The Secretary of State’s announcement of a call for evidence is a welcome step providing an opportunity for greater accountability on internal suspension and the post-suspension process
The Education Secretary stated in her speech today that she wants to ‘improve how we do exclusions’. Setting out ways this can be done was the aim of CCLC’s recent report, ‘Fairness in school exclusions: A roadmap for change’ and we welcome the Government’s intention to improve the process.
Specifically, today’s call for evidence seeks views on the three exclusion reform proposals outlined in the Schools White Paper from February 2026. The call for evidence states that these are:
- Internal suspension: Introducing a clear, time-limited framework for internal suspension, allowing pupils who have been removed from the classroom for disciplinary reasons to remain on-site and maintain continuity of education, while signalling that suspension is for serious disciplinary reasons.
- Reintegration support partnerships: A process for reintegration following a suspension which will involve a formal meeting leading to an agreed plan with clear responsibilities to help ensure parents play an active part in supporting their child’s reflection and successful reintegration after a suspension.
- Provision of schoolwork during the first five days of suspension and permanent exclusion: To minimise disruption to learning and avoid time-consuming catch up, schoolwork is expected to be set and completed during the first five days of a suspension and permanent exclusion.
The Schools White Paper stated:
Many schools use forms of internal suspension as part of their behaviour policies, where children are removed from the classroom for a period of time. Suspensions, as set out in law, require a child to be temporarily removed from the school. While this might be appropriate in many cases, we also know that for some children being sent home could mean that they are left unsupervised and disengaged.
- We will equip schools with the flexibility, following consultation and updated guidance, to suspend children while requiring them to complete their sanction on site in a supervised environment.
To minimise disruption to learning and avoid time-consuming catch up, we will consult and introduce a duty that schoolwork is set for excluded children to mitigate and recover lost learning while managing teacher capacity.
We have committed to introduce a new framework to give schools clear guidance on when internal suspensions are appropriate and how to structure them effectively. Children will complete the work they would otherwise have missed, ensuring their education can continue and easing the burden on teacher time, which would otherwise be spent covering lost learning. Children will remain in a supervised school environment and receive support to understand the causes of their misbehaviour. For example, they may be supported to reflect on their actions, take responsibility, and develop emotional regulation skills. To help schools review their sanctions systems, we will provide schools with timely data on suspensions and permanent exclusions.
As the Government moves ahead with a framework for internal suspension, CCLC will continue to advocate for greater oversight across all in-school practices that remove pupils from the classroom, to mitigate the risk of these practices being used as informal exclusions, to mitigate discrimination and to measure the efficacy of inclusion reforms. CCLC has growing concerns about how this practice is applied. Currently, internal removal lacks many of the safeguards, protections and oversight, including lacking meaningful accountability mechanisms, with the only recourse for parents who are unhappy with its use being a formal complaint. Introducing a new framework provides an opportunity for greater accountability in internal suspension. As Scotland introduces a duty to record and report on removal, so too in England there must be transparency.
The forthcoming framework should take the opportunity to establish clear boundaries on all in‑school practices that remove pupils from the classroom including what constitutes proportionality, how these practices apply to those with additional needs, and the accountability and redress options available, such as complaints processes and governing board reviews.
