A 'back to school' bulletin for our academy and maintained school clients
The DfE published some revised statutory guidance and advice in recent weeks which came into effect on 1 September 2023
We have reflected on this, and have taken some time over the summer to update and add to our own suites of template school policies and letters. We have set out some of the work we have been doing below.
Suspensions and Permanent Exclusions
As well as updating our best practice template Behaviour Policy (which includes information about exclusions and searching, screening and confiscation), we have also extensively updated our suite of template exclusion letters for use by Headteachers, Clerks and Governors/Trustees during the statutory process.
The number of template letters has now increased to 19, because we have added a new letter for Headteachers confirming the cancellation of an exclusion, which meets the new requirements. We have also updated the accompanying indexed reference table and VWV briefing note on writing effective exclusion letters to reflect the changes made.
In addition, we are now able to offer our academy and maintained school clients Exclusion Training designed specifically for Governors' Discipline Committees and their Clerks on reviewing and reconsidering decisions to exclude made by Headteachers, which would meet the statutory requirements for training. This is comprehensive training focussing entirely on these legal tasks, which can be offered in person over one session, or by webinar across two sessions.
Separately to this, we are still able to offer our whole school Exclusion Training for Headteachers, Senior Staff, Governors and Clerks which covers the entire process from best practice investigations through to reconsideration after an Independent Review Panel Meeting, in person or via webinar sessions.
Both training options include crucial areas of relevant law such as equality (including disability) and special educational needs.
We are able to offer competitive fixed fees for our template policies and letters, and our training options, with retainer clients being eligible for a discount.
Complaints
In response to the increasing number of complex complaints our clients are having to deal with, we have now developed a Complaint Administration Pack to sit alongside our best practice template Complaint Policies.
The pack consists of various practical documents to support you with the process, including multiple template letters for acknowledging and confirming the outcome of formal complaint investigations and Complaint Panel Hearings (CPH) during the formal stages of the process, as well as a Briefing Note containing general advice on the process, and an agenda for CPHs.
The pack can be purchased as a standalone resource for a fixed fee, or it can be purchased with one or more of our template Complaints Policies, where a bundling discount is applied (in addition to the discount for retainer clients).
Other Template Policies
We have a suite of other template policies for academies and maintained schools, including but not limited to:
- Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy
- Special Educational Needs and Disability Policy
- Equality Policy (and Accessibility Plan)
- Anti-Bullying Policy
- Relationships and Sex Education Policy
- Educational Visits Policy (including sample Risk Assessment and Consent forms)
- Charging and Remission Policy