The number of Somerset pupils excluded for bullying has risen by nearly one-third in just 12 months.

Figures released by the Department for Education (DfE) show a rise in the number of fixed term exclusions for bullying in Somerset, bucking wider trends for the south west.

Somerset County Council has said the overall number of bullying-related exclusions remains low, and there were no permanent exclusions on bullying grounds in the last two years.

It also stated serious bullying incidents remained rare in both local authority-run schools and academies.

The DfE figures relate to fixed term and permanent exclusions in all state-funded schools – including academies – but does not include pupils excluded from private schools.

Fixed term exclusions can vary in length – some being as short as a single day – depending on the nature of the incident and the discretion of the head teacher at the school in question.

The number of pupils being excluded from Somerset schools for a fixed term on bullying grounds rose from 41 in 2016/17 to 54 in 2017/18 – a rise of 32 per cent.

This equates to one pupil in every 1,466 being excluded for bullying – compared to one in every 1,688 in 2016/17.

There were no permanent exclusions on bullying grounds in either year in Somerset.

In the south west as a whole, the total number of bullying exclusions (both fixed term and permanent) fell by 11 per cent, from 390 to 348.

A council spokesperson said: “Parents rightly expect their children to be safe and free from bullying at school.

“Guidance for governing bodies comes from the DfE, and responsibility for setting and implementing behaviour policies lies with individual schools. It is right that they set out clear consequences and protect those being bullied.

“The reasons for the increase will be varied, complicated and can be interpreted in different ways, but ultimately come down to headteachers making decisions that they believe to be in the best interest of pupils.

“Serious bullying incidents are rare in Somerset schools and no child was permanently excluded for such behaviour in 2016/17 or 2017/18.

“Although the percentage increase in fixed term exclusions may be large, the actual number of incidents is relatively small considering that there are around 69,000 children in Somerset’s schools, and fixed-term exclusions for bullying accounted for little over one per cent of all exclusions in 2018.”