§ Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures are in place to ensure that an expelled pupil is able to carry on in education; and what steps are taken if a pupil continues to disrupt. [28344]
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§ Mr. Ivan LewisThe Department's guidance to local education authorities is that ideally many permanently excluded pupils should rejoin a mainstream or special school within days or weeks of exclusion. Those permanently excluded pupils who are not re-integrated into a new school should be offered opportunities in Pupil Referral Units (PRU), FE colleges and or on work experience. Rapid re-integration is particularly important for excluded primary pupils and I expect that most of them would be re-integrated within one term. Conversely, for pupils approaching the end of compulsory schooling, a return to school may be unrealistic and in those cases alternative provision like a PRU or FE college is more appropriate.
The guidance does not direct that alternative provision must be found immediately for a permanently excluded child. The Discipline Committee must meet to review the decision no later than 15 school days after notification of the exclusion. During this time the guidance states that the head teacher should plan for the child's continued education. This can be by setting and marking work for the child to do at home. Where a parent lodges an appeal, I expect the school and LEA to work together to secure the pupil's on-going education. Following an unsuccessful appeal, reintegration into a school or PRU may take some time.
Reintegration Panels are responsible for co-ordinating services for excluded pupils. They must draw up an individual re-integration plan for each excluded child. This plan should be in place within a month of the governors upholding the exclusion and it is reviewed on a monthly basis. It should include a target date for return to school, once the school to which the child will return has been identified.
Pupils who continue to be disruptive may be excluded from their new school or, as a last resort, from a Pupil Referral Unit. However, we now have a network of Learning Support Units in schools and Pupil Referral Units to support our drive to tackle poor behaviour and continue to raise standards in schools.