What are the key legal issues to consider in school exclusions?

Education law specialist Charlotte Hadfield, who heads the Education Team, and her barrister colleague Alice de Coverley have co-authored the first book on the law on school exclusion since 2002 – ‘The Law in Relation to School Exclusions’ published by Law Brief Publishing.

Exclusion from school is a sanction of last resort that can hugely and adversely impact a pupil’s life outcomes for many years. Moreover the law relating to school exclusions is a complex tangle of public and regulatory law, anti-discrimination and human rights, statutory guidance, and in relation to independent schools, also principles of commercial contract and tort.

Schools and parents alike find it very difficult to know where to start, whether challenging a decision to exclude or defending one. This book offers a practical guide to the law, and serves as an excellent and useful source of reference from two leading education specialists for pupils and their parents, head teachers, governing boards of schools, local authorities and practitioners in this surprisingly complex and multidisciplinary area.