HEADTEACHERS at two schools where hundreds of pupils have been suspended this year have defended the disciplinary measures as a "necessary" way to keep pupils safe.

Bayards Hill Primary School in Headington suspended 14 pupils 36 times in the first four terms of the current school year while St Gregory the Great school in East Oxford suspended 119 youngsters 208 times.

It led to them being flagged up as "schools of concern" by Oxfordshire County Council for having the highest number of so-called "fixed-term exclusions" in the county.

But Bayards Hill headteacher Rachel Medley said handing out the exclusions was sometimes the only option.

She said: "Children were throwing things downstairs, for example.

"All of the exclusions have been about keeping the school safe.

"We have been working very hard with those pupils and some are now integrated back into the school really well because of the measures we have put in place.

"We evidence from an external review to show behaviour has massively, massively improved.

"A lot of parents have said the school was not safe, they did not want their children to be here and who felt it was very important to have a safe environment for children.

"Our policy has had the result we expected."

The school also permanently excluded one pupil over the four terms.

At St Gregory the Great almost one in 10 pupils have been excluded temporarily over the course of this school year, missing 287 days of class.

The county council said most exclusions were due to disruptive behaviour, with almost a third for physical assault against a pupil and one in five because of physical assault against an adult.

Headteacher Dr Marcella McCartthy said the school had revised its behaviour policy this year "to promote the highest standards of behaviour and courtesy".

She said: "When a new behaviour system is put in place like this it often happens that there is a rise in exclusions, both fixed-term and permanent, as students adjust to the stricter boundaries.

"In our new system we have found that the vast majority of students who experience a fixed-term exclusion never have another on, and that it is therefore a very effective sanction.

"No school takes exclusions lightly, however there are times when they are appropriate because of the nature of a student's behaviour and to protect the safety of other students and teachers."

Three pupils were permanently excluded at the school during the same period.

But Safia Baker, whose son Usman went to Bayards Hill for seven years before moving on to Cheney School last summer, said she was unhappy with the primary school's policy on excluding pupils.

She said: "I think it is very sad.

"I know a child who was crying because he wanted to go to school and the school said he could not.

"I think it is done because if the kids are not there the teachers have less to deal with.

"Barton is a problem area, lots of kids have problems and it is hard for them to have those children in school and deal with them.

"The children know if they play up they will get sent home so they do it to get out of school."

In state primary and secondary schools across the county, a total of 966 pupils have been excluded, missing 3,468 days of school.

In the same period 47 pupils were permanently excluded from Oxfordshire schools.

In some circumstances permanently excluded children may be offered a place at Meadowbrook College in Marston, which offers education for children who have trouble fitting into mainstream schools.

County council cabinet member for education Melinda Tilley said she was particularly worried about academies, such as St Gregory the Great and Bayards Hill, excluding pupils.

She said: "When they are academies there is not really very much we can do about it.

"We can go and talk to them, we can talk to the regional schools commissioner and we can talk to the Department for Education.

"That is about all the power that we have.

"What worries me is who picks up the pieces."

St Gregory the Great parent Jayne Watson said she appreciated the school was in a tricky position when it came to exclusions.

Her 12-year-old daughter Ellise attends the school.

Ms Watson said: "I believe that children need to be safe in school but I also believe they need to be in school so it is a difficult one.

"It is hard to know what the answer is."