Applies to: England | Updates available from Autumn 2026 term
A suspension, also called a fixed-period exclusion, removes a student from school for a set period. For the 2026/27 academic year the DfE has extended exclusion reviews to cover suspensions as well as permanent exclusions, and now collects cancellations in the School Census. Suspensions are reviewed by the Governing Body only, never by an Independent Review Panel.
This article covers recording a suspension, the attendance marks and notifications it creates, recording a Governing Body review against it, and reading its status.
Where to find suspensions
Go to Students > Behaviour > Suspensions > Reporting to see all suspensions. You can filter by date or by sessions missed, and customise which columns the table shows. To see one student's record, go to Student Profile > Behaviour > Exclusions, which lists suspensions and permanent exclusions together.
Recording a suspension
Click the green Add Suspension button. A slide panel opens for the details.
For help choosing a reason, and to see which DfE code each reason returns in the census, see the reasons article linked at the end.
Arbor pre-fills the current date and time, so adjust these to the actual suspension period.
Only fill in the daily start and end time if it is a lunchtime exclusion. Suspensions with a Daily Start and Daily End time are treated as lunchtime suspensions, and do not appear on the census, because the DfE does not collect them. They do still count as half a school day towards the student's suspension total, including for the 45 day annual maximum and for deciding whether the governing board must meet.
Select the AM and PM roll call sessions the suspension covers, then confirm. Each session counts as half a day, so two sessions is one day and two sessions.
Suspensions count towards the 45 school day annual maximum for a student, so keep an eye on the running total across the year.
When the suspension is created, it will be displayed in the table.
Attendance marks and the Attendance Officer alert
Recording a suspension creates planned absences marked with code E.
If the student already has a planned absence recorded during the suspension dates, Arbor flags the overlap so that someone checks the attendance marks are right. Staff with the Attendance Officer business role get a homepage alert reading "[Student name] has been suspended during a period of planned absence" with the dates.
The alert is only created where a planned absence already exists in the suspension's date range, and only for Attendance Officers in post during those dates. Clicking it opens the Planned Absences page filtered to that student and the suspension dates, so you can review the marks and correct them if needed.
Notifying the student and guardians
Click any cell in the table except the student name to open the record, then choose Notify Student or Notify Guardians. Clicking the student name goes to their Student Profile instead.
Emails come from the school address, without automatic signatures or attached documents. Choose the recipient type and confirm at the popup. Guardians are selected by default, so untick anyone you do not want to email. Optionally edit the message, then click Send Notification.
Once you send a notification the button disappears, so you cannot send a second follow-up from here. Use the Bulk Action button if you need to notify again.
The Behaviour tab's Exclusions section shows the student's exclusions and whether guardians have been notified.
Governing Body reviews for suspensions
This is new for 2026/27. Arbor has not recorded reviews against suspensions before.
An Independent Review Panel is never available for a suspension. Panels can only review permanent exclusions, so Arbor does not offer that option here.
When a review happens
Whether the governing board must meet depends on how many school days the student has been suspended for in the term:
| Total suspension in the term | What the governing board must do |
|---|---|
| 5 school days or fewer | Must consider any written representations from parents, but need not meet, and cannot direct reinstatement |
| More than 5 and up to 15 school days | Meets only if parents make representations, and decides within 50 school days |
| More than 15 school days | Must meet and decide within 15 school days, and can direct reinstatement |
| The suspension would make the student miss a public exam or national curriculum test | Must meet within 15 school days |
Because a suspension review is not always required, there is nothing to record for most short suspensions. Only record a review where the governing board has actually met and reached an outcome.
Recording a review
Go to the student's Student Profile > Behaviour > Exclusions and click + Add on the Reviews for Exclusions section. Choose Governing Body Review - Suspension.
You can also start it from the suspension itself. Open the suspension and click the Exclusion review row, which reads "No review found - click to add review" when nothing has been recorded. That opens the form already linked to that suspension.
| Field | Mandatory? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Student | Read-only | Taken from the record |
| Review conducted by | Read-only | Always Governing Body for a suspension |
| Suspension | Mandatory | Exactly one suspension |
| Review date | Mandatory | Not defaulted to today, choose the date yourself |
| Review outcome | Mandatory | Governing Body outcomes only |
| Student reinstated date | Optional | Date student returned to school if reinstated |
| Comment | Optional | Free text |
| Attachments | Optional | Attachments card |
The outcome list is the Governing Body set, minus the option about a panel being requested, since that cannot happen for a suspension. You will see options covering reinstatement offered, reinstatement offered but not yet taken up, reinstatement offered but declined, the board deciding against reinstatement, and the review still being ongoing.
The reinstatement date
The Student reinstated date - a governing board can decide to reinstate before the student is actually back in school, so add the date when you know it. It is only accepted against the outcomes that offer or grant reinstatement, and it cannot fall before the suspension started.
Unlike a permanent exclusion, a suspension reinstatement date is not sent to the School Census. It is recorded in Arbor for your own records and to drive the status.
Reading the Status column
The Status column on the Exclusions list shows where a suspension has got to, without opening it:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Cancelled | The headteacher cancelled the suspension before the governing board met |
| Under review | A review has been recorded and is still ongoing |
| 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 suspension stands. This includes a suspension with no review, and one whose review concluded without reinstating |
A suspension with no review shows Active, not "Awaiting review". That status only applies to permanent exclusions, because a permanent exclusion always requires a governing board review whereas a suspension review is only needed in the circumstances above.
Cancelling a suspension
Only the headteacher can cancel a suspension, and only before the governing board has met to consider reinstatement. Once a review has been recorded, cancelling is no longer available.
Cancelling and reviewing are two different routes, so never record both against one suspension. Any sessions the student already missed still count, both towards the 45 day maximum and in the census. See the cancellations article linked here; Cancelling a suspension or permanent exclusion
Correcting and removing records
Editing a suspension. Open the record from the table and choose Edit details, or add attachments from the same panel.
Deleting a suspension. Deleting is now limited, 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 suspension 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 a suspension 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, and both keep the sessions the student missed on the record.
Deleting a review. A review recorded in error can be deleted from the review's own edit form. That is separate from deleting the suspension.
Viewing planned absences
Planned absences show on the student's profile under Attendance > Dashboard and Planned Absences & Notes.
You can also see them in the Marks (By Date) section.
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 suspension.
- The review date must be completed.
- An outcome must be selected.
- A reinstatement date can only be entered against an outcome that offers or grants reinstatement.
- A reinstatement date cannot fall before the suspension started.
Frequently asked questions
Can a suspension go to an Independent Review Panel?
No. Panels only review permanent exclusions. A suspension can have a Governing Body review.
Do I need to record a review for every suspension?
No. Only where the governing board has met and reached an outcome. For a suspension of 5 school days or fewer in a term the board need not meet and cannot direct reinstatement, so there is usually nothing to record.
Why does my suspension show as Active when it has finished?
"Active" means the sanction stands and nothing is pending, rather than that it is currently running. A completed suspension with no review or cancellation shows Active.
Why can't I delete a suspension from last month?
Deletion window (for data entry errors) closes once the suspension has been in force for more than 5 school days, or as soon as a review is recorded. Cancel it or record a review outcome instead.
Does a lunchtime suspension go to the census?
No. The DfE does not collect lunchtime exclusions, so suspensions with a Daily Start and Daily End time are excluded from the return.
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