The law

Any decision of a headteacher, including suspension or permanent exclusion, must be made in line with the principles of administrative law. It must be:

• lawful with respect to the legislation relating directly to suspensions and permanent exclusions, and a school's wider legal duties
• reasonable
• fair
• proportionate

When establishing the facts in relation to a suspension or permanent exclusion decision, the headteacher must apply the civil standard of proof. This means that 'on the balance of probabilities', it is more likely than not that a fact is true, rather than the criminal standard of 'beyond a reasonable doubt'.

This means that the headteacher should accept that something happened if it is more likely to have happened than not to have happened.

Page last updated: 21 July 2026