A MUM who became an anti-bullying campaigner after the death of her son has said it is good news that bullying exclusions in county schools have not risen.

But Lucy Alexander has urged caution that the figures may be down to the effect of lockdown, with bullying moving online and schools unaware of it.

Department for Education figures show Worcestershire schools excluded students 25 times for bullying in the 2019-20 school year – all of which were temporary exclusions.

This was unchanged from the year before.

The vast majority, 23, occurred in state-funded secondary schools while two took place in primary schools.

Mrs Alexander became an ambassador for the Place2Be anti-bullying charity after her son Felix killed himself at the age of 17.

Mrs Alexander, who visits Worcestershire schools to speak to pupils, said: "Bullying is still very much an issue.

"Schools are dealing with bullying on a daily basis, but they don't all end up in exclusions and the national numbers.

"With cyberbullying (during the pandemic), unless it is reported to them schools are not always aware of what's going on online.

"If I'm honest I don't think much will have changed, and bullying will have increased as online is still going on.

"No rise in exclusions is good, but then exclusions is never the answer anyway. You are just taking the problem away for while.

"It is not really helpful, you have to deal with the root of it."

Across England, 2,438 permanent or temporary suspensions for bullying were recorded in the year that included shutting for the first lockdown - down by 3,510 on the previous academic year and the lowest number since records began.

The Department for Education (DfE) said permanent exclusions should only be used as a last resort, and should not mean an exclusion from education.

A DfE spokesman added: “Bullying is never acceptable in any form, and we must all take a stand against bullying to create a safe place for all children in the classroom and online.

“We are supporting schools to tackle all forms of bullying, including through providing funding to anti-bullying charities and ongoing work to improve behaviour."