The Department for Education (DFE) has updated the exclusion and suspension guidance. The new guidance will take effect from the 26th July 2026 and applies to schools, academies, PRUs and Alternative Provision providers in England.
Headteachers and school leaders need to make sure that they are compliant and ready for the new changes ahead of the new academic year.
Here are three key new changes:
- There is a greater emphasis on the ‘last resort’ test for permanent exclusions. The current guidance states that suspensions and permanent exclusions will ‘sometimes be necessary as a last resort’. The new statutory guidance makes it explicit that suspensions may sometimes be necessary, but permanent exclusions (‘PEX’) must only be used as the last resort.
- The new guidance also makes it clear what should happen when a school wants to stop a pupil from attending the school site for safeguarding reasons. The new guidance makes it clear that this measure should only be used when it is absolutely necessary and that the school must consider their responsibilities under the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Equality Act 2010.
- The off-site direction now applies to academies and PRUs. Crucially, this means that academies are now subject to the same legal requirements as maintained schools and PRUs can make off-site directions.
If you require further assistance on the new guidance, please contact Rebecca Roberts, Education specialist at Amicus Law.
