Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if his Department will require schools to report all informal exclusions from school of children who have special educational needs.

The law is clear that a pupil’s name can only be deleted from the admission register on the grounds prescribed in regulation 8 of the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006, as amended. Where a school issues an exclusion, there is a formal process that must be followed. ‘Unofficial’ or ‘informal’ exclusions, such as sending pupils home to ‘cool off’, are unlawful regardless of whether they are done with the agreement of parents or carers and regardless of the age of the pupil. Any exclusion of a pupil, even for short periods of time, must be formally recorded.

Schools can only exclude pupils, either permanently or for a fixed period, for disciplinary reasons, and the Department supports schools in using exclusion where this is warranted. No teacher goes into education to exclude pupils. Permanent exclusion should only be used as a last resort, in response to a serious breach or persistent breaches of the school's behaviour policy and where allowing the pupil to remain in school would seriously harm the education or welfare of the pupil or others in the school.