Exclusions at schools

We often still tend to talk about children ‘getting expelled’ although for a long while now the term has changed to ‘excluded’. There has been a huge drive by local and national Government to reduce the numbers of these exclusions but, of course, they are still an option open to schools.

There is, however, a fairly clear and transparent approach to exclusions these days. A Headteacher cannot simply and out of the blue, exclude a child for a one-off misdemeanour unless it is incredibly serious.

Usually, there will be a number of steps that would come before it ever got to the stage of permanent exclusion. These would be a number of ‘fixed term exclusions’ – ranging usually from between 1 and 5 days in the first instance. Each of these would be accompanied by a letter from the school clearly setting out the rationale for this course of action, defining its length and – crucially – notifying you as a parent about your right to have the case heard by an appeals tribunal which may even overturn the school’s decision. So, if you do not feel that the process is just, you should definitely take this as an option.

It will vary from school to school, authority to authority, but it is increasingly prevalent to have several of these fixed term exclusions before a permanent exclusion is considered.

My Child is not being stretched. What should I do?

This is not an uncommon suggestion for a teacher or a Headteacher to hear. Schools are in the business of challenging young people to achieve their best and all schools will have a set of aims, usually published in their prospectus or brochure. 9 times out of 10 there will something in there along the lines of ‘to challenge our pupils to achieve their full potential in a safe, secure environment characterised by mutual respect and fostering a love of lifelong learning’

Most teachers are wrestling with the challenge that comes from teaching to a range of abilities but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t expect that your child will receive the education that their abilities and talents merits.

Here are some simple steps to consider:

1. Be clear on what you mean by ‘not being stretched’. Make sure that you are aware of the standard of work your child is producing so that you can state your case with evidence. This might include independent work that your child is able to complete at home (great though parental support is, it’s no use turning up at school with a whole batch of stuff that essentially is your work!).
2. If it isn’t happening for your child, talk to someone at the school about it. This will vary from school to school but the usual policy is to encourage a first port of call to be the class or form tutor. If you go straight to the Headteacher you will almost certainly be redirected via this first route, in all but the smaller Primary schools. The class teacher is the day to day expert and, in most schools, they will always be willing to meet with you by prior arrangement. So, no need to wait for a parents’ evening. Your child’s class teacher should be able to talk to you about how your child is doing (their attainment) as well as how well they are achieving (their relative progress). They should also be able to tell you what your child’s immediate targets are and what the aspirations are in terms of their end of year attainments (although many schools are reluctant to make this last point candidly).
3. If the matter remains unresolved, speak to the Headteacher and expect some or all of the following to happen:
• A promise of his / her investigation
• A promise that you will be communicated with once this investigation has taken place
• An outline of the school’s approach to learning and teaching as well as gifted and talented provision (ask for a copy of the relevant policies if you wish; it is your entitlement to see them)
• An outline of any specific strategies the school (and you) deem to be appropriate in connection with your child’s progress

Usually, the matter can be resolved by this course of action. It is worth remembering that, usually, a school will know your child’s abilities very well indeed. We all love our children and sometimes our own view of their exceptional abilities might not in reality match the truth.