You can ask our solicitors for advice on your child being excluded from school using the question box on the front of our website or the following article may answer your questions. 

There are countless reasons that a school can provide for  a student to be excluded from school. Some schools have a zero tolerance on certain behaviours and as a result they will exclude pupils if they are found to seriously break any school rules. Although as a parent you may admit that your child breached school policy, you may not think that their actions warranted exclusion from school.

Discretion Using Exclusion

In a case of exclusion, it is at the discretion of the school when they decide to implement their exclusion policy and you cannot force them to invite your child back to school. That being said you do have the right of appeal. This is usually carried out through the governor’s disciplinary committee. This committee will be required to meet to discuss and agree on the exclusion in the first instance so it is only right that they are responsible for assessing your appeal.

Following your appeal, the committee may uphold the exclusion, overthrow it or reinstate your child.

Alternatively the committee may reach the conclusion that the exclusion was without merit but the relationship between the school and the family had broken down to such a level that it was in no one’s interest for the child to remain at the school. The Local Education Authority (LEA) would then be responsible for finding a new school for your child. If the committee decide that they are going to uphold the exclusion, you may wish to appeal to an independent appeals panel.

This panel is a collection of local people who are in no way connected to the Local Education Authority or the School. If the independent panel find in favour of the school, you cannot have this decision overturned, no matter how high you escalate the complaint.

Excluded From School – Appealing

If you believe that the exclusion is unfounded, you should as a first step write to the governor informing them of your intention to appeal. Upon receipt of your letter, the governor’s disciplinary committee will issue you with a date for a hearing. You will need to prepare for the hearing by noting down how you think that the official guidelines of the school were not followed and any plus points about your child’s school record.

The committee can refuse your appeal and if they do so you have a further 15 days in which to submit your concerns to an independent appeal panel. This panel must hear the appeal within 15 days of receipt. Once the panel have reached their decision, this is both binding and a final decision. If the final decision confirms that the exclusion was correct, the Local Education Authority will intervene to find an alternative school for your child or provide an alternative method of education outside of school.

In certain situations such as when the police are involved in the matter, the panel can adjourn without reaching a decision.

HeadTeacher Rights

A headteacher has the right to exclude pupils either for specific amount of time or they can opt to expel the student on a permanent basis. In both of these cases the parents must be informed as soon as possible in relation to the child’s exclusion. When a child has been excluded they are not permitted on school premises. If the child is excluded for a specific amount of time they will be given work to complete.

Fixed exclusions and permanent exclusions operate in slightly different ways and will be explored in more detail in the next section.

Fixed Term Exclusion

When a student is excluded from school for longer than five years in a single term or if the exclusion period would mean that the student would not be able to attend an examination the school must repeat the exclusion to the parents of the pupil, the school governors and local education authority. A student cannot be excluded for more than 45 days a year unless the student has been permanently excluded.

Parents have the right to appeal against a fixed term exclusion and the governors discipline committee must hold a meeting to discuss fixed term exclusions if parents make a representation usually through an appeal.

Permanent Exclusion

This is the more serious form of exclusion and it should not be taken lightly. Head teachers are strongly encouraged to only use permanent exclusion as a way to deal with the most serious offence. When a school excludes a student for a misdemeanour such as disruptive behaviour or poor attendance, they must be able to demonstrate that they have exhausted all other potential strategies.

Furthermore, a head teacher can exclude a student for a single or first incident if it involved actual or threatened violence, abuse, assault, carrying an offensive weapon or supplying illegal drugs. A meeting must take place with the governors discipline committee within 15 days of the exclusion being implemented. This meeting will be required regardless of whether the parent submits an appeal.

Headteachers should not exclude a pupil in the heat of the moment if there is no immediate threat to staff or students. The school governors must ensure that the incident has been thoroughly investigated, all of the evidence has been gathered and reviewed, and the necessary legislation on discrimination and school policies have been consulted. It is also important that the student is able to provide their own version of events and school staff should ascertain whether the student was provoked.

If the incident involves a criminal offence the school are obliged to notify the police when a student has been excluded permanently from school. Schools must also ensure that they take an appropriate response to the incident and they evaluate a number of different elements.

These include;

• The health and age of the student
• Whether the student is under pressure from parents or peers
• The severity of the incident
• The likelihood of the incident occurring in future
• If the behaviour of the student affects other students
• Whether the incident was a one off or whether the student has been in a similar or not as serious situation before

Exclusion should never be used as a punishment for minor issues such as failing to bring lunch money, not completing homework, poor performance, lateness, inappropriate dress, appearance or wearing make up or jewellery. It should be reserved for the most serious offences and only after careful consultation with teaching staff, parents and the student. Expulsion should be a last resort.