11 prep and year 1 students suspended from Queensland schools every day

Almost 11 unruly children aged six or younger were suspended from state schools each day of the school calendar in 2017, according to data from the Queensland Department of Education.

Across the state, there were 1027 suspensions from prep classrooms and 1956 suspensions from year 1 classrooms.

Across Queensland there were 1027 suspensions from prep classrooms and 1956 suspensions from year 1 classrooms.Credit: Elesa Kurtz

About 7 per cent of all state school students were subject to a school disciplinary absence.

Figures show one prep student was permanently excluded for "physical misconduct not involving an object" from a school in the north coast region, which covers Caboolture, Strathpine and Redcliffe, in 2017.

Meanwhile, in the south-east region covering Brisbane, Logan and the Gold Coast, there were 271 suspensions from prep classrooms last year, with 268 suspensions lasting from one to 10 days while three prep suspensions went longer, for 11 to 20 days.

Nearly 20 per cent of prep suspensions in the south-east region (53) were Indigenous students with the bulk of prep suspensions (218) non-Indigenous students.

In the south-east region’s year 1 cohort, there were nine long-term suspensions, 15 across year 2 and 11 across year 3.

And 105 south-east Queensland students, the youngest child in year 5, were excluded for using illicit drugs.

In January, the Queensland government introduced a teacher aide into every prep classroom to help ease pressure on teachers and to allow for more time to be devoted to helping children develop basic skills for learning and interacting with others at school.

Sam Pidgeon, vice-president of the Queensland Teachers’ Union (QTU), said disruptive behaviour should not be tolerated in schools as it had a negative impact on children’s learning and put huge pressure on teachers.

“Long-term suspensions, or any suspension of a student, is a last resort,” Ms Pidgeon said.

“By the time a student [of prep age] is on a long-term suspension, every other option has been explored by the school.

“We’ve had members experience biting, punching, kicking. While the safety of students is obviously paramount, the safety of teachers is also paramount.”

While the QTU has no record of young children bringing weapons to school, they found that some children were using everyday items such as pens or pencils to lash out.

“In the hands of a child who is very angry or has an inability to control their impulses, lots of things can become a ‘weapon’ at that point,” Ms Pidgeon said.

“We try to balance the need for the student to settle in and learn the norms and expectations of being at school with the right of others to learn and to be safe.

“That’s why we’re supportive of campaigns for all four-year-olds to have access to some sort of kindergarten time or quality early-childhood education, because that’s the best way to set kids up to know how to behave and what’s expected of them once they get to school.

“It sounds a cliche but society has become more complex. We continue to see violence perpetrated in the community, and schools are a microcosm of the community.

“The rest of society doesn’t just stop existing when you walk through a school gate.

“It only takes one student who is displaying defiant behaviour to make an impact on an entire class.

“If you happen to be the teacher of that class or a student in that class, the impacts are huge.”

P&Cs Queensland chief executive Kevan Goodworth said: “Obviously it’s important that schools [are] using good judgment and speaking to parents about this [because] every time we send a little one to school, we expect them to be in a safe environment.

“But if there are any children who are disrupting that safe environment then obviously steps have to be taken.”

In a written statement, a spokeswoman for Education Queensland said: “Suspensions, exclusions and cancellations of enrolment are used as a last resort, for serious behaviour issues.

“Principals are encouraged to use a graduated response when dealing with inappropriate student behaviour.

“Responses to inappropriate behaviour should be fair and consistent, and reflect the seriousness of the behaviour, and the student’s individual circumstances.

“The majority of state school students from prep to year 12 behave appropriately every day, are actively engaged in learning and have positive relationships with their fellow students and teachers.

“Where a student’s behaviour is unacceptable, principals are supported to take appropriate disciplinary action.

“Parents also have a role to play in modelling appropriate behaviours for young people.”