SCHOOLS in Dorset are dishing out more and more exclusions to pupils, new data shows.

On average 14 children were excluded from schools in the county area on every school day last year, while in Bournemouth it was nine pupils 'per day'.

The revelation comes after a warning from MPs that parents and children are having to contend with a "scandal of ever-increasing exclusions" in a system that is like the "Wild West".

Ministers from the cross-party House of Commons education committee this week published a highly critical report on the current exclusions system in England.

A rise in "zero-tolerance" behaviour policies may mean that "pupils are punished and ultimately excluded" for incidents that "could and should" have been better managed, the report stated.

The MPs also criticised a "lack of moral accountability" among many schools which have little incentive to keep on students that are seen as "difficult or challenging".

Committee chairman Robert Halfon MP said: "Today, we face the scandal of ever-increasing numbers of children being excluded and being left abandoned to a forgotten part of our education system which too often fails to deliver good outcomes for these young people."

Mr Halfon and his fellow committee members are calling for a "bill of rights" for pupils and their parents, which will include a commitment that schools do not rush to exclude pupils.

A spokesman for the Department for Education said: "Schools should only use permanent exclusions as a last resort but we do support teachers in taking proportionate and measured steps to ensure good behaviour in schools.

“Whilst we know there has been an increase in exclusions there are still fewer than the peak ten years ago.

"We recognise some groups of pupils are more likely to be excluded than others which is why we launched an externally-led review to look at how schools are using exclusions and why certain groups are disproportionately affected."

In the 2016-17 academic year, schools in Dorset handed out at least 2,799 exclusions, according to data from the Department for Education.

Each excluded pupil received an average of 2.1 exclusions over the school year, and lost around four days of teaching apiece.

In Bournemouth there were 1,811 exclusions over the same time period, and each pupil received an average of 2.6 exclusions over the school year, and lost five days of teaching.

In Bournemouth, the number of exclusions is up 29 per cent from the previous year, when 1,405 exclusions were recorded, and an increase of 71 per cent from the level it was at five years ago.

Dorset has seen a 27 per cent rise since 2015-16, when 2,201 exclusions were recorded, and a massive 86 per cent rise after five years.

Although the school population has been increasing at the same time, the rate at which exclusions have increased is higher than the rate of population growth.

The majority of the exclusions in 2016-17 were in secondary schools. Bournemouth saw 147 exclusions in primary schools and eight in special schools, and Dorset saw 484 in primary schools and 28 in special schools.

The most common reason for a child to be excluded from a school across the county was for persistent disruptive behaviour, which accounted for 32 per cent of exclusions in Dorset 21 per cent in Bournemouth.

In England, exclusions numbered around 389,600 in 2016-17, up from 346,000 the previous year.

This represents an increase from 4.4 exclusions per 100 pupils to 4.9.