This page provides information about when a child can be excluded and the obligations of the school to review an exclusion and the right to appeal an exclusion.
The rules governing exclusions from Schools, Academies and Pupil Referral Units in England are contained in the s52 of the Education Act 2002.
If your child has been excluded, please read the applicable government guidance.
Note: A 2014 version of the Exclusions Guidance was issued by the Department for Education before being withdrawn to address issues with process.
The current guidance to be followed is the above guidance which commenced 1 September 2017.
Please note that this page is only applicable to those pupils who are attending school in England and applies to all children attending a school including those below or above compulsory school age, such as those attending nursery classes or sixth forms.
Section 52(1) of the Education Act 2002 states that the head teacher of a maintained school may exclude a pupil from the school for a fixed period or permanently.
What are the different types of exclusion?
A fixed term exclusion is for a specific period of time. A pupil may be excluded for one or more fixed periods (up to a maximum of 45 school days in a single academic year). In exceptional cases, usually where further evidence has come to light, a fixed period exclusion may be extended or converted to a permanent exclusion.
Pupils whose behaviour at lunchtime is disruptive may be excluded from the school premises for the duration of the lunchtime period. An exclusion that takes place over a lunchtime would be counted as half a school day.
A permanent exclusion involves the child being removed from the school roll. However, the head teacher must not remove a pupil's name from the school admissions register until the outcome of the Independent Review Panel (if this route is followed by parents).
In what circumstances can a child be excluded?
A pupil must only be excluded on disciplinary grounds. The decision to exclude must be:
The behaviour of pupils outside of school can be considered as grounds for exclusion. The school's behaviour policy will set out when a pupil's behaviour outside of school premises may lead to disciplinary sanctions.
A decision to exclude a pupil permanently should only be taken:
"in response to a serious breach, or persistent breaches, of the school's behaviour policy; and where allowing the pupil to remain in school would seriously harm the education or welfare of the pupil or others in the school".
When reaching the decision to exclude a child, the head teacher must apply the civil standard of proof, i.e. 'on the balance of probabilities' which means it is more likely than not that a fact is true.
For disabled children, this includes a duty to make reasonable adjustments to policies and practices.
It is unlawful to exclude or to increase the severity of an exclusion for a non-disciplinary reason. For example, it would be unlawful to exclude a pupil simply because they have additional needs or a disability that the school feels it is unable to meet. It would also be unlawful to exclude for a reason such as:
However a head teacher could lawfully exclude a child for:
What are the factors a head teacher should consider before deciding to exclude?
The decision on whether to exclude is for a head teacher to take. Pupils should, where possible, be given an opportunity to present their case before the decision to exclude. When considering whether to exclude, head teachers should take account of any contributing factors that are identified after an incident of poor behaviour has occurred. For example, where it comes to light that a pupil has suffered a bereavement, has mental health issues or has been subject to bullying.
The guidance is clear that early intervention should be used to address underlying causes of disruptive behaviour. This should include:
Maintained schools have the power to direct a pupil off-site for education to improve his or her behaviour. They must:
A pupil can also be transferred to another school as part of a 'managed move.' This is to allow the pupil to have a fresh start in a new school and is an alternative to an exclusion. Managed moves must only be arranged with the consent of the parties involved, including the parents. The threat of exclusion must never be used to influence parents to remove their child from the school. Managed moves are usually subject to a trial period in the new school. Pupils can be returned to the original school if the placement fails. For more information see our page on managed moves.
Can a child be informally excluded?
It is unlawful for a child to be informally excluded from school
An informal exclusion involves a child being sent off the school premises, where this is not officially recorded as an exclusion (e.g. where a child is sent home for a 'cooling off' period). It is unlawful for a child to be informally excluded from school, even where the child's parent/s or carer/s agree to the exclusion. If a parent believes that there child has been unlawfully excluded they should as a first course of action pursue an internal complaint within the school.
What are the school's obligations when a child has Special Educational Needs (SEN) or is in local authority care (looked after)?
There are certain groups of pupils with additional needs who are particularly vulnerable to exclusion. This includes pupils with Statements of Special Educational Needs (SEN) or an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP) and looked after children.
Head teachers should, as far as possible, avoid excluding permanently any pupil with a statement of SEN or EHCP or a Looked After Child. Schools should engage proactively with parents in supporting the behaviour of pupils with additional needs. In relation to looked after children, schools should co-operate proactively with foster carers or children's home workers and the local authority that looks after the child. Where a school has concerns about the behaviour, or risk of exclusion, of a child with additional needs, a pupil with a statement of SEN, an EHCP or a looked after child it should, in partnership with others (including the local authority as necessary), consider what additional support or alternative placement may be required. This should involve assessing the suitability of support for a pupil's SEN. Where a pupil has a statement of SEN or EHCP, schools should consider requesting an early annual review or interim / emergency review.
What is the procedure for excluding a pupil?
When a head teacher decides to exclude a pupil, the parent /s or carer/s should be notified immediately, usually by telephone, followed by a letter without delay. The letter must state:
What are the obligations of parents during a period of exclusion?
During the first five days of a period of exclusion (whether fixed-term or permanent), the parents of an excluded pupil, who is of compulsory school age, must make sure that he or she is not present in a public place during school hours, unless there is a reasonable justification. Failing to ensure this is an offence, and parents may be given a fixed fine of £60. If the school or local authority thinks that parents could better influence the behaviour of the pupil, a parenting contract may be offered. A parenting contract is an agreement between the school and parents that they will both support the child in improving their behaviour.
For a fixed period exclusion of more than five school days, the governing body (or local authority in relation to a pupil excluded from a pupil referral unit) must arrange suitable full-time education for any pupil of compulsory school age (for example; home tutoring, a pupil referral unit or online studies). This provision must begin no later than the sixth day of the exclusion.
For permanent exclusions, the local authority must arrange suitable full-time education for the pupil, again of compulsory school age, to begin no later than the sixth day of the exclusion.
In addition, where a pupil has a Statement of Special Educational Needs or Education Health Care Plan the local authority must ensure that an appropriate full-time placement is identified in consultation with the parents.
Does the school have to provide education during the first five school days of an exclusion?
It is important for schools to help minimise the disruption that exclusion can cause to an excluded pupil's education. Whilst the statutory duty on governing bodies or Local Authorities is to provide full-time education from the sixth day of an exclusion, there is an obvious benefit in starting this provision as soon as possible.
Where it is not possible, or appropriate, to arrange alternative provision during the first five school days of an exclusion, schools should take reasonable steps to set and mark work for pupils. Work that is provided should be accessible and achievable by pupils outside of school.
When will a Governing Body review an exclusion?
The governing body has a duty to consider parents' representations about an exclusion. The extent of this duty and how it is exercised depend on the length and nature of the exclusion.
The governing body must consider the reinstatement of an excluded pupil within 15 school days of receiving notice of the exclusion if:
Where an exclusion would result in a pupil missing a public examination or national curriculum test there is a further requirement for a governing body to consider exclusion before the date of the examination or test. If this is not possible, the chair of governors may consider the exclusion independently and decide whether or not to reinstate the pupil. These are the only circumstances in which the chair can review an exclusion decision alone. In such cases parents still have the right to make representations to the governing body and must be made aware of this right.
If a child has been excluded for a period of more than five school days, but not more than 15, in a single term then the parents can request that the Governing Body consider the reinstatement of the child. In these circumstances the Governing Body must consider the reinstatement within 50 school days of receiving notice of the exclusion. This may not affect the actual exclusion as the child is likely to have completed their exclusion prior to the Governing Body considering reinstatement, but if the Governing Body did decide to overturn the exclusion and direct reinstatement a record to this effect would be added to the child's school records.
In the case of a fixed period exclusion which does not bring the pupil's total number of days of exclusion to more than five in a term, the Governing Body must consider any representations made by parents, but it cannot direct reinstatement and is not required to arrange a meeting with parents.
What will happen at a Governing Body meeting?
The following parties must be invited to a meeting of the Governing Body and allowed to make representations:
The Governing Body must:
When considering the exclusion, the Governing Body must consider:
In reaching a decision on whether or not to reinstate a pupil, the Governing Body should consider whether the decision to exclude the pupil was lawful, reasonable and procedurally fair, taking account of the head teacher's legal duties.
In the light of their consideration, the Governing Body can either:
Where reinstatement is not practical because for example, the pupil has already returned to school following the expiry of a fixed period exclusion or the parents make clear they do not want their child reinstated, the Governing Body must, in any event, consider whether the head teacher's decision to exclude the child was justified based on the evidence.
The Governing Body must notify parents, the head teacher and the local authority of their decision, and the reasons for their decision, in writing and without delay. The Governing Body should set out the reasons for their decision in sufficient detail to enable all parties to understand why the decision was made.
Is there an appeal process following the Governing Body’s decision?
Yes, if the governing body upholds the head teacher’s decision to permanently exclude they must inform parents' of their right to ask for the decision to be reviewed by an independent review panel and include the following information:
What will happen at an Independent Review Panel?
If the Governing Body uphold a permanent exclusion, parents have the right to request that their decision is reviewed by an Independent Review Panel (IRP).
Parents must lodge their application for a review:
These are strict deadlines and any application made outside of the legal time frame must be rejected by the local authority/Academy Trust.
Parents may request an Independent Review Panel even if they did not make a case to, or attend, the meeting at which the Governing Body considered the exclusion.
Parents must submit written representations and, if applicable, supporting evidence, when lodging their application.
The local authority/Academy Trust must constitute the panel with either three or five members:
A clerk will also be present to provide advice to the panel and parties to the review on procedure, legislation and statutory guidance on exclusions. The clerk does not take part in the decision making process.
The role of the panel is to review the Governing Body's decision not to reinstate a permanently excluded pupil. In reviewing the decision the panel must consider the interests and circumstances of the excluded pupil, including the circumstances in which the pupil was excluded, and have regard to the interests of other pupils and people working at the school.
The panel can decide to:
When considering the Governing Body's decision, the panel should apply the following tests which need to be satisfied to quash the decision:
Illegality - did the head teacher and / or governing body act outside the scope of their legal powers in taking the decision to exclude?
Irrationality - was the decision of the governing body not to reinstate the pupil so unreasonable that it was not one a sensible person could have made?
Procedural impropriety - was the process of exclusion and the governing body's consideration so unfair or flawed that justice was clearly not done?
If any of these criteria are met then the panel can quash the decision of the governing body and direct that they consider the exclusion again.
Where the criteria for quashing a decision have not been met the panel should consider whether it would be appropriate to recommend that a governing body reconsiders their decision not to reinstate the pupil. This should be used where evidence or procedural flaws have been identified that do not meet the criteria for quashing the decision but which the panel believe justify a reconsideration of the governing body's decision.
In all other cases the panel should uphold the exclusion.
Can I request a Special Educational Needs expert attend the Independent Review panel?
Parents have a right to request the attendance of a SEN expert at the review panel, regardless of whether or not the school recognises that their child has SEN.
The SEN expert should be a professional with first-hand experience of the assessment and support of SEN, as well as an understanding of the legal requirements on schools in relation to SEN and disability.
SEN experts must be impartial. The SEN expert can be employed by another local authority or Academy Trust but they should not have had any previous involvement in the assessment or support of SEN for the excluded pupil, or siblings of the excluded pupil. The purpose of this is to avoid a conflict of interest.
The appointment of an SEN expert is for the local authority / Academy Trust to make but it should take reasonable steps to ensure that parents have confidence in the impartiality and capability of the SEN expert. Where possible, this may include offering parents a choice of SEN expert.
The Special Educational Needs (SEN) expert's role is similar to an expert witness. They should provide impartial advice to the panel on how special educational needs might be relevant to the exclusion. The SEN expert should base their advice on the evidence provided to the panel. The SEN expert's role does not include making an assessment of the pupil's special educational needs.
The focus of the SEN expert's advice should be on whether the school's policies which relate to SEN, or the application of these policies in relation to the excluded pupil, were legal, reasonable and procedurally fair. If the SEN expert believes that this was not the case he / she should advise the panel on the possible contribution that this could have made to the circumstances of the pupil's exclusion.
Where the school does not recognise that a pupil has SEN, the SEN expert should advise the panel on whether he / she believes the school acted in a legal, reasonable and procedurally fair way with respect to the identification of any special educational needs that the pupil may potentially have, and any contribution that this could have made to the circumstances of the pupil's exclusion.
What happens when the Independent Review Panel recommends the Governing Body reconsiders the exclusion?
Where the Independent Review Panel directs or recommends that the Governing Body reconsiders their decision, the Governing Body must reconvene within ten school days of being given notice of the IRP's decision.
If, following a direction to reconsider, the Governing Body does not offer to reinstate the pupil within ten school days of being notified of the panel's decision, an adjustment may be made to the schools budget in the sum of £4,000.
In the case of an Academy, the school would be required to make an equivalent payment directly to the local authority in which the school is located. This payment will be in addition to any funding that would normally follow an excluded pupil.
In the case of either a recommended or directed reconsideration, the Governing Body must notify the following people of their reconsidered decision, and the reasons for it, in writing and without delay:
If the Governing Body upholds the exclusion again, there is no further right to refer the matter to the IRP. However the decision may be challenged by an application for Judicial Review. In order to bring an action for judicial review, this would have required the governing body to have made an error in law/ acted unreasonably/ in breach of natural justice. The application for judicial review should be made promptly but at least within three months of the date of the decision. You would need legal representation should you decide to pursue this course of action.
Is there a further right to appeal?
There is no further right of appeal against the decision of an Independent Review Panel. However there are two ways that the decision may be challenged:
If you feel that the review panel process was unfairly run, you may be able to take this further by complaining about maladministration by the IRP. A successful complaint may result in a recommendation that a new IRP should be arranged, but the decision to uphold the exclusion cannot be overturned. The body this complaint should be made to will depend on the type of school involved:
For community, voluntary controlled, voluntary aided and foundation schools
A complaint should be made to the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO). The LGO have an advice line number which you can call for further advice: 0300 061 0614.
A complaint should be made to the Secretary of State who will pass the complaint to the Education Funding Agency (EFA). They can be contacted on 0370 000 2288.
When can I bring a judicial review claim against the decision of the Independent Review Panel?
As noted above, there is no appeal from the decision of an appeal panel. However, the decision may be subject to judicial review, and the judge could quash the original decision and order that a fresh hearing is arranged. In order to bring an action for judicial review, this would have required the IRP to have made an error in law/ acted unreasonably/ in breach of natural justice. The application for judicial review should be made promptly but at least within three months of the date of the decision. You would need legal representation should you decide to pursue this course of action.
Examples of potential maladministration that could lead to a complaint include the following:
What can I do if the exclusion involved disability discrimination?
If parents believe that the exclusion has occurred as a result of discrimination then they may make a claim under the Equality Act 2010 to the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) in the case of disability discrimination.
In order to fall under the protection of the Equality Act 2010, a pupil needs to be classed a 'disabled' for the purposes of the Act. A person is disabled if they have a physical/mental impairment which is long term (has lasted or will last for more than 12 months) and has a substantial effect on their ability to carry out normal day to day activities. The school is under a duty not to discriminate against a person who is classed as disabled for the purposes of the act.
The Equality Act 2010 requires that educational establishments must take reasonable steps to ensure that disabled pupils are not substantially disadvantaged compared with pupils who are not disabled. Educational establishments have a duty to avoid the substantial disadvantage caused by a provision criterion or practice. The duty applies to the provision of education and access to any benefit, service or facility. When the duty arises, the issue to be considered is whether the adjustment is reasonable. When deciding whether the adjustment is reasonable a number of factors will be taken into account including the financial resources available, the cost of taking a particular step and the extent to which it is practicable to take a particular step. Discrimination will only occur if the failure to make reasonable adjustments has put the pupil at a substantial disadvantage compared to their non-disabled peers.
In addition, schools have a duty to ensure that a disabled pupil is not treated unfavourably because of something connected with his/her disability. This is called discrimination arising from disability. This will occur when the school treats a disabled pupil unfavourably, this treatment is because of something connected with the disabled pupil's disability and the school cannot justify the treatment by showing that it is a proportionate means of meeting a legitimate aim.
Claims for Disability Discrimination would be lodged with the First-Tier Tribunal. There is strict time limit of six months from the date of the alleged discrimination for lodging a claim. A successful claim may result in a declaration that the school has discriminated against the pupil, an apology for this discrimination and a change in school policy.
Parents can make a claim to the Tribunal for any type of exclusion, fixed term or permanent. For permanent exclusions, this right is in addition to the right to request a review by an Independent Review Panel.
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This page was last updated on 28 February 2018