Teachernet, 2007 Guidance

Improving behaviour and attendance: guidance on exclusion from schools and Pupil Referral Units

Introduction

Headteachers, teachers in charge of a Pupil Referral Unit (PRU), governing bodies, local authorities (LAs) and Independent Appeal Panels (IAPs) must by law have regard to this guidance when making decisions on exclusions 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 judgments will need to take account of the circumstances of individual cases.

Regulations require local authorities to establish management committees for their PRUs from 1 February 2008 and impose new statutory duties on management committees. Unless otherwise stated therefore, references to governing bodies in this guidance also apply to statutory management committees, and any references to head teachers should also be taken to apply to teachers in charge of PRUs. They also apply to maintained nursery schools. They do not apply to independent schools, city technology colleges, city colleges for the technology of the arts or sixth form colleges, which have separate exclusion procedures. Academies, by virtue of their funding agreements, must have exclusion procedures which are consistent with those set out in this guidance. This means that the procedures followed by Academies should not depart significantly from those in this guidance without good reason. The requirement for schools and local authorities to arrange provision for excluded pupils from the sixth day of exclusion does apply to pupils excluded from Academies, city technology colleges and city colleges for the technology of the arts as such schools are defined as 'relevant schools' in section 111 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006. Likewise, the requirement for the head teacher (or principal) to arrange reintegration interviews also applies in respect of those schools.

These procedures apply to all maintained schools and Pupil Referral Units and all pupils in them, including pupils who may be below or above compulsory school age (except for the requirements related to the arrangement of provision for pupils from the sixth day of their exclusion which applies only to pupils of compulsory school age). They also apply to maintained nursery schools.

They do not apply to independent schools, city technology colleges, city colleges for the technology of the arts or sixth form colleges, which have separate exclusion procedures. Academies, by virtue of their funding agreements, must have exclusion procedures which are consistent with those set out in this guidance. This means that the procedures followed by Academies should not depart significantly from those in this guidance without good reason. The requirement for schools and local authorities to arrange provision for excluded pupils from the sixth day of exclusion does apply to pupils excluded from Academies, city technology colleges and city colleges for the technology of the arts as such schools are defined as 'relevant schools' in section 111 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006. Likewise, the requirement for the head teacher (or principal) to arrange reintegration interviews also applies in respect of those schools.

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 LA should arrange for an interpreter to be present at any meetings with the parent about the exclusion. Arrangements for disabled parents should also be made.

The online version of the guidance on Teachernet is the same as the printed text of the guidance Net, except that:

The online version has an additional final part (Part 8) on the statutory arrangements for funding to follow permanently excluded pupils to the new education provider.
The online version takes into account the changes in the legislation for Pupils Referral Units that came into force on 01 April 2008.
The online version clarifies the status of Academies and of exclusion of pupils above and below compulsory school age.

This edition replaces the September 2006 edition.

The main changes made in this version of the guidance

This guidance has been revised to reflect the implementation of the exclusions-related provisions of the Education and Inspections Act 2006. These take forward the recommendations of 'Learning Behaviour', the report of the Practitioners' Group on School Behaviour and Discipline, chaired by Sir Alan Steer, and the actions set out in the Government's White Paper, 'Higher Standards, Better Schools For All' (Cm 6677, October 2005), which are designed to improve the effectiveness of the arrangements for excluded pupils. Other revisions have been made in response to points raised by recent court judgments and by interested parties. The main changes are:

When deciding to exclude a pupil the head teacher should ensure a record is kept of his actions and those of other staff (paragraph 21 f)
Further guidance on breach of school rules on appearance (paragraph 24 e)
Revised guidance on what actions a school should take following a fixed period exclusion (paragraphs 35-38)
New material on reintegration interviews (paragraphs 39-41)
Changes to the guidance on what actions should be taken following a permanent exclusion (paragraphs 48-49)
Revised guidance on Parenting Orders and Contracts for behaviour (paragraphs 42-44)
Revised guidance on looked after children (paragraphs 64-70)
Revised model letters
New guidance for exclusions panels on combined hearings and factors to consider when deciding whether or not to uphold an exclusion (paragraphs 111, 112, 147,148)
Guidance on the LA responsibility to provide full time education and reintegrate permanently excluded pupils is now available separately (see related documents)

The guidance is divided into the following parts:

Definitions

In this guidance, 'parent' includes 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, 'school' generally refers to a maintained school or PRU. But in addition to maintained schools, 'relevant schools' include Academies, city technology colleges and city colleges for the technology of the arts. Where guidance for PRUs differs from that for other schools maintained by the local authority, this is indicated.

Pupil Referral Units — New Duties for Teachers in Charge and Management Committees

This guidance has also been revised to reflect the introduction of statutory management committees from 1 February 2008 and the implementation of the Education (Pupil Exclusions and Appeals) (Pupil Referral Units) ( England ) Regulations 2008, which come into force on 1 April 2008. The regulations impose similar duties on management committees in regard to exclusions from PRUs to those which apply to the governing bodies of mainstream schools, mainly in relation to reviewing decisions to exclude pupils. There are also some changes for teachers in charge in regard to whom they have to inform about exclusions.

The main changes under the new PRU exclusions regulations are:

Teachers in Charge of PRUs:

Fixed-Period Exclusions: The teacher in charge must inform the management committee as well as the LA where they exclude a pupil for a fixed period in circumstances where:
— the pupil would be excluded for a total of more than five school days in any one term
— would lose an opportunity to take any public examination.
Permanent Exclusions: The teacher in charge must inform the management committee as well as the parents/carers and LA (including the pupil's home LA where the pupil lives outside the LA in which the PRU is located) if they exclude a pupil permanently or decide that a fixed period exclusion should be made permanent.

Management Committees of PRUs:

The management committee must review any decision by the teacher in charge of a PRU to exclude a pupil where:
— The exclusion is a permanent one;
— The exclusion was for a fixed period but has been made permanent
— As a result of the exclusion, the pupil would:
    be excluded for a total of more than 15 school days in any one term;
    lose an opportunity to take a public examination
    the pupil would be excluded for a total of more than five school days in any one term and the parent/carer wishes to make representations about that exclusion.

However, there are other changes which LAs, management committees and teachers in charge of PRUs should be aware of, and we encourage them to read this revised guidance throughout. The guidance specifies which parts do not apply to PRUs, management committees and/or teachers in charge; unless so specified, the guidance should be taken as applying to them just as it does to maintained schools, governing bodies and head teachers. For example, there are differences in the guidance to maintained schools and PRUs on the requirement to provide education from the sixth day of an exclusion.

Independent Appeal Panels' consideration of whether or not to order reinstatement when not upholding a permanent exclusion.

The Court of Appeal held on 18 September 2007 (D v Independent Education Appeal Panel of Bromley London Borough and Another, Case No CI/2007/1011) that the Panel needed to have evidence from the school as to why reinstatement should not be directed. The Regulations state the Panel may decide that, because of exceptional circumstances or for other reasons, it is not practical to give a direction requiring reinstatement. The Court of Appeal said that the school needed to be invited to advance reasons for objecting to reinstatement and that those reasons should usually be different from those advanced in support of the decision to permanently exclude. If the reasons are the same as those advanced in support of the decision to exclude, and that decision is overturned, then they are unlikely to be persuasive when opposing reinstatement. This need not entail two separate hearings or two separate stages of a single hearing. The parties can be invited within a single hearing to make submissions as to reinstatement on the contingent basis that the exclusion is not upheld. Alternatively they can be invited to do so once the first decision has been announced. It is contrary to natural justice for the parents to be unaware of the arguments put by the school against reinstatement and so be unable to address them.

Last updated: 30 May 2008