'Shocking' rise in school suspensions for racist and homophobic abuse

A significant story is unfolding on the international scene. 'Shocking' rise in school suspensions for racist and homophobic abuse8 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleJoanna MorrisBBC Shared Data UnitKirsten CouttsKirsten Coutts, pictured here with her son Sam, believes parents have a responsibility to ensure their children do not target othersA rise in school suspensions over racist, homophobic and disablist abuse is linked to an erosion in anti-bullying support and wider societal issues, education specialists say. Between 2020-21 and 2024-25, there were more than 55,000 suspensions linked to racist abuse at English schools. Department for Education data documenting reasons for suspensions also shows schools logged homophobic or transphobic abuse more than 13,000 times and disablist abuse about 1,600 times in the same period.

A mother who believes bullying contributed to the suicide of her autistic son said the data was "horrifying but not surprising". Amid calls for a national anti-bullying strategy, the Department for Education described the figures as "shocking" and said it was providing expert support. Government data documenting reasons for suspensions shows a 68% rise in mentions of prejudicial abuse in fewer than four years.

The Details

Because schools can record up to three reasons for each suspension, these figures do not represent individual incidents but show how often different forms of abuse are cited. Kirsten Coutts' son Sam Coutts was 18 when he killed himself in the toilets at Darlington's Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College earlier this year. He was not bullied there, but she said his state of mind had been shaped irrevocably by disablist abuse he suffered as a schoolboy.

"The die was cast, it pushed him into a headspace where he didn't feel the same as anybody else," she said. 'Nothing about you is right'A few days before his death Sam – described by his mother as 'amazing, enigmatic, funny' - opened up about being bullied. She said the effect of the bullying made Sam feel like he wasn't welcome in society and had to find a way of curing his autism "one way or another".

"He asked how I'd feel if someone said everything about you is wrong, nothing about you is right," Kirsten 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.

What Experts Say

"Kirsten Coutts said Sam was singled out because of his autistic traitsKirsten wants schools and parents to work together to tackle bullying, and to control access to phones and social media for children. "Something has to change," she said. "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.

"Education specialists told the funding cuts to outreach services, social media harms, divisive politics and a lack of mandatory teacher training were among issues contributing to a growing problem.

The story has become one of the most prominent items on the global agenda.