Reintegration guide for school leaders
Introduction
Following a suspension, or off-site direction, schools are expected to make arrangements to manage a child or young person's (CYP) behaviour when they return to school. While not a statutory requirement, the DfE's guidance on suspensions and exclusions states that you should have a plan to help the CYP return successfully to school life. You should shape your reintegration plans around your school's context and the individual CYP's age, needs and behaviour.
This website provides an overview of considerations for school leaders when arranging a reintegration meeting. It includes tips for a successful meeting as well as exploring how to make the meetings consistent, who to invite and what to discuss during the meeting. It provides a suite of proforma documents that you can contextualise to meet your school and the CYP needs.
If the school decides not to have a reintegration meeting, it is still expected that there will be systems in place for supporting CYPs to return to school successfully. School leaders should be clear on their rationale for not holding a reintegration meeting and have alternative strategies in place.
Use the strategies within this guide when a CYP:
- Returns from a suspension period
- Returns from off-site direction
- Returns from a significant period of internal exclusion/isolation
- Is allowed to return to school when their permanent exclusion is overturned by your governing board or an independent review panel