suspension tells a story, but schools often have to act before they fully understand it. Behaviour is increasingly understood as communication shaped by development, regulation, unmet need, relationships and context. Yet language alone changes little: unless schools identify what sits beneath behaviour and respond consistently, children can still lose learning, connection and trust. 

This matters particularly for social, emotional and mental health needs. SEMH is a recognised area of SEND, and anxiety, trauma, sensory overload, communication difficulty or repeated failure can present as refusal, disruption, aggression, withdrawal or dysregulation. Since the pandemic, many schools have seen greater emotional vulnerability alongside limited capacity and support. 

Department for Education data shows the scale of the issue. In autumn 2024/25 there were 335,671 suspensions and 3,715 permanent exclusions in England. Although lower than autumn 2023/24, suspensions remained far above pre-pandemic levels, at 4.02 per 100 pupils compared with 2.17 in autumn 2019/20. Persistent disruptive behaviour remained the most common recorded reason. 

Local and organisational figures suggest similar pressures. Year 2024/25 data shows 8,451 suspensions in autumn and 6,854 in spring, with exclusions rising from 46 to 63. Rather than simply signalling worsening conduct, this may point to rising need, pressure on mainstream provision, assessment delays and insufficient early intervention. 

School leaders therefore face a difficult balance: understanding behaviour in context while maintaining safety, predictability and learning. Policies may reference restorative practice, trauma awareness or relational approaches, but these principles need consistent implementation. DfE behaviour advice and EEF guidance both stress whole-school consistency, relationships and attention to SEND; without capacity and specialist support, practice can become reactive. 

Challenging behaviour should not be treated as a fixed trait. It often emerges from the interaction between environment, expectation, stress and support. Clear boundaries still matter, but they must sit alongside curiosity, regulation support, relational consistency and timely intervention, especially for pupils with SEMH needs, neurodivergence, speech and language difficulties, trauma or insecure attachment. 

A key structural problem is that behaviour, SEND and exclusion policies do not always operate as one framework. A pupil may be identified as needing reasonable adjustment or graduated support yet sanctioned through a separate process that gives too little weight to unmet need. This risks disciplining behaviours that should prompt assessment, adaptation or earlier intervention. 

Schools need connected behaviour, SEND and suspension policies built around inclusion, reasonable adjustment, early identification and relational practice. The DfE’s July 2026 statutory guidance, Suspension and permanent exclusion from maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units in England, including pupil movement, reinforces this. It keeps suspension and permanent exclusion as lawful tools, with permanent exclusion as a last resort, but strengthens expectations around pupil movement, off-site direction, managed moves, safeguarding-related separation and governing board scrutiny. 

Overall, the 2026 guidance keeps the core exclusion principles but makes pupil movement more visible and accountable. Schools must ensure that off-site direction, managed moves, off-rolling and safeguarding-related separation are planned, reviewed and clearly linked to support. 

The central question is not simply whether behaviour is getting worse, but whether systems respond to need before crisis point. Suspensions and exclusions remain high, often affecting pupils already experiencing disadvantage, unmet SEND, mental health difficulty or fragile engagement. If behaviour is communication, schools need systems that listen earlier, adapt more effectively and build relational safety before exclusion becomes the response. 

Department for Education (2024) Behaviour in schools: advice for headteachers and school staff. Updated February 2024.