Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

R (TZA) v A Secondary School: EWCA clarifies school exclusions—serious and/or persistent behaviour grounds acceptable; GDC determines; reconsideration limited; PSED minimal; reasons need not address each IRP point

Published on: 21 March 2025

Published by a LexisNexis Local Government expert

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Article summary

What are the practical implications of this case?

This judgment sets out several practical points concerning exclusions of pupils and clarifies the role of the Governors’ Disciplinary Committee (GDC), offering helpful guidance for education law practitioners. These include:

The headteacher’s consideration of behaviour. The statutory guidance on suspensions and exclusions provides that the test involves assessing whether conduct is ‘serious or persistent’. In this matter, the permanent exclusion arose from two distinct assaults, which the headteacher characterised as serious incidents. They nonetheless relied on persistent breaches of the behaviour policy as an alternative if the GDC were unconvinced that the assaults in isolation warranted permanent exclusion. The IRP challenged this, contending a headteacher must choose a single basis. The Court held it would be ‘artificial and misleading’ to force such a choice, and that it is plainly prudent for a headteacher to advance a fallback position.
The role of the GDC. With reliance on the decision in R v Governing Body...

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