Schools see sharp rise in suspensions for homophobic and transphobic abuse
Schools in England have seen a rise in homophobic, transphobic, racist and ableist abuse (stock image via Getty Images)
Schools in England have seen a sharp rise in suspensions for homophobic, transphobic, racist and ableist abuse in the last five years, specialists have said.
Department for Education data documenting the reasons for suspensions show that schools logged more than 13,000 instances of homophobic or transphobic abuse between the 2020-21 and 2024-25 school years.
The figure includes 12,977 suspensions and 88 permanent exclusions.
Instances of suspensions for abuse linked to sexual orientation or gender identity sat at just 193 in 2021 before sharply rising to 868 the following year. 2025 saw a whopping 1,085 instances.
Between the autumn of 2021 and the summer of 2025, there were also more than 55,000 suspensions linked to racist abuse, and 1,600 for instances of ableist abuse.
A report detailing the suspensions has linked the upwards trend to a breakdown of anti-bullying support and wider societal issues. The Department of Education called the figures “shocking” and said that it was providing expert support to tackle the issue.
‘Something has to change’
Kirsten Coutts, a mother whose autistic son Sam died by suicide following ableist bullying, told the BBC on 27 May that the figures are “horrifying but not surprising”.
“He asked how I’d feel if someone said everything about you is wrong, nothing about you is right,” she said. “It’s hard to articulate how any of this feels, there aren’t any words – everyone is broken. I’m his mam and it goes against nature’s plan.”
She continued: “Something has to change. There should be more support for teachers, and parents should have to do more to stop their children behaving like this – it starts at home.”
Pepe Di’lasio, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, told the BBC that schools have been using suspensions as a “last resort”.
“The problems we are seeing are huge societal issues which cannot be solved solely in the classroom,” Di’lasio said. “It feels as though we are living in an increasingly abrasive era.”
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