ACT public schools suspensions up, fights down

However, the behaviour strategy described as a "last resort" by the Education Directorate has become less common since 2011, with a 19 per cent decline in suspended students.

The number of suspensions for physical misconduct, which includes fighting, bullying and any deliberate acts causing bodily harm, fell by five, suggesting verbal or perhaps online misbehaviour was behind the one-year rise.

There were 910 students suspended last year, 73 more than in 2014, but growing enrolments meant this was still only 2.3 per cent of public students, down from the 3.2 per cent four years earlier.

The number of kindergarten to year 12 students was up 3.5 per cent in 2015 based on the annual school census.

Education Minister Shane Rattenbury welcomed the drop in the physical-related suspensions, saying schools were required to put in place social emotional learning programs and also evaluate their procedures to address bullying, harassment and violence.

Mr Rattenbury said the implementation of a new positive behaviour framework in schools, which was a part of the recommendations from the Schools for All report, released last year, on students with complex needs and challenging behaviour, was expected to change both students' behaviours and schools' responses to these challenging actions.

Suspension numbers would be lower in the long term as a result, he said.

An Education Directorate spokesman said schools worked with children with these difficult behaviours to develop a positive behaviour plan, which included relaxing or physical activities to help them "recalibrate" their behaviour.

Australian Education Union ACT secretary Glenn Fowler said there were no clear trends on suspensions and some principals saw greater value in the practice while others avoided it.

"We work with teachers and other staff every day to make sure they recognise unacceptable behaviour, because teachers' natural instinct is to be tolerant but some things are not tolerable," he said.

Mr Fowler said there was now a greater appreciation of the support that children with complex needs demanded, and he expected the introduction of more resources as part of the Schools for All report would make more students better engaged. Some in the public believed an increase in the number of suspensions meant school management was toughening up, while others viewed it to be a sign that schools were "jungles", he said.

Nearly half of suspensions were for one day only, consistent with previous years. There were a total of 1824 suspension incidents last year, an average of two incidents for every student suspended.

Suspensions were designed to restore a safe working environment, allow schools time to review their practice and establish student support plans, and indicate the "significance of the behaviour" to make the student accept responsibility for changing their ways, the government spokesman said.

There have been no expulsions in ACT public schools since the start of 2011.