Introduction
Head teachers, teachers in charge of a Pupil Referral Unit (PRU), Governing Bodies, LEAs and Independent Appeal Panels must by law have regard to the following guidance when making decisions on exclusion and administering the exclusion procedure. This means that, whilst the guidance does not have the force of statute, there is an expectation that it will be followed unless there is good reason to depart from it. The guidance is not exhaustive and judgements will need to take account of the circumstances of individual cases.
These procedures apply to all maintained schools and Pupil Referral Units and all pupils in them including any who are below or above compulsory school age. They do not apply to independent schools, city technology colleges, academies, or sixth form colleges which have separate exclusion procedures. They will apply to maintained nursery schools from September 2003.
Where the parents of an excluded pupil do not speak or have a good understanding of English, correspondence and documentation relating to the exclusion should be translated into their mother tongue. In such cases the school and/or LEA should arrange for an interpreter to be present at any meetings with the parent about the exclusion.
This guidance replaces Chapter 6 and Annex D of DfES Circular 10/99.
The guidance is in five parts:
Part 1 – general guidance on factors to be considered in deciding whether or not a pupil should be excluded and on arrangements for their education during and after exclusions: this is relevant to the work of head teachers, Discipline Committees and Independent Appeal Panels
Part 2 – guidance for head teachers and teachers in charge of PRUs on procedures to be followed when they decide to exclude a pupil
Part 3 – guidance on the work of the Discipline Committees of Governing Bodies which must review all permanent and more serious fixed term exclusions
Part 4 – guidance on the establishment of and support for Independent Appeal Panelsthat consider appeals against permanent exclusions which have been endorsed by the Discipline Committee
Part 5 – guidance on exclusion decisions and appeals in cases of police involvement and possible parallel criminal proceedings
In this guidance ‘parent’ means anyone who has parental responsibility for or care of a child. In cases of exclusion where the pupil is 18 or over ‘pupil’ should be read for ‘parent’. Where a child is the subject of a care order, the local authority that has parental responsibility for the child is entitled to determine to what extent the parents exercise their parental responsibility. Throughout this guidance, references to a school should be read as referring equally to a PRU; where guidance applies differently to PRUs then this will be indicated clearly.
