This Evidence to Action Note reports findings from NSW Child Development Study (CDS) looking at the connection between child protection contact and primary school suspensions and discusses the implications for policy and practice in supporting children who are suspended from school.

New results from the NSW Child Development Study show that children who are reported to child protection services in early childhood are at higher risk of being suspended from primary school. Among these children, those with substantiated Risk of Significant Harm (ROSH) reports and those in out-of-home care were at greatest risk of being suspended. Both groups were over four times more likely than non-reported children to receive a suspension.

Key findings:

• Children with reports that did not reach the ROSH threshold were almost twice as likely and children with non-substantiated ROSH reports were almost three times as likely as non-reported children to be suspended from school.
• Suspension has an impact on academic achievement and school disengagement because it weakens students’ sense of school belonging.
• suspension creates gaps in education by taking children away from teaching and learning, rather than providing them with the support and positive guidance they need.
• Personalised Learning and Support Planning for children in out-of-home care is designed to increase educational outcomes and attendance, and decrease suspensions, by ensuring that children’s developmental and educational needs are understood, met, monitored and reviewed annually to help them reach their full learning potential.

The NSW Department of Education’s Student Behaviour Strategy encourages schools to explore a range of evidence-based changes and options for how suspensions are issued and managed. This Strategy aims to create a safer learning environment for all, set up students with the social skills needed in later life and reduce early suspensions, particularly for vulnerable student cohorts.