§ Mr. David NicholsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will make a statement on her Department's policy towards exclusions of disruptive pupils from schools; what factors underlay the restrictions on exclusions in the Education Act 1993; and what factors underlie the current legislative proposals. [878]
§ Mr. ForthIt is unacceptable for a minority of ill-behaved pupils to disrupt the education of the majority and undermine standards. Schools must have the right, as a last resort, to exclude severely disruptive pupils. The Department issued detailed guidance to schools and local authorities on "Exclusion from School" in May 1994.
The Education Act 1993 abolished indefinite exclusion and limited head teachers' power to impose fixed-term exclusions up to a maximum of 15 school days per term. There was clear evidence that indefinite exclusion led to some pupils being left in educational limbo for long periods with nothing being done to get them back into school.
Our current legislative proposals on exclusions would:
(a) allow greater flexibility in the use of fixed-term exclusions by substituting a limit of 45 days in a school year - thereby increasing the opportunity for headteachers to make effective arrangements for the reintegration of the excluded pupil; and(b) require that, as far as practicable, independent committees hearing appeals against permanent exclusions meet when all the parties are available to attend, that these committees have regard to the discipline policy of the excluding school, and 133W that they take account of the interests of other pupils -thereby seeking to ensure that full and balanced consideration is given to each case.