Reducing Exclusions & Trauma-Informed Schools
Every suspension and permanent exclusion represents a moment where a child’s needs, and a school’s capacity to meet them, have come into conflict. Most school leaders want to avoid exclusion wherever possible, while keeping every pupil and member of staff safe. The question is how.
This guide looks at the latest national picture, what trauma-informed practice means in a school, and how preventative work on children’s wellbeing can reduce the incidents that lead to suspension and exclusion in the first place.
The national picture
The latest national statistics, for 2024/25, show the first fall in suspensions and exclusions for several years. There were 913,000 suspensions, down 4% from 955,000 in 2023/24, a rate equivalent to 1,088 suspensions for every 10,000 pupils. There were 9,900 permanent exclusions, down 9% from 10,900.
That is welcome progress, but the numbers remain high. Persistent disruptive behaviour continues to be the most common reason for suspension, and pupils with special educational needs and those eligible for free school meals continue to have some of the highest rates of suspension and exclusion.
Exclusion in the policy framework
Schools work within two key pieces of Department for Education (DfE) guidance. Behaviour in Schools outlines how schools should create calm, safe and supportive environments through clear expectations, consistent routines and effective behaviour management. Suspension and Permanent Exclusion guidance explains when and how suspensions and exclusions can be used, alongside the procedures and safeguards schools must follow.
Both are clear that exclusion should be used only when necessary, and that schools should consider whether a child’s behaviour may be linked to an unmet need, including special educational needs or mental health difficulties. The DfE has also announced an expert, evidence-led review of best practice in behaviour, including reducing preventable exclusions.
Ofsted’s renewed framework adds another lens. In the attendance and behaviour evaluation area, inspectors look at how schools support pupils with SEND who need help with emotional regulation, and the strong standard describes pupils who learn how to manage their own emotions and resolve conflict. In the inclusion evaluation area, inspectors look at how well schools identify needs early and remove barriers to learning.
What trauma-informed practice means
“Trauma-informed” is a widely used term in schools, and it can mean different things in different places. At its core, it describes an approach that recognises that some children’s behaviour is shaped by adverse experiences, and that responding with understanding, safety and connection is more effective than responding with punishment alone.
A trauma-informed approach does not mean having no boundaries or consequences. Children who have experienced trauma often need clear, predictable structures more than anyone. What changes is the lens through which adults interpret behaviour and the order in which they respond.
In practice, trauma-informed schools tend to share four features:
Safety first. Children cannot learn or regulate when they feel threatened. Predictable routines, calm adults, clear expectations and safe spaces help children feel secure enough to engage.
Relationships at the centre. A trusted adult who notices a child, greets them by name and stays calm when things go wrong is one of the strongest protective factors a school can offer.
Regulate, relate, then reason. When a child is dysregulated, the thinking part of their brain is not fully available. Adults help the child calm down first, reconnect second, and only then talk about what happened and what happens next.
Behaviour as communication. Adults ask “what is this behaviour telling me?” alongside “how do I respond to this behaviour?” That curiosity helps identify unmet needs before they escalate.
It is also worth being careful with language. Not every child who struggles with behaviour has experienced trauma, and schools are not in a position to diagnose it. The value of a trauma-informed approach is that it works for every child: the routines, relationships and regulation strategies that help a child who has experienced adversity also help a child who is anxious, tired, hungry or simply overwhelmed. That is why many schools describe their approach as relational or regulation-focused, rather than relying on labels.
Why prevention matters most
Trauma-informed responses are important when things go wrong. But the most effective way to reduce exclusions is to reduce the number of incidents that escalate to that point. That means building children’s skills before a crisis, not only managing behaviour during one.
Children who understand how their brain responds to strong feelings, who have words for those feelings, and who have practised strategies to calm themselves are better able to stop, think and choose a different response. When every child in a school learns those skills, and every adult uses the same language, the whole environment becomes calmer.
The Centre for Mental Health’s 2026 independent evaluation of myHappymind found exactly this pattern. Pupils were equipped with strategies early, enabling schools to address emotional and behavioural needs before they escalated, which the evaluators noted suggests a reduced need for external referrals, interventions or crisis support. Teachers reported that pupils were calmer, more settled and more prepared to engage in learning. The evaluation also found the programme effective across a wide range of needs, including pupils who have experienced trauma, pupils with SEN and those from complex backgrounds.
What the evidence shows on suspensions
An independent evaluation of three years of data by Portsmouth City Council compared primary schools that used myHappymind with those that did not, between 2022 and 2025. Suspensions rose everywhere over that period, but in schools without myHappymind they rose by 118%, while in myHappymind schools they rose by just 20%.
Across the schools contributing to our 2025/26 National Impact Report, headteachers and SENCOs estimated 4,016 exclusions and suspensions avoided and 9,456 behaviour-related incidents resolved since each school began delivering the programme. These are school leaders’ estimates rather than individual records, so they are best read as an indication of scale.
Like any real-world comparison, these findings show associations rather than proof of cause. But they point in a consistent direction: preventative wellbeing work is associated with fewer incidents reaching the point of suspension.
A practical plan for your school
These steps can help a primary school move towards a trauma-informed approach that reduces exclusions while keeping everyone safe.
- Look at your data honestly. Which pupils are being suspended, how often, and for what reasons? Are pupils with SEND or those eligible for free school meals over-represented? Do incidents cluster at particular times of day, in particular places or with particular year groups?
- Agree a shared understanding of behaviour. Train all staff, including lunchtime and support staff, in how stress affects the brain and behaviour. A shared understanding makes consistent responses possible.
- Teach regulation to every child. A universal wellbeing curriculum gives every child the language and strategies to manage strong feelings. It also means adults and children share the same words when things get difficult.
- Make routines predictable. Consistent routines at the start of the day, transitions between lessons and at lunchtime reduce the uncertainty that can trigger dysregulation.
- Plan for the moments that matter. Agree how adults will respond when a child becomes dysregulated: who helps, where the child goes, which strategies are used and how the child is helped to return to learning. Practise it.
- Repair relationships after incidents. Restorative conversations, held once everyone is calm, help children understand the impact of their actions and rebuild the relationships that keep them connected to school.
- Use targeted support early. For children with more complex needs, structured interventions, individual support plans and close work with families can prevent a pattern of escalation. Targeted support is most effective when it uses the same language as the whole-school approach.
- Look after staff. Responding calmly to dysregulated behaviour is demanding. Staff who feel supported, trained and confident are more able to stay regulated themselves, and 78% of education staff report being stressed by their work.
When a child is at risk of suspension
When a child’s behaviour is escalating, it can help to pause and work through a short set of questions as a team before deciding on next steps:
- What has changed for this child recently, at school or at home?
- When, where and with whom do incidents happen, and what usually comes just before them?
- Does the child have an identified or suspected special educational need that is not being fully met?
- Does the child have the language and strategies to recognise and manage strong feelings, and are adults prompting them to use those strategies?
- Is there a trusted adult the child can go to, and do they know how to find them?
- What does the family see at home, and what would help them?
- What additional support, adjustment or plan could reduce the risk of the next incident?
These questions do not replace the school’s behaviour policy or the statutory guidance on suspension and exclusion. They help make sure that, when a decision is made, it is made with a full understanding of the child.
Working with families
Families are essential partners in reducing exclusions. A parent who understands the strategies their child is learning, and uses the same words at home, can help a child practise regulation in a calmer setting and prepare for difficult moments at school. Regular, positive contact with families, not only contact when something has gone wrong, builds the trust that makes difficult conversations easier.
Supporting children with SEND
Pupils with SEND are much more likely to be suspended or excluded than their peers. Permanent exclusions of pupils with an education, health and care plan have risen sharply over the past decade. Many of these exclusions involve children whose behaviour is linked to communication difficulties, sensory needs or difficulties with emotional regulation.
For these children, a trauma-informed and inclusive approach means adapting the environment and the response, not lowering expectations. Visual supports, predictable routines, quieter spaces and explicit teaching of regulation strategies can all reduce the triggers for dysregulation. The DfE’s seven principles of inclusion, which schools now use to plan their inclusive mainstream fund spending, include a safe and respectful culture fostering belonging, attendance and participation in learning, and evidence-based support prioritising early intervention.
Where myHappymind fits
myHappymind is a whole-school wellbeing curriculum built on neuroscience and positive psychology. It gives every child, and every adult, a shared language for feelings and practical strategies to manage them.
- Meet Your Brain teaches children how their brain responds to stress and gives them regulation strategies such as Happy Breathing, which 95% of teachers say has benefited their class.
- Relate builds active listening and positive relationships using the “Stop, Understand, Consider” approach. 84% of teachers are now integrating it into their regular teaching.
- Celebrate builds self-esteem and belonging by helping children recognise their character strengths. 90% of teachers say they now use more character-based praise.
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Targeted support includes toolkits for grief, emotionally based school avoidance, separation anxiety and neurodiversity, so staff have a structured response for children who need more.
- myHappymind Belong helps schools plan, deliver and evidence whole-school inclusion, aligned with the DfE’s seven inclusion principles, with practical tools and short staff training.
- Staff CPD and wellbeing help adults understand their own wellbeing as well as children’s. After the staff wellbeing course, 99% of staff reported a better understanding of their brains, emotions and what they can do to improve their own wellbeing.
As a SENCO at St John’s CofE Primary School described it, myHappymind “has made a palpable difference in the way children speak about their own regulation or the dysregulation of others”.
Next steps
Reducing exclusions is not about tolerating behaviour that puts children or staff at risk. It is about building a school where fewer incidents reach that point, and where every child has the skills and relationships to stay connected to learning.
If you would like to see how myHappymind helps schools build calmer, more inclusive classrooms, book a short live tour with our team.
