Skip to main content
N I Direct government services

Main navigation

  • Home
  • News
  • Contacts
  • Help
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • RSS

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Education
  3. Schools, learning and development
  4. Your child's welfare at school

School discipline, suspensions and expulsions

Your child's school should have a written policy setting out the standards of behaviour it expects. The policy should outline what the school will do if your child’s behaviour falls below these standards.

Promoting good behaviour

All pupils in a school benefit when behaviour is good. High standards of behaviour are important in helping children to feel safe and learn well, and parents and carers play a key part in this.

The government advises schools to focus on promoting positive behaviour, helping to build self-discipline and encouraging respect for others. But schools also need sanctions to deter pupils from misbehaving.

Schools should review their discipline/positive behaviour policies regularly and publicise them to parents, staff and pupils. The precise content of a school’s policy is a matter for each school to decide in consultation with parents.

Discipline/positive behaviour policies should include a code of conduct for pupils. Rules on conduct can apply before and after school, as well as during the school day. They can set expectations for how pupils will behave in corridors, in bus queues and at lunch and break times as well as in the classroom.

Sanctions

Schools have a legal right to impose reasonable sanctions if a pupil misbehaves.

Sanctions a school might use include:

  • a reprimand
  • a letter to parents or carers
  • removal from a class or group
  • loss of privileges
  • confiscating something belonging to your child if it’s inappropriate for school (for example, a mobile phone or music player)
  • detention

Teachers can’t punish pupils physically. They can physically restrain them where it’s necessary to stop a pupil injuring him or herself or someone else, damaging property or causing serious disruption.

  • Pupil Behaviour and School Discipline (Department of Education website)

Your child and detention

Detentions can take place during school hours, at lunchtime, after school or at weekends. If your child fails to be there without a reasonable excuse, the school may give them a more severe punishment.

You are entitled to 24 hours’ written notice of a detention that takes place outside normal school hours so you can make arrangements for transport or childcare. The notice should tell you why the detention was given and how long your child will have to stay at school.

If your child cannot be at the detention, you can explain your reasons to your child’s teacher or headteacher. They may rethink the detention in certain circumstances, such as:  

  • the detention falls on an important religious day for your family
  • you’re concerned about the length and safety of the route between school and home
  • you can’t reasonably make alternative arrangements for collecting your child from school

Suspensions

A child who gets into serious trouble at school can be suspended for a fixed period of time. Schools can suspend a child if:

  • they have seriously broken school rules
  • allowing them to stay in school would seriously harm their education or welfare, or the education or welfare of other pupils

Some other points to bear in mind are that:

  • only the Principal can suspend a pupil
  • an initial suspension must not exceed five days
  • the Principal cannot extend a period of suspension without the previous approval of the Chair of the Board of Governors
  • your child can only be suspended for a maximum of 45 school days in any one school year
  • your child’s school is responsible for providing them with suitable work to do and mark it although you may be asked to collect the work from the school and return it when your child has completed it

The school should call you on the day your child is suspended. The Principal must also provide immediate written notification to you, the Chair of the Board of Governors and the Education Authority (EA) in your region or Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS).

The letter should set out the period and reason for the suspension.

Expulsions

A school will usually only expel a pupil as a last resort after trying to improve the pupil’s behaviour through other means. However, there are exceptional circumstances in which a school may decide to expel a pupil for a ‘one-off’ offence.

The decision to expel your child can only be taken by the expelling authority. In the case of controlled schools, this is the EA and, in the case of all other grant-aided schools, it is the Board of Governors of the school.

A decision to expel can only be made after a consultation meeting takes place between the Principal, the Chairperson of the Board of Governors, you, your child, a representative from the EA in your region, or if your child attends a Catholic Maintained School, a representative from CCMS.

There should be a written record of the meeting and your child’s future education should be part of the discussion.

If the expelling authority decides to expel your child, they must explain in writing your right to appeal to the Expulsions Appeals Tribunal.

The EA in your region is required to make arrangements for suitable education for your child until they go to another school.

  • Suspensions and Expulsions (Department of Education website)
Share this page Share on Facebook (external link opens in a new window / tab) Share on Twitter (external link opens in a new window / tab) Share by email (external link opens in a new window / tab)

Your child's welfare at school

  • Dealing with bullying and getting support
  • How schools can protect children from abuse
  • If your child has worries at school
  • Independent Counselling Service for schools
  • Making a complaint to your child's school
  • Pupil health and safety
  • School attendance and absence
  • School discipline, suspensions and expulsions
  • Talking to your child about sex and teenage pregnancy

Translation help

How to translate this page

Help improve this page - send your feedback

What do you want to do?
Report a problem
Which problem did you find on this page? (Tick all that apply)

Messages

You will not receive a reply. We will consider your feedback to help improve the site.

Don't include any personal or financial information, for example National Insurance, credit card numbers, or phone numbers.

What is your question about?

What to do next

Comments or queries about angling can be emailed to anglingcorrespondence@daera-ni.gov.uk 

If you have a comment or query about benefits, you will need to contact the government department or agency which handles that benefit.  Contacts for common benefits are listed below.

Carer's Allowance

Call 0800 587 0912
Email 
dcs.incomingpostteamdhc2@nissa.gsi.gov.uk

Discretionary support / Short-term benefit advance

Call 0800 587 2750 
Email 
customerservice.unit@communities-ni.gov.uk

Disability Living Allowance

Call 0800 587 0912 
Email dcs.incomingpostteamdhc2@nissa.gsi.gov.uk

Employment and Support Allowance

Call 0800 587 1377

Jobseeker’s Allowance

Contact your local Jobs & Benefits office

Personal Independence Payment

Call 0800 587 0932

If your query is about another benefit, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

Comments or queries about the Blue Badge scheme can be emailed to bluebadges@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk or you can also call 0300 200 7818.

For queries or advice about careers, contact the Careers Service.

For queries or advice about Child Maintenance, contact the Child Maintenance Service.

For queries or advice about claiming compensation due to a road problem, contact DFI Roads claim unit.

If you can’t find the information you’re looking for in the Coronavirus (COVID-19) section, then for queries about:

  • Restrictions or regulations — contact the Department of Health
  • Travel advice (including self-isolation) — contact the Department of Health
  • Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccinations — contact the Department of Health or Public Health Agency

If your query is about another topic, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

For queries about your identity check, email nida@nidirect.gov.uk and for queries about your certificate, email covidcertni@hscni.net.

For queries or advice about criminal record checks, email ani@accessni.gov.uk

Application and payment queries can be emailed to ema_ni@slc.co.uk

For queries or advice about employment rights, contact the Labour Relations Agency.

For queries or advice about birth, death, marriage and civil partnership certificates and research, contact the General Register Office Northern Ireland (GRONI) by email gro_nisra@finance-ni.gov.uk

For queries about the High Street Spend Local Scheme,  email HSSS.mail@economy-ni.gov.uk.

For queries about:

  • Car tax, vehicle registration and SORN
    contact the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), Swansea
     
  • Driver licensing and tests, MOT and vehicle testing
    contact the Driver & Vehicle Agency (DVA), Northern Ireland

If your query is about another topic, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

For queries about your identity check, email nida@nidirect.gov.uk.

 

For queries or advice about passports, contact HM Passport Office.

For queries or advice about Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs), including parking tickets and bus lane PCNs, email dcu@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk

For queries or advice about pensions, contact the Northern Ireland Pension Centre.

If you wish to report a problem with a road or street you can do so online in this section.

If you wish to check on a problem or fault you have already reported, contact DfI Roads.

For queries or advice about historical, social or cultural records relating to Northern Ireland, use the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) enquiry service.

For queries or advice about rates, email LPSCustomerTeam@lpsni.gov.uk

For queries or advice about  60+ and Senior Citizen SmartPasses (which can be used to get concessionary travel on public transport), contact Smartpass - Translink.

If you have a question about a government service or policy, you should contact the relevant government organisation directly.  We don't have access to information about you.

Related sites

  • gov.uk
  • nibusinessinfo.co.uk

Links to supporting information

  • Accessibility statement
  • Crown copyright
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy
  • Cookies
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • RSS