Overview

The headteacher of a school or academy can take a decision to exclude or suspend a pupil from the school for a fixed period of days or permanently. This applies to maintained nursery schools, primary schools, secondary schools, nursery classes and sixth forms.

Academies may have procedures which vary from those described here, you can find out more information from individual academies.

There are two kinds of exclusion:

• suspension - when a pupil is not allowed in school for a fixed amount of time (including suspensions over lunch time)
• permanent - when a child is permanently barred from the school premises and their name removed from the school roll.

Alternative education arrangements and procedures for challenging the exclusion or suspension will depend on the type of sanction.

Your child cannot attend their school during any period of exclusion or suspension.

If your child is found in a public place during normal school hours during the first five school days of exclusion then you may be prosecuted or given a fixed penalty notice.

It is your responsibility to ensure that your child is not in a public place during any exclusion.

Your child should not be sent to school when they have been excluded or suspended. If you send your child to the school when they have been excluded, they will be supervised but not educated. The school will make efforts to contact you to collect your child. If this is not possible, the matter may be referred to a social worker and treated as a supervision issue. It is possible that in these circumstances, the head teacher may increase the exclusion or suspension in view of the non-compliance.

The school or council must tell you about any alternative education they arrange. It’s your responsibility to make sure your child attends any alternative education that has been arranged for your child.