Applies to: England | Updates available from Autumn 2026 term
From the 2026/27 academic year the DfE has folded exclusion reviews into the School Census, replacing the retired APEX return, and has split reviews into two stages: the Governing Body and, on appeal, the Independent Review Panel (IRP). The rules for what you keep on record have changed too. Where a review reinstates a student, you now keep the permanent exclusion rather than deleting it, and record the sessions the student missed on a separate suspension.
This article covers recording a permanent exclusion in Arbor, recording Governing Body and Independent Review Panel reviews against it, and reading the review state from the Exclusions list.
Permissions
Users require the Permanent Exclusions: View and Administer permission to access or manage permanent exclusions. Recording reviews uses the same behaviour permissions you already hold for the student's Behaviour area, so no new permission is needed.
Where to find permanent exclusions
Go to Students > Behaviour > Permanent Exclusions for the whole-school list, where you can filter by date range and student demographics. To see one student's record, go to Student Profile > Behaviour > Exclusions. That tab shows suspensions and permanent exclusions together in one Exclusions list, with a Reviews for Exclusions section beneath it.
Recording a permanent exclusion
There are two ways to record one:
- Click Add permanent Exclusion from the main Permanent Exclusions page.
- Go to the student's Student Profile > Behaviour > Exclusions and click +Add on the Exclusions section.
Complete the student, the exclusion reason, the dates, and any further details. For which reason to choose, and how each one maps to the DfE code returned in the census, see the reasons article linked at the end.
Do not return in school census. This setting exists for permanent exclusions that started before 1 August 2026, where the old rule was to hold an exclusion back from the census while its review was still ongoing or disputed. Do not use it for an exclusion starting on or after 1 August 2026. Under the 2026/27 rules every permanent exclusion must be returned, including one still going through review, so holding one back would under-report your figures.
Reviews: Governing Body and Independent Review Panel
A permanent exclusion can carry up to two reviews, one per stage:
- The Governing Body review comes first. For a permanent exclusion the governing board must always consider reinstatement.
- The Independent Review Panel review follows only where the governing board did not reinstate the student and an IRP was requested. An IRP can only review a permanent exclusion, never a suspension.
This replaces the old model, which allowed a single review per exclusion.
To add one, click + Add on the Reviews for Exclusions section. Arbor asks "What would you like to do?" and offers three options:
Choose the option that matches the hearing you are recording. Arbor then sets the review stage for you, so there is no "conducted by" field to complete.
You can also start the first review from the exclusion itself. Open the permanent exclusion and click the Exclusion review row, which reads "No review found - click to add review" when nothing has been recorded yet. That opens the review form already linked to that exclusion. To add the IRP stage afterwards, use + Add on the Reviews section.
Fields on the review form
| Field | Governing Body | Independent Review Panel | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Student | Read-only | Read-only | Taken from the record |
| Review conducted by | Read-only | Read-only | Set by the option you chose |
| Permanent exclusion | Mandatory | Mandatory | Every review links to exactly one exclusion |
| Review date | Mandatory | — | Not defaulted to today, choose the date yourself |
| IRP hearing date | — | Mandatory | The panel hearing date |
| Review outcome | Mandatory | Mandatory | Governing Body outcomes, or IRP outcomes, as appropriate |
| SEN expert requested? | — | Optional | Tickbox, unticked means No |
| Student reinstated date | Optional | Optional | Always shown, never forced. See below |
| Comment | Optional | Optional | Free text |
| Attachments | Optional | Optional | Attachments card |
Arbor offers the outcome list that matches the stage you chose, and picks the right set of outcomes automatically from the exclusion's start date.
What the outcomes mean
The outcome picker shows the full description. The Reviews list shows a shorter version of the same outcome.
Governing Body outcomes
| What you select | Shown in the Reviews list as |
|---|---|
| Student offered reinstatement after initial governing board (student offered reinstatement) | Reinstatement offered |
| The governing board has decided that the student should be reinstated, and the relevant person has not declined reinstatement, but the student has not yet resumed attendance at the school (student offered reinstatement) | Reinstatement offered but pending |
| The governing board has decided the student should be reinstated but the relevant person has declined reinstatement (student is not offered reinstatement) | Reinstatement offered but declined |
| After initial consideration governing board decided that student should not be reinstated and no request for an Independent Review Panel was made (student not offered reinstatement) | No reinstatement offered, no IRP request |
| The governing board has decided that the student should not be reinstated, the time for an application for a review has not yet expired, and the relevant person has not yet given notice in writing that they do not intend to apply for a review (student not offered reinstatement) | No reinstatement offered, IRP window open |
| Student not offered reinstatement after initial governing board, a request for an Independent Review Panel was made but not determined (student not offered reinstatement) | No reinstatement offered, IRP requested, pending |
| Parents made representations where the governing board is required to consider reinstatement (review ongoing) | Review ongoing |
Independent Review Panel outcomes
| What you select | Shown in the Reviews list as |
|---|---|
| Student offered reinstatement after independent review panel recommended governing board to reconsider reinstatement (student offered reinstatement) | Recommended board reconsider, reinstatement offered |
| Student offered reinstatement after independent review panel directed governing board to reconsider reinstatement (student offered reinstatement) | Directed board reconsider, reinstatement offered |
| Student not offered reinstatement after independent review panel recommended governing board to reconsider reinstatement (student not offered reinstatement) | Recommended board reconsider, no reinstatement |
| Student not offered reinstatement after independent review panel directed governing board to reconsider reinstatement (student not offered reinstatement) | Directed board reconsider, no reinstatement |
| Independent review panel upheld governing board's initial decision that student should not be reinstated (student not offered reinstatement) | Upheld, no reinstatement offered |
| Withdrawn | Withdrawn |
| Ongoing (no decision yet) | Ongoing |
If the hearing has not concluded, record the review with an ongoing outcome rather than leaving it unrecorded. For a governing board yet to decide after parents have made representations, choose the outcome shown in the list as Review ongoing. Where the board did not reinstate and a panel has been requested but not determined, choose No reinstatement offered, IRP requested, pending. For a panel that has not yet decided, choose Ongoing. That keeps the exclusion valid in the census and shows the case as Under review on the Exclusions list. Leave the reinstatement date empty for an ongoing outcome.
The reinstatement date
The Student reinstated date A governing board or panel can offer reinstatement before the student is actually back in school, so the date is often unknown when you record the outcome. Add it when you know it.
You only need it for the outcomes that offer or grant reinstatement. If you enter one against an outcome that does not, Arbor asks you to remove it.
Where an Independent Review Panel reinstates a student, the census does require the reinstatement date. Arbor will let you save the review without it, but the missing date is raised when you generate the census, so go back and add it once the student's return date is known.
Reviewing an exclusion that started before 1 August 2026
Arbor chooses the outcome list from the exclusion's start date. An exclusion that started before 1 August 2026 keeps the older set of outcomes it was recorded under, so historic records stay readable and are returned to the census correctly. You will see a shorter list than for a newer exclusion, and those options name the review stage in the wording itself, so there is no separate Governing Body and panel split.
The older outcomes have no ongoing option, and no option for reinstatement offered but not yet taken up. An exclusion of this age therefore shows as Awaiting review until you record its outcome, then Reinstated or Active. It never shows Under review or Reinstatement pending.
A few things Arbor will check for you
When you save a review, Arbor checks the following and shows any problem in red directly beneath the field:
- A review must be linked to exactly one permanent exclusion. Reviews recorded before August 2026 without a link stay valid as historic data, but a new review cannot be saved without one.
- The review date, or the IRP hearing date, must be completed.
- An outcome must be selected.
- A reinstatement date can only be entered against an outcome that offers or grants reinstatement: "Remove the reinstatement date — it should only be set when the outcome offers or grants reinstatement."
- A reinstatement date cannot fall before the exclusion started: "The reinstatement date must be on or after the permanent exclusion start date."
When a review reinstates the student
Keep the permanent exclusion. Arbor retains it and updates it with the review details, and the Exclusions list shows it as Reinstated. Do not delete it.
You then need to record the sessions the student missed while excluded on a separate suspension, using the same start date as the permanent exclusion. That is how the census matches the two records to each other, so the start dates must agree.
Arbor does not create that suspension for you. Instead, when you save a review that reinstates the student and gives a reinstatement date later than the exclusion start date, Arbor offers to do it there and then:
- Record suspension now opens the usual Create Suspension form, already filled in with the exclusion's start date and an end date of the day before the student returns. Choose the reason and save it as normal.
- Not now dismisses the prompt. Nothing else changes and you will not be reminded, so record the suspension yourself later. A missing suspension is picked up as a validation error when you generate the census.
You will not see the prompt where the board has decided to reinstate but the student has not yet returned, or where the student returned on the same day the exclusion started, because no sessions were missed.
Reading the Status column
The Status column on the Exclusions list tells you where a permanent exclusion has got to, without opening it:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Cancelled | The headteacher cancelled the exclusion before the governing board met |
| Awaiting review | No review has been recorded yet |
| Under review | A review has been recorded with an ongoing outcome, or an IRP has been requested and not yet determined |
| Reinstatement pending | Reinstatement has been offered, but no return date has been recorded yet |
| Reinstated | The student was reinstated and a return date is recorded |
| Active | The review has concluded without reinstating. The exclusion stands |
Where both a Governing Body and an Independent Review Panel review exist, the Status reflects the panel's outcome, because it is the later and authoritative stage.
Correcting and removing records
Editing a review. Open it from the Reviews section to see it read-only, then click Edit. Saving updates the existing review rather than adding another. A review recorded in error can be deleted from the edit form.
Deleting the exclusion. The Delete button on a permanent exclusion is available only briefly, so a genuine mistake such as the wrong student or a duplicate can be removed, while an established sanction cannot be erased. Delete stays available while the exclusion has no review recorded and either it started within the last 5 school days, or you entered it today. Otherwise it is greyed out with: "This exclusion can no longer be deleted. To reverse it you can either cancel it or record a review outcome instead."
Reversing an exclusion is a recorded action, not a deletion. Cancel it if the governing board has not met yet, or record the review outcome if it has. Both keep the history the census needs.
Cancelling instead of reviewing
Cancelling and reviewing are two different routes and you should never record both against one exclusion. Only the headteacher can cancel, and only before the governing board has met to consider reinstatement. Once a review exists, cancelling is no longer available. See the cancellations article linked below.
Frequently asked questions
The student was reinstated. Should I delete the permanent exclusion?
No. Keep it. Arbor retains the record and marks it Reinstated, and you record the missed sessions on a separate suspension with the same start date.
Why can't I delete an exclusion I recorded last month?
Deletion closes once the exclusion has been in force for more than 5 school days (to allow for keying in errors), or as soon as a review is recorded. Cancel it or record a review outcome instead.
Can a suspension go to an Independent Review Panel?
No. An IRP can only review a permanent exclusion. A suspension can have a Governing Body review.
I chose "Not now". Do I still need the suspension?
Yes. Record it when you can, using the same start date as the permanent exclusion, otherwise it will show as an error when you generate the census.
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