North Queensland state schools dish out more than 22,500 suspensions in five years

North Queensland state schools have dished out more than 22,500 suspensions over five years - a figure that is “way too high” according to an education expert. SEE HOW YOUR SCHOOL COMPARES>>>

North Queensland state schools have dished out more than 22,500 suspensions over five years - a figure that is “way too high” according to an education expert.

Across the state a staggering 374,605 suspensions have been handed out over the same time period – almost three times more than was handed out in ACT and nearly twice as much as in NSW.

An average of 385 suspensions were issued to state school students in Queensland each school day between 2015 to 2019.

Over the five-year period, a shocking 359,983 short suspensions, 14,622 long suspensions, 8001 expulsions and cancelled 6144 enrolments were handed out across Queensland state schools.

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Schools which fall in the Townsville City Council region have handed out a mammoth 18,636 suspensions, with nine schools dishing out more than 1000 suspensions alone.

They were Thuringowa State High School Townsville, Northern Beaches State High School Townsville, Pimlico State High School Townsville, Kirwan State High School, Heatley Secondary College, Townsville State High School, Weir State School, William Ross State High School and Aitkenvale State School.

In the Charters Towers Regional Council area the seven public schools issued a total of 1995 suspensions.

Charters Towers State High School contributed the majority of those with 1547.

In the Burdekin Shire Council catchment 2163 suspensions were dished out, with 1088 coming from Ayr State High School.

Further north in the Hinchinbrook Shire Council there were 471 suspensions across seven schools.

The biggest state school in the area, Ingham State High School, contributed 389 of those.

QUT education expert Professor Linda Graham said Queensland suspension rates were “way too high”, and have been since the Newman government changed the legislation around school discipline in 2014.

Linda Graham.

“After they changed the legislation the suspension rate increased by 33 per cent following the change, over the six years [to 2019], meanwhile over the six years prior to the change [in 2014] they only increased by 3.5 per cent.”

She said the change in legislation had essentially removed the “safeguards” which protected student rights.

An Education Department spokesman said Queensland state schools have high expectations for positive and respectful behaviour from all students and adults, with only 7 per cent of students suspended or expelled.

“This demonstrates that strategies and boundaries put in place by our principals and teachers are effective,” he said.

The spokesman said that year-to-year fluctuations in school disciplinary figures included changes in school management, the implementation of alternative behaviour strategies, changes in behaviour expectations, fluctuations in enrolments and changing student behaviour.

However, Professor Graham said that suspensions were not effective in resolving student behaviour problems.

There's been more than 22,500 suspensions at North Queensland schools in the last five years.

“It either doesn’t solve it or makes the problem worse and reinforces the behaviour, we know that it doesn’t work and there are better alternatives,” she said.

“People assume that kids will take something away from a suspension but often they won’t, if they lack the skills to prevent themselves from getting in trouble a suspension won’t provide them with those skills.”

“We need to use preventative strategies and teach students the skills to be able to manage their own behaviour, to stop themselves from doing things … we need to explicitly teach them about what behaviour expectations are and ways to avoid breaking those.”

Originally published as North Queensland state schools dish out more than 22,500 suspensions in five years