THE number of pupils suspended from the county’s schools has dropped by 20 per cent in a year.

More than 8,000 pupils were suspended from Lancashire and Blackburn with Darwen schools in the academic year 2007/08 for offences including violence, racist abuse and sexual misconduct.

This has dropped by 2,000 in just a year, with 10,000 pupils suspended, also known as fixed period exclusions, for the same reasons in 2006/07.

But the number being permanently excluded from schools has risen slightly from 270 in 2006/07, to 340 in 2007/08 according to new government statistics.

A further breakdown of the reasons leading to pupils being expelled and suspended from the county council showed a drop in the numbers attacking adults, with just under 160 incidents leading to suspension and expulsion in 2006/07 and just over 100 in 2007/08.

But the number of pupils being suspended and excluded for drug and alcohol offences has risen from 68 in 2006/07 to 114 from 2007/08.

County Councillor Pat Case, cabinet member for children and schools, said it was encouraging to see a reduction in numbers of suspensions. She said: “We support the new approaches being pioneered in our schools, which develop the emotional skills that pupils need to control their behaviour and understand the consequences of their actions, and it is good to see that they are having effect.

“We also support the right of headteachers to use all of the powers at their disposal to maintain and improve discipline in their schools, including exclusion as a last resort.”

Councillor Chris Thayne, Blackburn with Darwen executive member for children's services, said: “Within Black-burn with Darwen, both permanent and fixed period exclusion reduced by 40 per cent in 2007/08 when compared with the previous 2006/07 academic year. These figures were the lowest for the borough since unitary status in 1997/98.

“Both the authority and schools recognise that exclusion is the sanction of last resort and are increasingly using initiatives such as alternative curr-iculums, managed moves and work-related learning as an alternative to exclusion.”

A breakdown of the reasons for exclusions from Blackburn with Darwen council was not available.