{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/education-act-1993-repealed/section-261",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/education-act-1993-repealed/section-261.json",
  "legislation": "ukpga/1993/35",
  "legislation_title": "Education Act 1993 (repealed)",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/education-act-1993-repealed",
  "path": "section/261",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "261",
  "heading": "Restrictions on power to exclude pupils.",
  "text": "(1) The head teacher of any school maintained by a local education authority or grant-maintained school may not—\n(a) exclude a pupil from the school for an indefinite period, or\n(b) so exercise the power to exclude a pupil from the school for one or more fixed periods that the pupil is so excluded for more than fifteen school days in any one term.\n(2) Subsection (1) above has effect, in the case of a school having articles of government, notwithstanding anything in the articles.\n(3) Where, on the day on which this section comes into force, a pupil stands excluded from such a school for an indefinite period—\n(a) he shall be treated as if he had been excluded from the school by the head teacher until the expiry of the period of one month beginning with that day and as if, in the case of a county, controlled or maintained special school, the local education authority had been so informed, and\n(b) any direction given before that day—\n(i) under section 24(c)(ii) or 25(d)(ii) of the Education (No. 2) Act 1986 (pupil to be reinstated within period specified in direction), or\n(ii) by a committee of the governing body of a grant-maintained school to the head teacher under a corresponding provision of the articles of government,\nwhich specifies a period ending later than the expiry of the period of one month beginning with that day shall have effect as if it specified a period ending with that expiry.\n(4) Subsection (1)(b) above does not apply to any exclusion of a pupil which has taken effect before the day on which this section comes into force; but in exercising on or after that day the power referred to in that subsection, account shall be taken of any school days on which the pupil was excluded from the school in the same term in pursuance of one or more exclusions which took effect before that day.\n(5) In this section, “grant-maintained school” includes a grant-maintained special school.",
  "extent": "E+W",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "M",
      "label": "M1",
      "text": "1986 c. 61."
    },
    {
      "type": "C",
      "label": "C1",
      "text": "S. 261 applied (with modifications) (9.5.1994) by S.I. 1994/1084, reg. 8(1), Sch. 2 Pt. I"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1993/35/section/261",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T09:34:55.204351+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}