Children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities are at greater risk of exclusion from schools or post-16 institutions. For more information see our section on exclusions. If you think your child may have been unfairly excluded because of their disability, see our section on disability discrimination.

Statute law

• Education Act 2011 – this is the main statute which sets out what a school should do when excluding a pupil.
• Education Act 2002 – this Act covers a wide range of topics, but section 52 still contains the basic power of head teachers to exclude a pupil from school, and it also contains provisions relating to the power of staff at school to search pupils.
• Education and Inspections Act 2006 – this Act extended the law on schools’ power to discipline and makes parents responsible for ensuring their excluded child is not in a public place during the first five days of any exclusion. It also sets out the obligation on schools to arrange full time educational provision for pupils who have been excluded for a fixed term, while LAs have this responsibility where pupils have been permanently excluded.

Check here to see what changes have been made since the above Acts came into force.

Key regulations

• School Discipline (Pupil Exclusions and Reviews) (England) Regulations 2012 (SI 2012/1033) – this contains detailed provisions about exclusions, and applies to maintained schools, pupil referral units and Academies.
• The Education (Provision of Full-Time Education for Excluded Pupils) (England) Regulations 2007 – this sets out more detail on schools’ and LA’s obligations to provide education for excluded pupils.

Check here to see what changes have been made since the above Regulations came into force.

Statutory guidance

• Suspension and permanent exclusion from maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units in England, including pupil movement’ dated August 2024 - this is statutory guidance which applies to all exclusions happening from 1 September 2024.
• Behaviour and discipline in schools: guide for governing bodies
• Arranging alternative provision: A guide for local authorities and schools – this guidance contained statutory and non-statutory guidance for local authorities, schools, Academies, pupil referral units, independent providers delivering alternative education, and alternative provision Academies and free schools about the use and inspection of alternative provision.

Non-statutory guidance and departmental advice

The following guidance and advice may be useful if your child is at risk of exclusion. However, they are not legally binding and have no effect if they contradict any of the statute, regulations or statutory guidance above:

• Behaviour in schools: advice for headteachers and school staff, dated February 2024
• Further guidance and resources for supporting behaviour in schools, updated February 2024
• Drug advice for schools – advice for local authorities, headteachers, school staff and governing bodies September 2012
• Searching, screening and confiscation – advice for schools  - applies from 1 September 2022
• Use of reasonable force – advice for headteachers, staff and governing bodies

 For examples of cases applying the laws set out above, see our case law page.