ALMOST 1,400 Southampton schoolchildren were suspended from classrooms last year, the Daily Echo can reveal.

A total of 1,162 secondary pupils, aged between 11 and 16, and 230 from primaries, aged from four to 11, were banned for a set amount of time for bad behaviour.

The figures for 2004/5 made the city one of the worst in the country. Only four other local education authorities including south coast neighbours Portsmouth had a poorer record.

In Southampton, 31 pupils out of the city's total school population of 30,000 were expelled permanently last year. They were taught at one of the city's three "pupil referral units" which are based around Southampton.

Suspension rates for Hampshire County Council-run schools were in line with the national averages.

However, teaching unions say the figures revealed a success story in Southampton's methods of dealing with disruptive pupils.

Ron Clooney, pictured below, of the National Association of Schoolmasters and Union of Women Teachers, told the Daily Echo that procedures put in place by the authority five years ago meant all incidents of disruptive behaviour in the city's schools were reported.

He contrasted Southampton's approach with other inner city authorities where he said incidents such as swearing at teachers did not appear in official statistics for "fixed term" exclusions.

He added that his members had not reported an incident involving violence which resulted in the exclusion of a pupil for the past 18 months.

He said: "In Southampton, we have actually tightened up the reporting of incidents in schools. Some local authorities don't report the exclusions they have. We have a much better and more open working relationship. To Southampton's credit, they have said they have had a problem and have put the statistics on the table. It is not perfect, none of these things are, but there are far, far worse places."

National Union of Teachers spokesman for Southampton Pete Soposwki said: "If a child is disruptive to the learning of others and is dangerous for teachers or others then exclusion or other strictures should be put in place as necessary.

"Teachers would support exclusion so that pupils who want to learn don't have to suffer. We are not saying that more exclusions are better but they have that purpose.

"However, it is persistent low level disruption which causes more damage to pupil health and those pupils are often not excluded."

A spokeswoman from Southampton City Council said: "City schools use fixed term exclusions, in line with guidance from the Department of Education and Skills, as a short term measure so that a child has time to think about the reasons why they have been excluded.

"It is also an opportunity for the school to work with other agencies to plan for that child's reintegration into lessons. Fixed term exclusions are a much more positive measure to permanent exclusions. Children who are permanently excluded can have problems getting back into education and this is something we want to avoid.

"In terms of permanent exclusions, Southampton has many fewer than similar authorities because they are only used as a last resort."

Hampshire County Council's education service said that strong partnerships between education workers dealing with excluded pupils and head teachers contributed to their relatively low rates of exclusion.

A spokesman said: "If it is working better than elsewhere, it is because of the way we are working with schools."