Is Exclusion From School An End Of My Child’s Education

Exclusion refers to suspending a student for a short period or permanently expelling him/her. It is a critical punishment given in schools and now-a-days, it is called ‘exclusion’. It is basically done to exclude a pupil who has serious problems that can affect the welfare of other students. This step is taken considering the progress of all students, its nothing to do personally with your child. So, do not take this personally to your mind. Take this positively for the betterment of other students and of your child too, who can be taken care of completely to get well soon by undergoing counseling and other therapies with medications.

Exclusion Types

Moreover, a child is excluded on a temporary basis, which lasts for a few days. There are three kinds of exclusions that a school can undertake. Listed are the three such exclusion types.

• Fixed-term Exclusion: Is given for maximum 45 schooldays in an academic year.
• Permanent Exclusion: Means the child cannot come back to school at all.
• Longer Fixed-term Exclusion: Is granted due to reports and discussions with other agencies such as social services or the NHS.

Terms and Conditions

The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) has laid out unambiguous procedures to be followed for schools for exclusion. DfES guidance is not applicable to the following institutions, as they have specific exclusion procedures.

• Independent schools
• City technology colleges
• Academies (in consistent with the DfES guidance, which might be different in Northern Ireland and Scotland)
• Sixth form colleges

Listed are the behaviors/conditions/activities due to which your child should be excluded.

• Has done a disciplinary offence, which is quite serious
• His/her being in the school intimidates the education or progress of other students

Exclusion is also given to your child in case due to bad behavior off the school, which directly affects the discipline of the school.

According to the law, the school must follow the guidelines prescribed by DfES, unless there is a good cause to the contrary.

People Who Can Exclude

The head teacher of the school is the only person in charge of exclusion. In the absence of the head teacher, a senior member holds the right of exclusion.

According to the existing guidance, the head teacher needs to call you up within a day’s time once your child is excluded. Next, the head teacher must write a letter explaining the reason/s and terms of such exclusion. In addition to this, you should also obtain information on:

• Contact numbers of the school governors
• Contact numbers for advice
• The day when my child can rejoin the school
• What about my child’s education in between the exclusion period

The head teacher must also write a letter to the Local Education Authority (LEA) to explain the cause of such exclusion. If due to exclusion, your child is about to miss a public exam, it should be conveyed to the governors and the LEA so that the head teacher might be told to take the decision of exclusion your child back.

Causes of Exclusion

Mostly all schools possess their own policies on discipline and behavior. This indicates the reason that leads to exclusion in one school might not lead to exclusion in another school. Listed below are the causes/reasons of exclusion.

• Physical violence against a student or staff member
• Threat of violence against a student or staff member
• Damage to school’s belongings
• Threat of damage to school’s belongings
• Recurrent events of bullying
• Racial or sexual harassment
• Denial of cooperation with the school’s behavior policy
• Troublesome behavior in the classroom
• Use or supply of drugs

According to the DfES guidance, exclusion is not entitled for:

• No homework done
• Low attendance
• Late arrival to school
• Non-compliance with the rules related to school uniform and appearance (if it is not persistent and the child is publicly disobedient)

Child’s Rights On Exclusion

Listed below are the rights your child has during and after the exclusion.

• Right to Explanation about the exclusion from the head
• Right of Consideration wherein his/her views must be reflected by the governors
• Right to Check all the proofs linked with the event that is the cause of exclusion

Listed below are the rights that you and your child possess together on exclusion

• Right to Challenge the exclusion
• Right to Discuss about the causes that led to exclusion and arrangements
• Right to Ask the school governors for a meeting if the exclusion period is of 5 school days or less
• Right to Appeal to the school governors by putting forward the case, as they can even take back the exclusion, if the exclusion period is of 5 school days or more (Here, the governors will only review.)
• Right to obtain the another school arrangements from the LEA, if required

However, you must take the exclusion seriously along with the causes, but continue giving care and support to your child.

Appealing to the Governors

At first, you need to put your case in front of the governors. If they are with the exclusion, you can appeal to an independent appeal committee by asking the governors about it. This committee has the power to ask the school to take back the decision of exclusion.

If you feel that the reason of exclusion is the discrimination based on ADHD, it is your right to take the appeal to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal. This needs to take place within 15 days of the governors’ decision.

Fixed-term Exclusions

For fixed-term exclusion, the school is required to decide and schedule the tasks/work to be done at home during the period of exclusion. As a parent, you need to understand completely about it and how it is to be evaluated. In this regard, your school or education welfare officer can provide the required support.

Permanent Exclusions

In case of permanent exclusions, it is the responsibility of the LEA to assure that the child will continue to receive education. This means that you child can continue to study in some other school. The LEA might go for tuition at home or arrange for a pupil referral unit.

Other Places of Support

Listed below are the other sources of help for exclusion.

• Advisory Centre for Education (ACE – http://www.ace-ed.org.uk): Is for all facets of education. Helpline is 0808 800 5793 available Mon-Fri 2-5 pm.
• Department for Education and Skills (http://www.dfes.gov.uk)
• Rathbone (www.rathboneuk.org)

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