Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson says white working class children have been 'resolutely failed' after official statistics revealed they are being punished more than any other group.
This year's National Behaviour Survey, which is due to be published tomorrow, has uncovered that one in 10 white pupils who have free school meals were suspended in the last academic year.
It is the highest suspension rate of any other group except for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller schoolchildren - all of which are fewer in number.
And further data has revealed that pupils in the white working class are also more likely to be absent and subsequently expelled following suspension.
During the academic year of 2023/24, Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures gathered by The Telegraph show 22.61 out of 100 state-funded secondary school pupils were suspended at least once.
