Exclusion from school

The Exclusions Team at Solihull Council provide advice and guidance to schools and parents. An Education Exclusions Officer will contact all parents and carers of a permanently excluded child to offer support and advice during the exclusions process.

What kinds of exclusions are there?

There are 3 types of exclusions:

1. Fixed term exclusion: A pupil may be excluded for any period up to 45 days in any school year.
2. Lunch Time exclusion: Excluded from the site during lunch time periods (the equivalent of a fixed term exclusion for one half day)
3. Permanent Exclusion: excluded from the school permanently.

Only a Head teacher can exclude a pupil from school. They must notify the pupil’s parent or carer, without delay, and also confirm in writing how long the period of the exclusion is for, the reason for the exclusion and the proposed date of readmission.

Parental responsibilities during the exclusion period

During the first 5 days of any period of exclusion the parent is responsible for their child’s education. The parent must therefore ensure that their child is not found in a public place in school hours during the first 5 days. If the child is found to be in a public place, without reasonable justification, then a penalty notice may be issued by the Education Enforcement Team at the local authority.

Schools and the Local Authority’s responsibilities during the exclusion period

Schools should provide work for the first 5 days of any exclusion. The governing body of the school must arrange suitable full-time education, starting from the 6^th day of the fixed term exclusion. The pupil’s home local authority, the authority in which they live in, must arrange suitable full-time education, starting from the 6^th day of a permanent exclusion. Your child will remain on the school roll until the exclusions process has been completed.

How many times can child be excluded?

The law allows a Head Teacher to exclude a pupil for up to 45 days in an academic year.

What if my child is due to take a public exam or national curriculum test during the exclusion period?

The governing board must convene a meeting to consider reinstatement within 15 days of receiving notice of the exclusion. However, the governing board must take reasonable steps to meet before the date of the examination. If this is not practical, the chair of governors may consider the pupil’s reinstatement alone, for an Academy the exclusion may be considered by a smaller sub-committee if the trust’s articles of association allows them to do so.

Fixed Term Exclusions

The head teacher has the power to exclude any pupil who has, in their view, committed a serious offence. No such decision will be taken lightly. After a fixed period exclusion the pupil will return to their school. A pupil may be excluded for up to a maximum of 45 days in any 1 academic year. If a pupil has received the maximum of 45 days exclusion in 1 year and then re-offends, the head teacher will have little choice but to permanently exclude.

If you are unhappy with the fixed term exclusion you may wish to consider making a representation to the governing body.

If the number of fixed term exclusions does not bring your child’s number of days to more than 5 in a term, the governing board must consider any representations made by parents, but it cannot direct reinstatement and is not required to arrange a meeting with parents.

Where a pupil has been excluded for more than 5 but less than 15 schools days in a term, if the parents requests a governing board meeting the board must convene a meeting within 50 school days of receiving the notice of exclusion to consider whether the excluded pupil should be reinstated.

The governing body must consider the reinstatement if the fixed period exclusion would bring the child’s total number of school days of exclusion to more than 15 in a term. You will be invited to the meeting and allowed to make representations.

What happens if my child is permanently excluded?

In exceptional cases, head teachers may decide to permanently exclude a child from the school. A decision by the head teacher to permanently exclude will be followed by a meeting of the Governing Body’s Discipline Committee to either:

1. a) reinstate the permanently excluded pupil or;
   b) confirm/uphold the head teacher’s decision to exclude.

You will be invited to this meeting and you can bring a friend or someone you would like to speak for you. You should receive any relevant papers at least 5 days in advance of the meeting. You may wish to submit a written statement to the governing body, which must be sent at least 48 hours before the meeting. The following document gives you an overview of how the meeting will be conducted, to ensure the process is followed correctly.  (link doc)

Can I request a Local Authority Officer to attend the Governing Body’s Discipline Committee?

Yes, however for an Academy parents may request that the local authority and/or the home local authority attend the meeting but only as an observer. This representative may only make representations with the governing body’s consent.

Can I appeal against the Head Teacher’s and Governing Body’s decision to permanently my child?

If the governing body decides to confirm/uphold the Head Teacher’s decision to permanently exclude your child you have the right to request an Independent Review of the case. You should do so as soon as possible after the decision of the governing body although you have up to 15 days to make a decision. Any request for a review received after that time will not be considered. The details of how to make an Independent Review request will be detailed in your letter from the Governing Body. If you are unsure of where to make the request to please contact the Exclusions Team at Solihull Council who will be able to confirm this for you.

What happens when I’ve requested an Independent Review of the permanent exclusion?

You will be invited to attend a meeting of the Independent Review Panel (IRP). After considering your views, and the views of the Head Teacher and the Governing Body of the school, the IRP will make a decision and inform you of it. Having reviewed the decision of the Governing Body to permanently exclude your child, the IRP can only:

• Uphold the exclusion (your child will not be allowed back into that school)
• Recommend the Governing Body reconsiders the original decision (the Governing Body may still come to the same decision and not allow your child back into school)
• Directs the Governing Body to consider the exclusion again (the Governing Body may still make the same decision and if they do £4000 will be taken away from their budget.  This payment will go to the Local Authority towards the cost of providing alternative provision for your child.)

This decision of the IRP is final and binding on all parties. The following document will give you further information on the IRP process.

Once the exclusions process has completed, what Education is my child entitled to?

If the Governing Body has not reinstated your child they will be removed from the school roll once the exclusions process has completed. You child should continue to attend the provision the Local Authority has arranged for you. Parents are entitled to make applications for a school place, however the application may be referred to a Fair Access Panel. Please contact your local school admissions team for further information and advice.

The following sources of advice are available

• The Children’s Legal Centre. They aim to provide free legal advice and information to parents on state education matters. They can be contacted on 0808 802 0008 or on http://www.childrenslegalcentre.com. The advice line is open from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday.
• The Advisory Centre for Education (ACE) offer advice to parents of children in state schools through their website: ace-ed.org.uk
• If your child has special educational needs you may wish to contact Solihull SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disability) Information, Advice and Support Service who are a local source of independent advice. Their Helpline number is 0121 516 5173 or you can email them at solihullsendias@family-action.org.uk. They are based at Sans Souci, Tanworth Lane, Shirley B90 4DD
• Statutory guidance on exclusion can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-exclusion