Being excluded is a deep experience. Here’s some tips for getting out of the hole.

10 tips to turning things round after a fixed term exclusion.

1. STAY CALM when you’re excluded. Shouting or being physically aggressive will not stop you being excluded. If you’re excluded for a fixed term and get violent then you will be excluded permanently. Schools are within their rights to permanently exclude any physically abusive students and teachers may take this chance to push you out.
2. TALK TO SOMEONE you trust about your exclusion and your feelings about school.
3. FIND OUT exactly why you have been excluded.
4. THINK ABOUT what you did wrong and how you can stop it from happening again. In what situations do you get in trouble? Who are you with? Don’t make the same mistake again.
5. CATCH UP with school work on your days off an.
6. COME BACK for the re-integration meeting held by the school for you and your parents.
7. SHOW YOU’VE CHANGED so people know you’re going to do things different this time.
8. AVOID THOSE TEACHERS who are always critical of you and don’t take notice of their criticism. You’re now ready to move on from the past even if they’re not.
9. ASK FOR HELP if you don’t understand the work you’re given. There are teachers who really care about your education and who will help you.
10. STAY OUT OF TROUBLE even if you want to join in. If you get caught, you’ll get punished hard because you’ve already been excluded. You have to be extra well behaved to change teachers’ expectations of you and to turn round your reputation.


Down but not out
10 tips on turning things round after a permanent exclusion:
1. STAY CALM when you’re excluded. Shouting or being physically aggressive will not stop you being excluded. If you’re violent or abusive to your teachers, the Police may get involved and you’ll have an even bigger problem.
2. TALK TO SOMEONE you trust about your exclusion and your feelings about school.
3. FIND OUT exactly why you have been excluded. Your school should send your parents/carers a letter explaining its decision. You can appeal against your permanent exclusion.
4. ASK FOR ADVICE ON EXCLUSION and if you feel you’ve been wrongly excluded and there’s been a massive injustice, contact the people who’ll help you. Talk to the school inclusion team and they might suggest someone to advocate for you (a professional to put your case before the school’s governors and persuade them of your innocence). Or you could try the A.C.E (The Advisory Centre for Education) at http://www.ace-ed.org.uk/ou
5. APPEAL against your exclusion to the school and at the governors meeting if you think your exclusion was a massive injustice. Parent pressure, in particular, can often be effective in changing the school’s mind.
6. Or REQUEST A MANAGED MOVE where the school puts you into another school directly and doesn’t formally exclude you permanently.
7. GET READY for your new start at a new place. Find out about your new place of education and what you will be studying. Catch up with any work you should have done for your exams. Have an open attitude to your new place - It’s a fresh start and you can make a completely different reputation for yourself.
8. DECIDE WHO YOU ARE and what you want to be – avoid or ignore people who always want to talk about your past and criticise you (it’s usually a way for them to feel better than you).
9. GET INTO A JOB/COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY because permanent exclusion doesn’t stop you getting a job or getting into college or university. These places are far more bothered about your results and the person you are when you apply (not the person you were before).
10. SCHOOL IS ONLY ONE EXPERIENCE in your life. As you get older, your school experiences become less and less important. If you’re a success in your later life, you’ll wonder why you were so bothered about exclusion at the time. You still have time to change your life.

Tom Sawbridge