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Ministry of Education New Zealand
CONTENTS
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Important

You must immediately:

  • tell a parent
  • tell the school board
  • tell the Ministry of Education.

As soon as practicable, you must:

  • provide a suspension pamphlet
  • take steps to get the student guidance and counselling.

Actions to take immediately#

Tell a parent#

You must tell the student’s parent (unless the student has turned 20). You may do this in any way that seems best.

To help you do this, you may wish to use model letter template 2, 'Notifying parent/s or caregivers of suspension'.

Model letter templates

You should also consider calling a parent.

Tell the board#

You must tell the board:

  • that the student has been suspended
  • the reasons for your decision to suspend.

You may do this in any way that seems best.

Tell the Ministry of Education#

You must submit the 'Advice of suspension' electronic form in ENROL.

Actions to take as soon as practicable#

Provide suspension pamphlet#

You must give the student and a parent the information pamphlet from the Ministry of Education, 'Suspension, exclusion and expulsion of a student from a state and state-integrated school'.

Parent information sheets

Guidance and counselling#

You must take all reasonable steps to ensure that the student gets guidance and counselling that is:

  • reasonable
  • practicable in all the circumstances of the suspension.

To help you do this, consider that one of your aims must be to minimise the disruption to a student’s attendance at school and facilitate the return of the student to school when that is appropriate.

Consider attendance during a suspension#

The student may attend school if the student or a parent asks you to allow that for whatever reason and you consider that the request is reasonable.

The student must attend school if you reasonably consider that it is appropriate because either:

  • the student’s educational programme requires it (the student might need to fulfil course requirements for a qualification or sit an examination) or
  • the student needs to receive guidance and counselling.

Otherwise, the student must not attend.

Keep the student on the school roll#

The student must remain on your school roll. They may only be removed if they:

  • enrol at another school
  • are granted an exemption from enrolment or
  • leave the school system altogether (if over 16).