Management Information Sheet

A new Exclusions Officer is now in post her name is Louise Hodgson and she is fully operational in the role. Louise can be contacted on 01603 303333 or louise.hodgson@norfolk.gov.uk

All paperwork should be sent to the exclusions inbox exclusions@norfolk.gov.uk so tracking by Business Support can be undertaken.

Exclusions have continued to be a concern with yet another increase last academic year. This trend is sadly continuing this academic year. The increase in permanent exclusions is a priority issue within the new Education Inclusion Service and will be a key feature of our emerging Education Inclusion strategy (note: this strategy will be developed with all of our stakeholders and information on this for schools will be provided within subsequent MI Sheets). Whilst we do have particular concerns regarding primary age children who have been permanently excluded, we know that we must focus on the reasons for the rise in exclusions across all school phases; with our priority being a solution to this issue. We are increasingly being provided with feedback that schools require more options for support, to prevent exclusion, and will welcome local authority involvement in developing more options for schools to purchase support. Therefore, please do be reassured that we are fully aware of the issues related to exclusions and will work with you on these solutions throughout the current academic year.

There are a few issues relating to communication throughout the exclusions process that have arisen which schools need to ensure is done correctly or else they could be judged as having a procedural flaw in their process.

It is expected that contact will be made with all parties, including parents and in the case of maintained schools the Local Authority to arrange a mutually convenient time for the Governors Disciplinary Hearing. It is not acceptable for that a date is arranged without consultation with all parties (DfE Exclusions from maintained schools, Academies and pupil referral units in England September 2012 paragraph 56).

The term parent is used in the context of the definition contained within the Education Act 1996 (s576) so "includes any person (a) who is not a parent of his but who has parental responsibility for him or (b) who has care of him"

A parent must be an individual.

It is therefore vital to establish at the earliest stage, who exactly are the adults in the child's life and their roles. Information about any estranged parents is crucial so that they can be involved in all aspects of the child's education and should be invited to all meetings.

It is good practice for a letter to be sent confirming the date and time of the meeting to all parties with a list advising who will be attending the meeting. This allows any issues with personnel to be addressed before the meeting.

Full guidance can be found on the Norfolk Schools website.

Sadly we have recently had to deal with an Ofsted complaint in relation to a permanent exclusion case. Schools need to be aware that Ofsted are treating any communication seriously and consideration is always given as to whether statutory guidance has been followed.

Looked After Children

In line with guidance headteachers should, as far as possible, avoid excluding any looked-after child. Where you have concerns about a looked after child's behaviour, please contact the Virtual School on 01603 307742 email: virtual.school@norfolk.gov.uk, to discuss any support that might be required to address the causes of the child's behaviour and prevent the need for exclusion.