School sanctions – what are schools allowed to do?

We regularly hear from parents whose children with special educational needs (SEN) have received a detention or been placed in isolation and want to know if the school has acted legally.

On this page, we explain what power a school has to issue a penalty such as isolation or a detention, what it needs to consider first and what action you can take.

Sanctions a school can put in place include penalties such as loss of privileges, missing break times, setting written tasks as punishment, detentions and placing pupils in isolation. Schools can also exclude pupils. If your child is excluded please see our section on exclusions instead, as different rules apply.

What are schools allowed to do?

Every school will have a behaviour policy. It should be available on its website, and if you can’t find it you should ask to see it. It will say what the school rules are, what it expects from pupils, and what happens if they misbehave (including outside of school, for example, when travelling to and from school).

Teachers can discipline pupils whose conduct falls below the standard which is reasonably expected of them. When poor behaviour is identified, sanctions should be implemented fairly and consistently in line with the behaviour policy. This can include issuing detentions to pupils under 18 years old.

Your child’s school does not need your consent before issuing a penalty including a detention or isolating your child from their classmates. Detentions can take place during school hours and in some circumstances (and if reasonable to do so) outside of school hours.

Is isolation the same as exclusion?

No. It is often the step before either an exclusion or an off-site direction. It involves a child being confined to a behavioural unit, or being kept apart from their classmates for disciplinary reasons.

Your child’s school should only be using isolation when necessary and for serious disciplinary reasons. Time out of the classroom should be limited, and only at the instruction of a member of staff (page 22 of behaviour guidance for schools). 

It should also only be used once other behavioural strategies in the classroom have been attempted, unless the behaviour is so extreme as to warrant immediate removal (pages 22-23 of the guidance). 

My child has SEN. Shouldn’t the school consider this?

Your child’s school must make sure any penalty is issued and imposed lawfully. One of the requirements is that:

• imposing the penalty is not in breach of any statutory requirement or prohibition (for example in respect of disability or SEN), and
• it is reasonable in all the circumstances.

When deciding if it is reasonable, schools must consider whether the penalty is a proportionate punishment in the circumstances.

It must also consider any relevant special circumstances which are known (or of which the school ought reasonably to be aware of), including your child’s age, their SEN, and any disability.

Indeed, all schools (including independent ones) must comply with the Equality Act 2010 and make sure they do not discriminate against pupils.

If your child has been placed in isolation, the school should also consider what the behaviour guidance for school says.  They should consider whether frequently removed pupils may benefit from additional and alternative approaches, a pastoral review or investigation by the SENCO, or whether specific departments or teachers may require more support (page 24). Head teachers and teachers should also consider whether any assessment of underlying factors of disruptive behaviour is needed, and make sure that the Children and Families Act 2014, the Equality Act 2010, and The SEND Regulations 2014 are complied with.

What can I do?

If you feel school did not take into account any underlying causes such as unmet SEN, or whether your child’s SEN or disability contributed to the situation, then you should highlight this to the school and if this does not resolve matters, you can take action (if you think it's disability discrimination, you could make a claim to the SEND Tribunal but first consider whether this is the best path depending on what you want to achieve).