School Permanent Exclusion

[Scot22]

I agree with your post. I am probably too idealistic. You have given a reasoned post which is given authority by your experience.
I have only experienced one permanent exclusion.
I appreciate your thoughts which improve my thinking.

[Shaz120]

That is the problem, he has been well behaved in all pupil referral units but not in this school. if the school has been putting a boy into a reflection room the whole week, plus 2 hour detentions and sent to PRU because it all began with him not taking his jacket off and being held back after school for a 1 hour detention as he's leaving the school gates, wouldn't a child lose their temper and begin to rebel? I think the problem is two sided as in the school having issues and the boy in misbehaving or always being seen to misbehave.

There was no support for any managed transfer even though the parents had asked the headteacher for support. The advice was to apply yourself and so the parents did apply for an in year transition to another school, which was rejected.

The boys record will be bad, so it will inevitably go against him when the governor sees this but my point is that if multiple pupil referral units have advised the school to look into their own policies, it may be that the school staff are not trained correctly in dealing with certain behavioural patterns, which have led to incidents building up against the boy. A managed transfer would have been the best solution but clearly was not supported by the head.

The allegation of 'smoking and in possession of a drug' based on a probability of the boy seen going into and coming out of a cubicle and past incidents is what's led to this. I personally think its too harsh to make such an allegation without concrete evidence, which the school have yet not provided.

[islandgirl]

The partner school to a managed transfer has the right to refuse a pupil. With this kind of record there is every chance no school would say yes, whether or not this was supported by the head. It is no surprise that a school said no to an in year transition.
Get a copy of the behaviour policy. Read it, Bring examples to the meeting you are having with governors showing where it has not been applied or has been wrongly applied.
The problem is schools have expectations. If pupils are all told to take off their jackets and this boy refuses, then there will be a sanction., Whether it is proportionate depends on the behaviour policy.
It is unlikely that the detention came with no notification. Had he not turned up to break or lunchtime detention?
I do not disagree that there seems to be no evidence he was smoking or in posession of a drug - my question would be, given that this is illegal, why were Police not called to the school?

[Scot22]

In my opinion, if a child is able to manage and be managed in mainstream then a two term placement in a referral unit would be disruptive to his development.
I've visited schools where the behaviour policy was just tick a box. I've observed adult behaviour escalate instead of calm a situation.
The school, rightly or wrongly, doesn't want him on the roll. I don't think any pupil could be happy and flourish in that situation.
I am not sure of legalities and hope islandgirl can help. Is it worth considering removing the boy from the school. Requesting an alternative school and if a unit then refuse. Is the Authority required to meet your needs ? If you are of a particular religious denomination my understanding is you can demand a place in an appropriate school.

[islandgirl]

I think you hit the nail on the head scott22 - is the child able to be managed in mainstream? We do not know the details and have heard only one side - he may not be able to cope in that environment whatever the school which is why behaviour improves in the small unit. My advice on the meeting with governors stands - schools have to obey their own policies. If the parents are unhappy there is a process through the LEA which must be followed. All the policies, appeal routes and potential outcomes will be somewhere on the school / LEA site - they are your guide.

[Scot22]

I used to get frustrated when procedures got In the way of doing what was best for the child straight away.
I can't, and don`t want to, disagree with anything you've posted.
Without full and accurate information it is not possible to judge.
We all hope things go for the best, whatever that is.
Thanks again islandgirl. Breadth and depth of experience is so valuable on a forum.

[Shaz120]

I do not agree that a school should as per policy exclude a pupil, put them in isolation for 1 week and send them to a PRU all resulting from or based on not taking a jacket off. This is the reason why so many schools are now being failed by Ofsted, simply because staff do not understand how to use the correct judgements at times to avoid escalating a matter that could have been dealt with in a reasonable manner. This is why pupil units exist, to either help a pupil who cannot fit into mainstream school or report back to the main stream school if they believe the pupil should be in mainstream.

Detentions at this school often happen without prior notification to the parents. The school claims they don't have to inform parents unless its more than 1 hour. I find this to be an utter joke!

The question about police not being involved if it was a drug related incident would be a good question at the governors hearing as the head deemed it to be a situation that would affect other students if he did not act on this.

I believe that this school wanted this pupil out based on his previous records and just found a very good reason to finally suspend him for good.

[islandgirl]

You may not agree with the school's actions (I have no idea if they were right or wrong as none of us know the full story) but if they comply with the behaviour policy (sanction a after first warning, sanction b after second warning etc) then they comply. If they do not conform to the policy then you have a strong case. Ofsted looks at application of policy. In my view schools are failed to get them into the Academy system more quickly but that is just my cynical point of view! Bring up the policy at the hearing. In the ones I have attended, the school speaks and you can ask questions then you speak and the school can ask questions. Prepare! Come back and let us know what happens please

[Scot22]

Second request to let us know what happens. I agree with comment 're Academies.
Exclusions are actually a black mark with Ofsted.
I hope you have an experienced panel.
I believe you would be allowed an appeal of necessary.
There remains a doubt for me. Would he be better off elsewhere ?

[Shaz120]

Thank you for your advice. I will keep you updated on this one. The boy has now been assigned an early help child practitioner from the local authority who has mentioned that this is not first case of this same allegation within this school and that she has quashed the previous case based on sound judgement of evidence but the school instead then changed their reason to another once they knew that they had to reverse the decision and instead still permanently excluded that child based on that Childs bad record. I will give you an update following the first hearing.