Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that local education authorities can hold to account schools that do not comply with statutory guidance on school exclusions.

There is a process, set out in the statutory guidance, to ensure that all decisions to exclude are lawful, reasonable and fair.

The guidance sets out that parents have the right to make representations about exclusion to the governing board. The governing board can (and in the case of longer or permanent exclusions, must) review the head teacher’s decision and decide if it is lawful, reasonable and fair. Where a governing board upholds a permanent exclusion, parents can also request that the decision is reviewed by an independent review panel, who can recommend or direct a governing board to reconsider their decision.

In the case of maintained schools the local authority must be invited to attend the initial review held by the governing board, and allowed to make representations on the board. The local authority must also arrange the independent review panel, where this is applied for by parents, following a permanent exclusion from a maintained school. In the case of an academy school, it is the Academy Trust who arrange the panel.

In addition to the local review process, the Secretary of State for Education, has the power to investigate a complaint about exclusion and, in certain circumstances, issue a direction about a decision made by a governing board where this does not comply with the legal duties.