Exclusions and Suspensions: FAQ
What are exclusions/suspensions?
‘Exclusion’ is the broad term used to describe a situation where a child is removed from the normal school day. There are three types of exclusion:
• Internal exclusion: when a student is removed from lessons to work in relative isolation under staff supervision
• Suspension: when a student is removed from the school for a day (or longer) as a result of a serious incident or repeated failure to meet school expectations of behaviour
• Permanent exclusion: when a student is never able to return to the school
Why have exclusions and suspensions?
Exclusions and suspensions are only used in serious matters and are a 'flag' indicating that the level of misbehaviour is so serious that the student has to be removed from classes or the school for a period of time. This makes clear to the student and to parents/carers what expectations are of them and of the boundaries of the school community Students who receive repeated suspensions become at risk of permanent exclusion.
When is a student permanently excluded from school?
Nearly all permanent exclusions are due to a child’s repeated failure to respond to advice/support to improve their behaviour. Generally, this means that the persistent poor behaviour is negatively impacting on other students’ (and/or staff’s) wellbeing or educational development.
Does the school ever permanently exclude for a single incident?
Yes – but these are very rare indeed. This could apply for, for example, a single act which causes serious injury to staff or students or seriously undermines the culture of the school.
Are suspensions just time off from school?
No. When parents/carers state their concerns and worry at the behaviour that led to suspension from school then children receive a clear message about the importance of suspension from school as a sanction. However, if parents/carers consider suspension to be a day off, and share this attitude with their child, then they receive a very different message and the impact of the suspension as a sanction is diminished. Any sanctions are only as effective as parents’/carers' and children’s views of them.
Students are given work and are expected to complete this at home. The work is collected at the re-admission meeting which is undertaken with relevant staff before a student returns to normal lessons.
Whatever your view may be, it is worth noting that repeated suspensions mean that a child is at risk of permanent exclusion from the school. Permanent exclusion would mean they are not able to return as a student of the school at any time in the future and is the ultimate sanction that a school could apply.
What should my child do whilst they are suspended from school?
All suspended students are set work to be completed during the time when they are suspended from school. This may be work related to their studies in school and/or project work related to the behaviour that has failed to meet the school’s expectations. Any student who has been suspended from school should not come onto the school site or within 100 metres of the school site either during, or at the end of, the school day.