About school exclusions
Overview
The rules governing exclusions from schools, academies and pupil referral units in England are contained in the Section 52 Education Act 2002.
The Department for Education published statutory guidance on suspension and permanent exclusions, which was last updated in August 2024.
Under the Education and Inspections Act 2006, headteachers of maintained schools and pupil referral units must determine measures to be taken with a view to:
- promoting self-discipline and proper regard for authority among pupils
- encouraging good behaviour and respect for others on the part of pupils and, in particular, preventing all forms of bullying among pupils
- securing that the standard of behaviour of pupils is acceptable
- securing that pupils complete any tasks reasonably assigned to them in connection with their education, and otherwise regulating the conduct of pupils
Permanent exclusions can be used to help achieve these aims when they are absolutely necessary, as a last resort or in response to a serious one-off incident.
Types of exclusion
There are 2 main types of exclusion:
- suspension
- permanent exclusion
Suspension
Suspension (previously called fixed-term exclusion) means that a pupil is excluded from school for a fixed number of days and a date is set for their return to school.
While a pupil has a suspension, they should not return to the school premises, nor should they be in a public place during school hours.
Suspensions may also be imposed for lunchtime periods.
Permanent exclusion
Permanent exclusion should only be used as a last resort and is used when:
- a child is seriously or persistently breaching the school’s behaviour policy, and
- where allowing the pupil to remain in school would seriously harm the education or welfare of the pupil or others, such as staff or pupils in the school
Headteachers will usually only permanently exclude a pupil after a series of interventions to support the pupil. However, there may be exceptional circumstances where one instance leads to a permanent exclusion.
Page last updated: 4 November 2024
