Exclusion from school

Children with special educational needs (“SEN”) and/or disabilities are much more likely to be excluded from school than their classmates.

Only the head teacher of a school (or the teacher in charge of a pupil referral unit or the principal of an academy) can exclude a pupil. There are only two types of exclusion from a school which are lawful: permanent exclusion and suspensions.

This means that legally a pupil is either in school full-time or they are excluded/ suspended from school. They can be suspended for a fixed term (for a specific number of school days) or permanently excluded. Any exclusion of a pupil, even for a short period of time, must be formally and accurately recorded.

Pupils can only be excluded/ suspended for disciplinary reasons: they cannot be excluded/ suspended because a school, pupil referral unit (PRU) or academy cannot meet their needs or for something which their parents did or did not do.

‘Informal’ or ‘unofficial’ exclusions, such as sending a pupil home to cool off or the school putting a pupil on a ‘part-time timetable’, are all likely to be unlawful regardless of whether they occur with the agreement of parents or carers. 

Unlawful exclusion/ suspension of a pupil with a disability may amount to disability discrimination under the Equality Act 2010.

When a child is excluded/ suspended, the school should make every effort to set and mark work for children for the first five days of an exclusion. From day 6, the Local Authority must assume the responsibility for educating the child. You may hear this being called 6th day provision. In Bolton, our main primary age sixth day provision is the Forwards Centre. Our main secondary school sixth day provision is Youth Challenge. Sometimes, due to capacity, it may be your child isn't placed in these settings, and the LA source something different. The officer for inclusion who can guide you through what will happen can be contacted on 01204 338133. 

If your child receives a permanent exclusion and has an EHC Plan, you should contact the SEND assessment team on 01204 338612, as they have a duty to secure the special educational provision in the plan. 

Although IAS can't do anything to prevent an exclusion or suspension from taking place once it has been given, we can support you if your child has SEND if you feel the exclusion was because of their SEND needs. We can also support you at meetings in school if your child is at risk of exclusion/ is picking up suspensions. 

More detailed information about exclusion can be found here

Information on this page is derived from IPEAS's exclusion guidance.