Exclusions

Exclusion guidance.

In July 2026, the Department for Education (DfE) has produced Exclusion Guidance which outlines the procedures for all suspensions and permanent exclusions. It applies to all maintained, academy and free schools, plus alternative provision academies and pupil referral units.

DfE key updates made to this guidance in 2026:

• reflecting the Education (Educational Provision for Improving Behaviour) (Application to Academies and Pupil Referral Units and Minor Amendments) Regulations 2026
• providing further clarity on the existing exclusion framework and keeping pupils apart for safeguarding purposes (page 17, paragraphs 26 to 28)
• minor clarifications in relation to the statutory review process for all users, which supports better consistency between governing boards, Independent Review Panels and parents

Additionally, schools may find useful clarification provided on:

• cancelled exclusions (page 13 to 14)
• off-rolling and unlawful exclusions (page 15 to 16)
• the definitions and roles of both offsite direction and managed moves (page 21 to 26)

Schools may also find the attached Exclusions and SEND document useful in clarifying legal advice associated with pupils with exclusion and pupils with SEND.

Exclusion notification

1. Permanent exclusion

On the first day of the permanent exclusion, all schools (regardless of which school management information system is used) will need to:

Fill in the PEX notification Granicus Form to inform the local authority of the start date of the exclusion, reason for exclusion, confirm parental contact details, and confirm deadlines/timescales for governing board meetings.

Add the exclusion details on your school management information system (MIS).

Please note that it is important to contact the Exclusion & Access team directly if a permanent exclusion is cancelled by the headteacher or the governing board has reinstated the pupil. The Exclusion & Access Team can advise school on exclusion processes.

When a permanent exclusion is cancelled by the headteacher, or the governors reinstate, a letter needs to be sent to the parent confirming that decision. The Exclusion & Access team needs to be made aware of the decision so that the permanent exclusion record can be finalised. Where a permanent exclusion is cancelled, there is no requirement to complete a Suspension template V6 for the time the pupil remained out of school on an exclusion; however an appropriate attendance code must be recorded on your school MIS for the time that the pupil didn’t attend school.

2. Suspensions (formally fixed period exclusions)

All suspensions need inputting into the school management information system (MIS) without delay and to enable key agencies and the local authority to be alerted. Schools will need to refer to their specific MIS handbooks/service provider for advice on recording suspensions on their school systems.

All schools

The local authority has devised a suspensions template sheet which needs to be completed as soon as the suspension occurs and returned to the Exclusion & Access Team direct via perspective lite. Guidance notes entitled Suspensions template instructions have been produced to assist with schools' completion of the spreadsheet and to ensure that it can be imported into local authority systems. Please ensure you are using the latest template (V6).

Permanent Exclusions still need to be sent to the local authority via the PEX Notification Granicus Form. If you need help with recording exclusions in Arbor MIS, please contact the Data Management team: Email: datamanagement@derbyshire.gov.uk Tel: 01629 536789.

Exclusion recording and attendance codes

Full exclusion data (including start/end date (where relevant), reasons, and length of exclusion) need to be entered regularly into school MIS. The attendance details will also need to reflect the pupil’s exclusion status i.e. attendance code ‘E'. Please note it is not sufficient to only enter the attendance code ‘E’ as it does not provide the local authority with enough specific exclusion details to meet DfE requirements.

Contacts:

General exclusion guidance/policy queries:
Sharon Neak - Exclusion and Access team leader
Email: CS.ExclusionAndAccessTeam@derbyshire.gov.uk