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Exclusion and suspension

Your child can be excluded either temporarily or permanently from school if they misbehave. The school will have a behaviour policy so you know what is expected from your child and the consequences of misbehaviour.

Find out from GOV.UK about what happens when a child is excluded from school.

If your child is excluded, you will get a letter from the school with details about the exclusions. It will include the reasons for the exclusion, how long it is in place for and your responsibilities during this time.

Appealing an exclusion

If you disagree with the exclusion you can appeal it. There are 2 stages to making an appeal. You must appeal through the school governing board first.

1. Appeal to the school governing board

The letter you receive from the school will have details about how to request an appeal with the governing board.

The school's governing board will either:

  • uphold the exclusion
  • say that your child can go back to school.

In either case they will provide details of how they reached this decision.

2. Appeal to an Independent Review Panel

If the school's governing board decide to uphold the decision of a permanent exclusion, you have the right to request an Independent Review Panel. This means that a panel of 3 people who have no connections to the school will hear your review.

You must apply for an Independent Review Panel within 15 school days of receiving the decision from the governing board, so this must be done as soon as possible.

If your child attends a community or voluntary controlled school, you need to apply through us, and follow the process below.

  1. You must apply via letter or email.
  2. In either case you must set out your reasons for applying for a review and, if relevant, state how you consider your child's special educational need (SEN) are relevant to the exclusion. Important: Whether or not your child has recognised special educational needs, you have a right to require a SEN expert attend the review.
  3. If you wish for a SEN expert to attend the review hearing, you must clearly state this at the time you apply for a review of the governors' decision.
  4. Sign and date the letter
  5. Email it to appeals@kent.gov.uk

For full details, read our parent's guide to applying for a review by independent review panel (PDF, 184.9 KB).

If your child attends an academy, free, voluntary aided or foundation school, you need to send your request to the chair of governors of the school.

The Independent Review Panel decision

The Independent Review Panel's decision will be one of the following:

  • uphold the exclusion (refuse your application)
  • recommend that the governing board reconsiders their decision
  • quash the decision and direct that the governing board considers the exclusion again.