THE number of children excluded from Salford schools has fallen for the second year running.

Seventy-seven pupils were excluded from the city's classrooms during 1999/2000 - well below the target of 95 set for the education authority under its government-approved development plan.

The reduction follows a modest drop the previous year after years of steady increases, and is being hailed as a massive step forward.

Councillor Roger Jones, cabinet member responsible for education, said: "We have been working extremely hard with the schools that have problems with exclusions and this is evidence of their success.

"However the good work does not stop here, we will continue to liaise with schools to make the exclusion figure as small as possible."

Of the 77 pupils excluded last year seven were from primary schools and the rest from the secondary sector. The vast majority of them - 87 per cent - were boys.

Extra cash through the government's Excellence in Cities Initiative has helped to pay for learning support units and learning mentors in secondary schools. As a result there has been more support for pupils who might otherwise be excluded and for youngsters who have been out of the classroom for some time.