IMMEDIATE RELEASE 27February 2003

House of Lords decision on excluded pupils NUT reaction

Commenting on the findings of the House ofLords today on the position of teachers refusing to teach pupils reinstated byindependent appeals panels, Doug McAvoy, NUT General Secretary, said:

Common sense has prevailed. The Lordsdecision ensures that teachers can continue to educate pupils in an environmentconducive to high quality education. That is the right of every child. It isalso the right of every teachers organisation to be able to protect itsmembers from risk of harm and ensure they can work within satisfactoryarrangements.

Every child, including the excluded child,has a right to be educated. The permanent exclusion of a pupil is a recognitionthat the relationship between the school and the child has broken down. Legallyrequiring a child to return cannot repair that relationship. For the sake ofthat childs own education, they should be moved on.

E N D PR.17/03