What steps can the Welsh Government take to ensure that Local Education Authorities only use pupil exclusion, including for those pupils with autism, as a last resort?
The decision to exclude a pupil can only be taken by the headteacher of a school or the teacher in charge of a pupil referral unit (PRU). Welsh Government guidance on exclusions makes it clear that exclusions should be a matter of last resort. A decision to exclude a learner should be taken only:
- In response to serious breaches of the school’s behaviour policy
- If allowing the learner to remain in school would seriously harm the education or welfare of the learner or others in the school.
There are legislative safeguards in place to ensure decisions to exclude are taken appropriately. This includes rights for the parents/carers and learner to make representations to the governing body’s discipline committee. Parents and carers have a right to an independent appeal panel hearing if they do not agree with the discipline committee’s decision. Where exclusion is from a pupil referral unit, the parents/carers and learner have a right to make representation about the exclusion to the local authority (LA) in the case of a fixed-term exclusion and for permanent exclusions they have the right to an independent appeal panel hearing.
The exclusion guidance is very clear that, other than in the most exceptional circumstances, schools should avoid permanently excluding learners with statements of special educational needs (SEN) and should also make every effort to avoid excluding other learners with SEN. Where a learner is permanently excluded, the headteacher should use the period between their initial decision and the meeting of the discipline committee to work with the LA to see whether more support can be made available or whether the statement can be changed to name a new school. If either of these options is possible, the headteacher should normally withdraw the exclusion.
Parents/carers have the right to make a claim of disability discrimination to the Special Educational Needs Tribunal for Wales (SENTW) if they think the exclusion is because of a disability their child has.
Welsh Government Exclusion from Schools and Pupil Referral Units is available at: https://beta.gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2018-03/exclusion-from-schools-and-pupil-referral-units.pdf