Reasons for exclusion

An exclusion could mean a suspension (temporary), or a permanent exclusion. Government guidance says that your child should only have been permanently excluded:

• in response to serious or persistent breaches of the school’s behaviour policy and;
• where allowing them to remain in school would seriously harm the education of your child or of others in the school

Your child must not be excluded:

• simply because they have additional needs or a disability that the school feels it is unable to meet
• for low academic attainment/ability
• for anything you as a parent have or have not done – for example refused to attend a reintegration meeting following a suspension
• if they refuse to agree to specific conditions for a return to school following a suspension

Only headteachers (or the nominated member of staff in their absence) have the authority to exclude a pupil. The headteacher should not exclude your child in the heat of the moment, unless there is an immediate threat to the safety of your child or of others in the school.

The headteacher may exclude your child if they feel that on the ‘balance of probability’ (not the criminal test of ‘beyond reasonable doubt’) your child did what they are alleged to have done. The more serious the alleged behaviour and the possible sanction, the stronger the evidence against your child needs to be.

Your child can be excluded for behaviour inside or outside of school, including out of school hours and during the holidays, if the headteacher feels there is a clear link between that behaviour and maintaining good behaviour within the school, thus bringing the school into disrepute.

Before deciding on an exclusion

Before deciding to exclude your child the headteacher should:

• make sure that a thorough investigation has been carried out
• involve your child in all stages of the exclusion process. They should have a chance to say what happened and, preferably, to write their own account in their own words
• ask staff and pupils who witnessed the incident, or were involved in it, to provide written accounts
• check whether your child was provoked into acting as they did
• think carefully about the evidence available and apply the behaviour policy when deciding the sanction
• ensure that the suspension is for as short a time as possible, or that a permanent exclusion is an appropriate response to what your child did
• take into account the DfE Exclusions Guidance and all relevant school policies (Behaviour, Exclusions, Special Educational Needs, Drugs) and, if appropriate the Equalities Act 2010
• if necessary, consult others, such as the chair of governors or the Local Authority, but not someone who may be involved in reviewing the exclusion

How you'll be contacted about an exclusion

The headteacher or their nominated representative will let you know immediately (generally by telephone) about the type of exclusion (permanent or suspension) and the reason for it. If relevant, your family support worker, social worker, and virtual school headteacher will also be notified.

This will be followed up as soon as possible with a letter which includes:

• the reason for the exclusion
• the type of exclusion (permanent or suspension)
• if it's a suspension, the length and time of the suspension and date for return
• how your child’s education will continue
• details for setting and marking work for your child to do during the first five days of any suspension
• details of alternative provision the school puts in place from Day 6 of longer suspensions
• your right to challenge the exclusion, how to do this and how your child may be involved
• the phone numbers of the local authority (LA) Inclusion Support Service (ISS) which can offer information and advice
• your rights under the Equality Act
• Child Law Advice contact details
• notification that during the first five days of a permanent exclusion you may receive a penalty notice from the LA if your child is present in a public place during school hours without good reason, for example a doctor’s appointment