Ministers say state government will take all steps to reduce sky-high school suspensions

State government ministers say they are prepared to look at all measures necessary to produce Queensland’s sky-high school suspensions, with even prep students not immune to being sent home.

Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman says the government is “absolutely” prepared to look at “anything” to bring down Queensland’s sky-high school suspensions, as the Education Minister admits she’s concerned prep students are being sent home.

Their comments follow shocking statistics revealed by The Courier-Mail that show children in out-of-home care were six times more likely to be suspended than their classmates, and Indigenous children and children with disability were three times more likely.

Shannon Fentiman

Grace Grace

Education Minister Grace Grace said student disciplinary practices were being looked at as part of a review of education legislation, but consultation would only happen after possible amendments were identified.

The review is considering student discipline, refusal to enrol, cancellation of enrolment, restrictive practices and temporary removal of student property by school staff.

But experts, including Children’s Commissioner Natalie Lewis and Human Rights Commissioner Scott McDougall, have suggested a broader approach like a parliamentary or independent review would be more appropriate to investigate how disciplinary practices are further disadvantaging children and worsening youth crime rates.

Ms Grace she was concerned that vulnerable students were over-represented.

“School disciplinary absences for our very youngest students, particularly our prep students, are also a concern for me, and this will be a focus of the review,” she said.

“These are difficult issues with competing views across the community. We’ll consider any recommendations to ensure we’re providing the best environment where students can learn and teachers can teach.”

Ms Fentiman said she would work with Ms Grace and would look at what came from the department’s work when asked whether she supported a broader review.

“If there’s anything that we can do to lower the amount of suspensions, then we’re absolutely prepared to look at that,” she said.

She said there were a number of reasons why vulnerable children were experiencing so many suspensions, acknowledging children who had experienced trauma through domestic violence, for example, were much more likely to act out.

“We have to make sure that we are supporting and intervening earlier for these vulnerable young children, making sure that our schools, our teachers are equipped to handle that behaviour,” she said.

“At the end of the day we want the rest of the kids to be able to get that education too, so it does require a balance, but we are reviewing those policies.”

Advocates have described as “nonsensical” the practice of suspending children for truancy when the goal was to get a child to attend, argued that suspensions are being used against unsupported children with disabilities who learn nothing from them, and raised problems with the “unfair” process of appeal.