EXCLUSION FROM SCHOOL
Formal exclusion from school can have a big impact on young people and their families.
Headteachers can exclude your child if they misbehave in school, and in certain circumstances outside school.
Your child’s school will let you know about an exclusion as soon as possible. They’ll follow up with a letter telling you how long your child is excluded for and why.
You should also be told how in writing about what happens next and how you can make representation to the Governors of the school. Responsibility for reviewing exclusions lies with the Governors of the school.
If your child is excluded then for the first 5 school days of an exclusion, it is your responsibility to make sure your child isn’t in a public place during normal school hours unless there is a good reason.
You might be prosecuted if your child is found in a public place when they’re not supposed to be.
There are 2 kinds of exclusion - fixed period and permanent.
Fixed period exclusion
This means that a pupil is not allowed in school for a specified number of days because they have breached the school's behaviour policy. They can only be removed for up to 45 school days in one school year, even if they’ve changed school.
If a child has been excluded for a fixed period, schools should set and mark work for the first 5 school days.
If the exclusion is longer than 5 school days, the school must arrange suitable full-time education from the sixth school day.
This means that the headteacher has decided that a pupil should not continue at the school because of a serious breach of the school's behaviour policy and allowing the pupil to remain in school would harm the education or welfare of the pupil or others in the school. Your local council must arrange full-time education from the sixth school day.
Sometimes schools may ask parents to keep their child at home without excluding them. This is often portrayed as doing the parent and child a favor by not making it official. This is not lawful, even if you agree to it. If the head teacher does not want your child in school for disciplinary reasons they must go through the formal exclusions process.
It should be noted that the Local Authority has no role in exclusions from schools that have converted to Academies. Academies must make their own arrangements for any hearing by School Governors and for any independent appeal against the School Governors decision. However, parents/carers can still access support from the SEND Partnership Service.
The SEND Partnership Service offers impartial and confidential support to the parents of children and young people aged 0-19 when a child or young person has either been permanently excluded or fixed term excluded sufficiently to be called to a Governor's meeting.
The SEND Partnership Service can be contacted by telephone on: 01225 394382 or email firstname.lastname@example.org
The Children Missing Education Service can be contacted by telephone on 01225 394241 or email email@example.com