Thursday, May 10, 2012

New rules bring back power to reject disobeying children in UK

New rules published today will put an end to excluded pupils winning the right to come back to school against the headteacher’s wishes.

Coming into force from this September, the new regulations will apply to maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units. The changes were legislated through the 2011 Education Act.

Currently when a headteacher excludes a child from school, the school can be forced by an appeals panel to re-admit that child. This can lead to a disruptive child continuing to damage their own education as well as that of others – as well as undermining the headteacher’s authority.

Under the new system, headteachers will have the power to exclude a child as long as the decision is legal, reasonable and fair. If the new review panels believe this has not been the case, they will be able to require schools to revisit their decision. They will not be able to force the school to take back the child.

Supporting schools to promote good behavior is vital to enabling all pupils to achieve their full potential, regardless of their circumstances. 

Education Minister Nick told, “Raising standards of behaviour in schools is a key priority of the Government. It is a vital building block in the Government’s objective of raising academic achievement and closing the attainment gap between those from poorer and wealthier backgrounds.

“Restoring the authority of teachers and head is an important part of the objective of raising standards of behavior in schools. When head teachers decide that they have no choice but to expel a persistently disruptive or uncooperative pupil that decision must not be undermined by an appeal process which can result in the pupil returning to the school against the wishes of the school and its leadership.

“These new rules preserve the right to have a decision to expel a child reviewed by an independent panel but take away the power to force the return of the pupil to the school.

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