Exclusion of Pupils

Section 52 of the Education Act 2002 and Regulations made under the Act, namely the Education (Pupil Exclusions and Appeals) (Maintained Schools) (England) Regulations 2002: SI 2002/3178 govern the exclusion of pupils from maintained schools. ‘Exclude’ means exclude on disciplinary grounds. Head teachers, 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.  Although the Act defines ‘exclude’ as meaning simply exclude on disciplinary grounds (without specifying any degree of seriousness), the DCSF guidance states that exclusion is a serious step.  Exclusion should only be used in response to serious breaches of the school’s discipline policy.
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