This article was originally published on 15 May 2023
Suspensions are important for schools because they show their communities what is not tolerated and remove the pupil from the setting for a short period, providing respite for classmates and teachers.
They also provide time for the pupil to reflect - ideally to then return and avoid a repeat of the offending behaviour.
However, too often the suspended pupil returns to school only to be suspended again.
Not only that but the more suspensions that are issued, the more reintegration meetings must take place - meetings that only add to the workload of already busy pastoral leaders.
If we are to avoid the cycle of repeat suspensions and the workload stress this causes leaders, we need to make sure reintegration meetings are used effectively to re-engage the pupil with school, provide a clear channel of communication between home and school, and set a path forward together.
So, what does an effective reintegration meeting look like? From my work as a head of year and pastoral senior leader in a number of schools, these are the components I believe leaders should include to get the most out of them:
1. Invite the right people at the right time in the right way
To facilitate a meaningful conversation regarding the pupil, there needs to be a year head or senior pastoral lead taking the meeting who has a strong understanding of the pupil and their context, as well as a firm grasp of the facts of what led to the suspension.
Clearly, the pupil must attend and ideally at least one parent. Understandably, this can be a challenge for families with parents who don’t have the flexibility to attend meetings during working hours.
For this reason, schools should try to balance the need to be flexible for the parent to attend with the duty of care to its pastoral leads.
However, accommodating requests for late evening appointments can lead to staff members staying on site far beyond what is sensible for their own work/life balance.
One possible solution might be to allow parents to “attend” virtually, either by phone or video call. Another would be to have an adult attend in their place who has a strong relationship with the pupil and their family.
What matters is that the meeting is attended by someone who can represent “home” and be a supportive presence for the child.
Another challenge that schools may face when asking parents to attend is a breakdown in the home-school relationship. Understandably, suspensions can be a contentious issue - schools may be faced with a parent who is challenging the suspension, for example.
In such scenarios, ensure you have fully prepared for the meeting.
This will help keep the atmosphere calm. If appropriate, bring in an additional colleague who can provide support as well take notes on what is discussed.
Challenging as it may be, gaining the support of the child’s family is critical to their future academic success, and colleagues should remain positive and proactive with family members, while of course never accepting abuse or aggression.
2. Set the tone
It is vital that these meetings take place with redemption at the forefront of the conversation. All those who work with young people will believe in their potential for change.
One approach I have seen work has been to open the meeting with everyone present sharing something the pupil is great at, and something they’d missed about them during their absence.
This can then be followed by the pupil saying one thing they were great at, and one thing they had missed about school.
By beginning like this you send the message: we believe in you, this sanction doesn’t define you, and we missed you and want you back at school. Not only that but it also makes the pupil think positively about themselves, which is important as, inevitably, the suspension will have the impact of making pupils feel bad.
Although punishment is part of the reason we use suspensions, we don’t want pupils to internalise that negativity so that it becomes something corrosive to their sense of self.
3. Provide the opportunity to reflect
It is important that the meeting provides the student with the opportunity to reflect on events and allows them the space to apologise for their actions.
To enable this, one approach can be to request that the student writes a “reflection letter”. If appropriate, the reflection letter can take the form of an apology to a specific staff member or pupil.
This request for the letter should be done at the point that the suspension is issued and it can form part of the home learning that is set while the pupil is away from school.
As a pastoral lead, such letters have given me insight into the pupil’s headspace on their return, and more often than not, the letter would form the basis of a restoration meeting between child and adult or peer.
During the meeting, the letter can be shared and can help to guide the conversation about how the behaviour that led to the suspension was wrong, and about what can be changed in the future.
4. Planning for change
Reintegration meetings provide schools with an opportunity to arrange any additional help the pupil or family may need to ensure the behaviour that led to the suspension isn’t repeated or escalated.
It is vital, therefore, that the meeting contains a conversation about why the suspension happened and what can be done to avoid it happening again in the future.
Having these conversations can be difficult, particularly if the pupil struggles to express themselves. It can help to repeat back to the child their replies after each question - and this can encourage them to add detail.
It can also help to ask questions on a range of topics. These might include:
- Lessons or times of day when the pupil struggles with following instructions.
- Whether there are distractions in class and if they could be reduced.
- Sleep patterns and morning routine (including how they “fuel” for the day).
- Energy levels across the day.
- Physical activities or sports they take part in.
Once the problems and triggers for the misbehaviour have been identified, such questions can be posed to the pupil and parents, and everyone in the meeting can consider their role: what can the school do to support? What can parents do? And what does the child need to do themselves?
It’s not enough to leave the conversation there and it’s important to agree on the follow-up.
This can be as simple as setting a time to call home to share an update on their progress in a week’s time.
It also gives the school and parents a chance to share an update on any requests that have been made for help from outside agencies. It’s this kind of follow-up that can enable pupils to shine on return and display an eagerness to be “caught” doing good.
Jo Facer is a former headteacher and the head of the National Professional Qualifications faculty at the National Institute of Teaching
