Exclusions and fair access

The Exclusions and Alternative Provision Review was initiated in because the local and national context indicate that approaches in Worcestershire require review.

About the service

The Fair Access and Exclusions Team provides support for children and young people, parents/ carers, school leaders, governing bodies and other professionals with exclusions and ensuring pupil receive a suitable education. The team also work to secure the right school/setting place for children and young people who meet the 'Hard to Place' criteria within the the Fair Access Protocol.

The Fair Access protocol ensures that ‘hard to place’ pupils are admitted quickly to a mainstream school in order to minimise the number of pupils in Worcestershire County Council area who are at risk of underachievement through being out of school.

Exclusion getting it right

The responsibility to exclude a child rests with the Headteacher, it is therefore important that before a decision to exclude is made, the Statutory Guidance on Exclusion from maintained schools, Academies and pupil referral units in England (2017) is understood to ensure the exclusion is lawful, reasonable and fair and that the exclusion review process is in line with the principles applicable on application for a judicial review.

The DfE guidance makes it clear that, exclusion from school should only be used as a last resort. It is therefore expected that schools will have not only considered provisions set out in the Worcestershire's Local Offer: Ordinarily Available, but can evidence through documentation their consideration, conclusions and the services or resources made available to support the child to prevent exclusion provided either by us or from other sources.

SEND Local Offer

Key points:

the Local Authority maintains responsibility for arranging a suitable education from the sixth day of a Permanent Exclusion; however, the school has the responsibility to inform the parent of such arrangements. Therefore any school issuing a permanent exclusion must contact us: Claire Cattell 01905 843668 who will confirm the sixth day provision. The school must then contact the Alternative Provider to ensure appropriate information is shared and so the excluding school can notify the parent of the arrangements being made for their child
the Exclusions Officer's role is to ensure every permanently excluded child is tracked and monitored to ensure that they are in receipt of a suitable education by the sixth day.
although the Local Authority does not advise schools on matters relating to individual exclusions; training on exclusions and support services is available on CPD Online