About school exclusions

The rules governing exclusions from schools, academies and pupil referral units in England are in Section 52 of the Education Act 2002.

The Department for Education published statutory guidance on suspension and permanent exclusions. This was last updated in August 2024.

Under the Education and Inspections Act 2006, headteachers of maintained schools and pupil referral units must decide measures to be taken with a view to:

• promoting self-discipline and proper regard for authority among pupils
• encouraging good behaviour and respect for others on the part of pupils and, in particular, preventing all forms of bullying among pupils
• securing that the standard of behaviour of pupils is acceptable
• securing that pupils complete any tasks reasonably assigned to them in connection with their education, and otherwise regulating the conduct of pupils

Permanent exclusions can be used to help achieve these aims when necessary, as a last resort, or in response to a serious one-off incident.

Types of exclusion

There are 2 main types of exclusion:

• suspension (previously called fixed-term exclusion)
• permanent exclusion

Suspension

Suspension means that a pupil is excluded from school for a fixed number of days, with a date set for their return.

While a pupil is suspended, they should not return to the school premises. They should also not be in a public place during school hours.

Suspensions may also be imposed during lunchtime periods.

Permanent exclusion

Permanent exclusion should only be used as a last resort and when both of the following apply:

• a child is seriously or persistently breaching the school's behaviour policy
• where allowing the pupil to remain in school would seriously harm the education or welfare of the pupil or others, such as staff or pupils in the school

Headteachers will usually only permanently exclude a pupil after a series of interventions to support the pupil. However, there may be exceptional circumstances in which a single instance results in a permanent exclusion.

Page last updated: 21 July 2026