News

Date: 30.05.07

Advice and information

Advice on the Right To Discipline Pupils (England)

 

There are important provisions on school discipline in the Education and Inspections Act 2006  (‘the Act’ (pdf)).  These are explained in detail in DfES guidance, School Discipline and Pupil Behaviour Policies: Guidance for Schools.

 

 

The key points in the Act

 

1.      The statutory power to discipline

• Schools have a statutory power to discipline pupils (that is, impose sanctions) for breaches of school rules, failure to follow instructions or other unacceptable conduct.

• All teachers and other staff in charge of pupils have the power to discipline.  The head teacher can limit the power to apply particular sanctions to certain staff or extend the power to discipline to adult volunteers.

• Schools have a statutory power to regulate the behaviour of pupils off school premises and not under supervision by school staff provided this regulation is reasonable.

• Every school must have a behaviour policy, including disciplinary sanctions, which must be publicised to school staff, pupils and parents.

Commentary

 

The purpose of this power is to enable school staff to enforce disciplinary penalties and tackle, in particular, the ‘you can’t tell me to do that’ culture amongst some parents and pupils.

 

The DfES guidance gives examples of where disciplinary penalties are appropriate – failing to follow a school rule or instruction given by a member of staff, or for any other reason that causes the pupil’s behaviour to fall below the standard which could reasonably be expected of him. The Act stipulates that disciplinary penalties must be reasonable (see 2 below).  They must not be in breach of any anti-discrimination legislation or human rights. 

 

Corporal punishment remains unlawful.

 

Pupil exclusion is covered by separate legislation. 

 

The Act gives head teachers specific statutory power to discipline pupils for behaviour outside school premises ‘to such extent as is reasonable’. 

 

The DfES Guidance lists relevant factors for schools to take into account when considering disciplinary action.  These factors are:

• the severity of the misbehaviour;
• any harm to the school’s reputation;
• was the pupil in question wearing school uniform or otherwise readily identifiable as a pupil at the school?
• the extent to which the behaviour has repercussions for good order in school and/or might pose a threat to another pupil or member of staff, eg bullying another pupil or insulting a member of staff;
• whether the misbehaviour was on the way to or from school, outside the school gates or otherwise close to the school; and
• whether the misbehaviour occurred when a pupil was an ambassador for the school, eg. a sports event, work experience etc, and whether future opportunities for other pupils might be affected.

 

2.      Reasonable sanctions

• Sanctions must be reasonable and proportionate to the circumstances of the case.

• Schools should monitor the use of sanctions by age, ethnicity, gender, special educational needs and disability.

Commentary

 

Any lawful use of sanctions must be reasonable and proportionate to the circumstances of the case.  The Act requires account to be taken of the pupil’s age, any special educational needs, any disability and any religious requirements. 

 

Disciplinary sanctions should be seen to have three main purposes:

• to impress on the perpetrator that what he or she has done is unacceptable;
• to deter the pupil from repeating the behaviour; and
• to signal to other pupils that the behaviour is unacceptable and deter them from doing it.

 

3.      Detention

• School staff have a statutory power to put pupils aged under 18 in detention after school sessions and on some weekend and non-teaching days. 

• Detentions are lawful if:
  • pupils and parents have been informed that the school uses detention as a sanction; and
  • the school gives parents 24 hours’ notice of detentions outside school sessions.

Commentary

 

The Act has extended the times outside school hours when schools can use detention.  Schools now have the power, if they wish, to require pupils to attend detentions in the evenings, weekends and non-teaching training days. 

 

It also removes the requirement for 24 hours’ notice for lunchtime detentions, and detention is now available to all school staff, not just teachers, although the head teacher may choose to limit the power to certain staff groups. 

 

4.      Confiscation

• Schools can include confiscation of pupils’ property as a disciplinary sanction in their behaviour policy.

• Confiscation must be a reasonable sanction in the circumstances of the particular case.

• Confiscation includes seizure and also the retention and disposal of property.  Decisions about retention and disposal of confiscated property must also be reasonable in the circumstances of the particular case.

• There is a specific statutory defence for school staff who have reasonably confiscated pupils’ property.

Commentary

 

Like other disciplinary sanctions, confiscation must be used in a reasonable and proportionate way.  The aim of confiscating property should be to maintain an environment which is conducive to learning and safeguards the rights of other pupils to be educated.

 

The Act gives to a member of staff who has lawfully confiscated property a statutory defence to all proceedings against him or her and that member of staff is not liable for any damage or loss arising.  

 

The power to confiscate property is separate from the right to search pupils and their property for offensive weapons under the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006.  A pupil cannot be searched, for example, for a personal music player that is causing disruption.

 

When confiscating items of clothing or jewellery, schools should have appropriate regard to whether the item in question has religious or cultural significance to the pupil and should avoid physical contact or interference with pupils’ clothing. 

 

Guidance on confiscation

 

School discipline and pupil-behaviour policies: guidance for schools (TeacherNet)

 

Behaviour and attendance (TeacherNet)

 

Improving Behaviour in Schools site (DfES)

 

DCSF: Alternative Provision

 

(davidbrierley@voicetheunion.org.uk)

 

May 2007