Exclusions from school

7. Education after permanent exclusion

The school should provide work to be completed at home for the first five school days.  If no work has been sent home, contact the school and ask for some. You will usually need to collect this from the school and deliver it back for marking.

From school day six, after a permanent exclusion, full-time alternative education will be provided. The county council should consult with you when deciding where to place your child. They will contact you to confirm what arrangements have been made. For children in care (looked after children) provision should be from day one.

If there are transport issues you should contact the area education office for information.

Returning to another school or academy

After permanent exclusion, in the majority of cases the pupil is temporarily placed in a short stay school. This is a useful temporary measure which provides education and support. It also allows input from professional staff who are used to dealing with permanently excluded pupils. They can provide information and advice about future education in relation to the appropriate setting and the timing of any agreed strategy.

In some cases the pupil will be able to return immediately (or very quickly) to another mainstream school or academy.

Permanently excluded pupils are usually returned to education via the agreed In Year Fair Access Protocol (FAP) for the relevant district. 

This protocol is a local agreement for getting children without a school place back into a school as soon as possible. It operates separately from other admission and appeal processes. This also covers children who are not ready to return to mainstream school. Even if a school is full, children can be placed there through the FAP. The normal admissions system can also be used to apply for a school place and you can appeal for a place if your chosen school if full.

You will still be asked about your preferences for any future placement, although there is no guarantee what you will be offered.

Schools can refuse entry, even if they have places, for the following reasons:

• A child has been permanently excluded twice, and it is within two years of the second exclusion
• In some circumstances, a child with challenging behaviour. They must then be dealt with under the Fair Access Protocol

It is advised that you consider a number of options if this is possible. It is important that you carefully consider all available information and advice as a second permanent exclusion must be avoided.

The Pupil Access Team can help you arrange visits to schools and academies and you can ask for copies of school prospectuses and behaviour policies.

Often pupils who return to a school or academy or alternative longer term provision temporarily stay on the roll of the short stay school so that they can return there if the placement at the new school or academy breaks down. This benefits the pupil by ensuring that there will not be a gap in education.

You may be invited to attend a reintegration meeting at the new school or academy. This is to plan for the pupil’s admission to the new school and to maximize the chances of this being a success. It is recommended that you attend this meeting and work with the staff.

Pupils with particular needs or disabilities

If you consider that your child has a disability and you feel that a particular school would be more appropriate then you should pass your views and reasons to the Pupil Access Team.

If your child has an education, health and care (EHC) plan, alternative provision must be able to meet the child’s needs. This placement must be identified in consultation with the parents or carers. The Special Educational Needs and Assessment Team will deal with future placements. Placements must meet your child's needs and the local authority should change the name of the school in the plan. You have the right to appeal if you disagree with the chosen school.

You can contact the Information Advice and Support (IAS) Team for advice about pupils with special educational needs.

If the pupil is in public care (a looked after child) you must discuss matters with your social worker (who may wish to attend any relevant meetings).