St Thomas Becket Catholic College Exclusions Policy April 2012

Context
The policy outlined below is to be read in conjunction with the Behaviour and Discipline Policy adopted by the governing body in spring 2012.

Underlying Principles
St Thomas a Becket Catholic College is an inclusive school committed to equal opportunity for all. We aim To

provide pastoral care for all members of the College Community based on Christs example It is felt that
exclusions of pupils from the school, whether fixed term or permanent, are damaging to the school community. Consequently, a pupil will only be excluded when other strategies and sanctions have not been effective over time, or when there has been a single, clear and serious breach of discipline, or if allowing the pupil to remain in the school would seriously harm the education or welfare of the pupil or other pupils in the school. The school follows the legislation referring to exclusions as stated in the 2007 Education Act and LA guidelines.

Objectives
This policy has been compiled to provide all staff with a clear framework to enable the effective handling of pupil exclusion issues and to inform all stakeholders of the procedures.

Guidelines
A pupil can be excluded if:

1. the pupil has committed a serious disciplinary offence. 2. the pupil is accused of a serious criminal offence. 3. for medical reasons, the pupils presence in the school represents a serious risk to the health and safety of pupils and staff. 4. the pupil has been involved with dangerous weapons, sexual abuse, actual or threatened violence, carrying an offensive weapon, or illegal drugs.

Other types of absence imposed by St Thomas a Becket Catholic College

1. If a pupil refuses to be screened for possession of offensive weapons, that pupil can be refused entry into school. This is not exclusion but an unauthorised absence.

The Procedure
1. The exclusion of a pupil is an extreme sanction and is only administered by the Headteacher or in the absence of the Headmistress whoever is deputizing for him. The Law of the United

2.

3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.

12. 13.

14. 15.

16.

17.

Kingdom allows a head teacher to exclude a pupil for up to 45 school days in any one school year. Exclusions, whether fixed-term (usually 1-3 days), or permanent, may be used where a pupil has displayed unacceptable conduct which infringes that which is deemed to be acceptable in school. School may decide to exclude a pupil internally. Such exclusions will be placed on the pupils record and the pupil required attending the school IEU for the period of the exclusion. A pupil will be excluded immediately, if there is an immediate threat to the safety of others in the school. A thorough investigation must precede the exclusion and it must be clearly shown that a wide range of strategies have been tried without success. All the evidence must be very carefully assessed and collated. Extensive records will be kept of all exclusion proceedings. A pupil must be allowed and encouraged to give his/her account of events. Staff must check whether or not the incident was provoked. In the event of an exclusion being carried out the pupils parents must be notified immediately by telephone and then by letter. All exclusion should be treated in the strictest confidence on a need to know basis. The Governors must be fully informed and involved with these procedures. The Head must inform the Governing Body and LA within one school day of all exclusions longer than five school days, permanent exclusions, and those which will result in a pupil missing a public examination. Fixed term exclusions are reported to the LA and Governing Body once a term. It is expected that most exclusions will be of a short (1-3 days), fixed-term nature. The school is obliged to make sure that the pupils parents have been fully informed of their duties during the first five days of the exclusion. The parents are obliged to ensure that the pupil is not present in public during normal school hours without reasonable justification. Failure to comply with this may lead to the parents being prosecuted. During this five-day period, the school must set work for the pupil and arrange for it to be marked. Wakefield LA has produced a set of guidelines and model letters to be used for all types of exclusions. From, and including the sixth day of the exclusion, St Thomas a Becket will arrange full time education for the pupil. If the pupil is excluded permanently then it is the responsibility of Wakefield LA to provide full time education from and including the sixth day. The Head teacher, or member of staff acting for the Head, must arrange a reintegration interview with the parents of the excluded pupil. The pupil should be present for all or part of the interview. Pupils who are excluded will be placed on a Behaviour Improvement Plan on return to college; parents and pupil will also be given sight of the college Discipline Stages document which outlines both the support college may provide and the consequences of repeated infringement of college rules.

18. Where repeated breaches of discipline or the Behaviour Improvement Plan occur, parent and pupil will be required to attend an Inclusion Panel Meeting. This meeting is chaired by the Head of Key Stage and attended by a member of the governing body. A Pastoral Support Plan is completed as a result of this meeting. Copies of all plans are to be kept by the school and by parents. 19. A Parenting Contract may be offered to help the parents take responsibly for their child. 20. Where college interventions are not proving successful and the pupil is not meeting the targets identified in the PSP, the pupil may be offered a Managed Move to another school or a Step Out to another institution. 21. Any pupil who is permanently excluded must not be removed from the school register until the appeal process has been completed. 22. If a pupil lives outside the LA his/her home LA must be informed of the exclusion, if a pupil is permanently excluded. 23. There are extensive guidelines from Wakefield LA, which will be adopted during such proceedings.

Behaviour outside school

1. Behaviour outside school, whilst on school trips will be covered by the schools standards of behaviour. Behaviour, which is considered to be unacceptable, will be dealt with as if it had taken place in school. 2. If it is serious enough, it could result in the pupil being excluded from school. 3. Unacceptable behaviour related to illegal practices such as drug or race related offences will be informed by the legislation and policies dealing with these specific issues. If it is the case that a pupil is thought to be selling drugs, or similar serious offence, then the pupil should be isolated from the group and escorted back to school or home. The Head should then read all the witness statements before deciding how to proceed. Such unacceptable behaviour could result in exclusion procedures being followed. 4. The Head can still exclude a pupil if the pupil was outside school and not on school business, if there is a clear link between that behaviour and maintaining good behaviour and discipline amongst the school body as a whole.

Conclusion
The staff at St Thomas a Becket accept that exclusion is the final step, when all other strategies have been exhausted. This policy has been evaluated with direct reference to issues of equality and diversity (see Equality and Diversity Policy). The exclusion policy should be read in conjunction with the DFE guidance on exclusions (available on the DFE website).