Introduction

Every local authority should have an exclusions officer, inclusions officer, or another designated person responsible for overseeing exclusions within their area.

Role of the exclusions officer

Exclusion officers provide settings, practitioners, school governors, parents and young people with advice and guidance. Local authorities are usually keen to reduce the number of exclusions in their area. If they believe that an exclusion is unnecessary or that a viable alternative exists, they can be a valuable resource in assisting you and the young person in challenging or avoiding it.

Contacting the exclusions officer

Most local authority websites have a dedicated school exclusions page with contact details for the exclusions team. If you cannot find this, call the local authority’s main number and ask to be put through to the exclusions team or exclusions officer.

Downloads

To contact the exclusions officer to discuss alternatives to exclusion, consider using the suggested wording document – Making first contact with the local authority.

Please see our page Exclusion: First steps to learn more about the law in this area.

Introduction

A headteacher can cancel any exclusion that has already begun (or one that has not yet begun), but this can only happen when the governing board has not yet met to consider whether the pupil should be reinstated.

When should this option be considered?

This option should be considered when:

• There is strong evidence that the school acted outside its legal powers or made a serious procedural error.
• New evidence has come to light. For example, if the exclusion followed a police arrest, but the investigation has since been closed due to lack of evidence.

In these cases, once the exclusion is cancelled, the pupil should be allowed back to school without delay. It would be inappropriate, and open to challenge, for the school to then propose a managed move or initiate an off-site direction. In withdrawing the exclusion, the school is acknowledging that it did not have valid grounds to exclude, and that should be the end of the matter. These alternative options must not be used as forms of informal or coercive exclusion.

• The exclusion may be standing in the way of alternatives, such as a managed move or off-site direction. The school might agree to withdraw the exclusion to allow an alternative to be actioned.

There may not be strong legal grounds, such as those mentioned in the first two bullet points, to cancel the exclusion. However, permanent exclusion should be used only as a last resort, and it is reasonable to ask the school to consider alternatives, such as a managed move or an off‑site direction. While the school can initially consider these options without withdrawing the exclusion, to action them would require the exclusion to be withdrawn.

Please see more in the next step.

Downloads

To ask the school to cancel the exclusion, consider using one of the two suggested wording documents below:

• Asking the headteacher to withdraw the exclusion as decision is flawed.
• Asking the headteacher to withdraw the exclusion based on new evidence.

Please see our page Alternatives to exclusion to learn more about the law in this area.

Introduction

As explained in the previous step, there are circumstances where a headteacher can cancel an exclusion in favour of an alternative. These alternatives include:

• Managed moves
• Off-site direction
• Elective home education (EHE)

Consider..

Before asking a headteacher to cancel an exclusion in favour of one of these options, it’s important to seek advice. While it might seem like a preferable route, especially if it avoids a permanent exclusion, it may not always be in your child’s best interests. These alternatives can sometimes be helpful and constructive, but they don’t carry the same legal safeguards or transparency as formal exclusions.

Elective home education requires careful thought. While it may seem like a way to avoid permanent exclusion, it involves deregistering your child from school. You would then become fully responsible for providing their education. This is a significant commitment and should not be entered into lightly or under pressure.

Please take a moment to read the page linked at the top of this page to learn about the law around these processes and how schools are expected to approach them.

Downloads

To ask the school to cancel the exclusion in favour of an alternative, consider using one of the suggested wording documents below:

• Asking the headteacher to withdraw the exclusion in favour of a managed move.
• Asking the headteacher to withdraw the exclusion in favour of off site direction.
• Asking headteacher to withdraw the exclusion in favour of EHE.

Introduction

Normally, the governing board must hold a hearing within 15 school days of a permanent exclusion decision. However, a decision made outside this timeframe is not automatically invalid. In fact, there may be situations where a delay is beneficial, for example, if more time is needed to explore alternative arrangements.

Some of the options covered in this guide, such as a managed move, can take time to arrange. The headteacher only has the power to withdraw the exclusion up until the governing board meets to consider the case. Once the governing board has met and made its decision, the headteacher loses this power, and the option of pursuing an alternative is no longer available.

Therefore, it may be necessary to ask the governing board to delay the hearing.

Consider..

While a delay can allow more time to arrange alternatives, it also means the exclusion remains in place for longer. This can leave the young person without certainty about their education and may extend the time they are out of school. A request to delay should only be made if there is a clear benefit, such as extra time to finalise a managed move.

Please seek advice if you’re unsure what’s best to do.

Downloads

To ask the governing board to delay the hearing, consider using the suggested wording document – Asking the governing board to delay the hearing.