Suspension and permanent exclusions: Top tips for the statutory exclusions process

Here are some top tips for those involved in the school exclusions process:

• Ensure that you are aware of the relevant legislation and guidance

Any exclusion from maintained schools, academies, pupil referral units and alternative provision academies in England must be imposed in line with the Department for Education's (DfE) statutory Exclusions Guidance (August 2024), which provides a guide to the legislation that governs the suspension and permanent exclusion of pupils from such settings. 

The Exclusions Guidance is a companion piece to the DfE's Behaviour in Schools Guidance (February 2024), which provides advice to Headteachers and school staff on implementing a behaviour policy which creates a school culture with high expectations of behaviour. 

Headteachers, who have the power to exclude, and Governors, who have a duty to consider whether an excluded pupil should be reinstated, must be familiar with both, as well as any other guidance which relevant to the circumstances surrounding the pupil exclusion. This, for example, may include the Equality and Human Rights Commission's Technical Guidance for School and the DfE's Searching, Screening and Confiscation, Alternative Provision and Use of Reasonable Force guidance.

• Comply with relevant deadlines 

Where a Headteacher decides to suspend or permanently exclude a pupil, the governors have a key responsibility in relation to considering whether the pupil should be reinstated. The duty to convene a Governors Disciplinary Meeting (GDM), for a Governors Discipline Committee (GDC) of at least three governors to consider the pupil's reinstatement will however depend on how many days the exclusion has taken the pupil out of school for in a term, and also whether the parents have made any representations. 

There are strict deadlines for the GDC to hold a GDM based these particular circumstances. The Statutory Guidance provides clear guidance on this from paragraphs 100 - 106 and in the flowchart on page 39, which reflects the deadlines set out under the School Discipline (Pupil Exclusions and Reviews) (England) Regulations 2012. These deadlines are statutory and must be adhered to which, means that schools must ensure that anyone involved in the statutory exclusions process is familiar the relevant deadlines as well the other considerations and requirements that apply.

• Be familiar with the school's equality duties

Headteachers must comply with schools' duties under the Equality Act 2010 (the Act) when deciding on whether to impose an exclusion, which includes ensuring that they do not discriminate against pupils protected under the Act when deciding whether to exclude, and making reasonable adjustments as appropriate to pupils who would meet the definition of 'disability' under the Act. This would involve making reasonable adjustments to the school's behaviour policy where a pupil is deemed to be disabled and where their behaviour is a manifestation of their disability, to ensure that a proportionate sanction is imposed in relation to the misconduct. 

Importantly, pupils do not need to have a diagnosis to meet the definition of 'disability' under the Act, and the Behaviour Guidance sets out that schools should ensure that staff have had adequate training on matters such as how certain SEN, disabilities and mental health needs may at times affect a pupil's behaviour. 

State funded schools must also meet the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) which means that also in the context of suspensions and exclusions, they must have due regard to the need to:

• eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation, and other conduct that is prohibited by the Equality Act
• advance equality of opportunity between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and people who do not
• foster good relations between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and people who do not share it. 

Governors have a role in scrutinising the considerations of the Headteacher regarding pupil exclusion, including equality considerations, to ensure that any sanction is proportionate and not discriminatory. They must therefore be familiar with the school's duties under the Equality Act as well as other relevant legislation that applies such as the Children and Families Act 2014 in relation to SEN provision, and Headteachers should consider whether governors would benefit from additional training on these areas.

• Ensure the exclusion is a last resort

The Statutory Guidance makes it clear that an exclusion should only be imposed as a last resort and Headteachers must therefore consider an alternative to an exclusion before deciding to impose one. 

This is in addition to initial intervention measures which schools should adopt following behavioural incidents which, as set out in the Behaviour Guidance, can include short-term behaviour report cards or longer-term behaviour plans and engaging with local partners and agencies to address specific challenges. 

Alternatives to exclusion may include an off-site direction to an alternative provider as a temporary measure to address a pupil's future behaviour, and a managed move as a permanent transfer for the pupil to a new school. Any alternative must be appropriate in the circumstances and must follow the relevant requirements that apply, in particular in relation to the pupil's educational provision, safeguarding, the school's equality duties, and how the pupil will be marked in the school's attendance register. 

Importantly, alternatives to an exclusion will be scrutinised by a GDC and it is not therefore enough for Headteachers to have simply considered these. They must be able to demonstrate that they exhausted the option of any appropriate alternative, with documentary evidence to support their decision making which should include producing and retaining records of any discussions internally and externally with relevant agencies and education providers.

• Retain your records

Depending on the circumstances, a Headteacher's decision to exclude may be reviewed by a GDC and an Independent Review Panel, where the Governors have declined to reinstate an excluded pupil and the parents request an Independent Panel Review Hearing. 

The Headteacher's decision may also end up being considered by a Tribunal or Court should the parents decide to bring a claim against the school, for example a disability discrimination claim which would be heard in the First-Tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability), in relation to the decision to exclude. 

It is therefore key that the school ensures robust record keeping in relation to anything that may be relevant should a pupil be excluded, and that documents are prepared on the basis that they may end up being read by a third party. This would include a pupil's behaviour record, records of strategies and interventions a school has put in place to improve behaviour, correspondence with parents, the pupil and relevant external agencies and from the school's investigation(s) into any behavioural incidents and the Headteacher's decision making including in relation to alternatives.

How can we help?

Our team of Education lawyers can assist you at any stage of the statutory exclusions process, as well as in relation to disability discrimination or other claims brought by parents in response to a suspension or permanent exclusion and involvement from the regulators. 

Partner Miriam Carrion Benitez and Associate Catherine Harris will be running essential online training on 20 November 2025 from 9.30am - 11.30 am, designed to ensure that everyone involved in the statutory exclusions process for academies and maintained schools is fully confident with the relevant legal framework and best practice which applies to school exclusions. Please see here for more information. 

We also provide bespoke training and can support schools by reviewing school's suites of behaviour policies, in addition to having template policies available to purchase.

For more information or advice, please contact our Academies and Maintained Schools team.