FEWER students were excluded from schools in Oxfordshire for bullying, the latest figures reveal.

Department for Education data shows that schools in the county excluded students 28 times for bullying in the 2019-20 academic year - and they were all temporary exclusions.

This was a decrease on the year before, when there were 58.

It comes as Anti-Bullying Week takes place across the country with schools in Oxfordshire taking part in various activities to raise awareness and stamp out bullying.

The vast majority of temporary and permanent exclusions in England happen in secondary schools.

Of the exclusions in Oxfordshire, the majority (23) happened in state-funded secondary schools and five in primary schools.

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The Anti-Bullying Alliance said the number of exclusions fell dramatically in 2020 as schools shut during the pandemic.

But Martha Evans, director of the organisation, said this doesn't mean bullying disappeared from schools, with a survey it carried out this year showing a rise in cyberbullying.

She added: “Sadly, we estimate that at least one child in every classroom is experiencing frequent bullying behaviour from others.

"We know this experience can affect children’s mental health and have a lingering effect well into adulthood.

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“But we must also remember that the majority of children know that bullying is never okay, and they want positive and respectful relationships with their friends and classmates."

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