Commentary Part 7: Discipline, Behaviour and Exclusion Section 92: Enforcement of disciplinary penalties: detention outside normal school sessions
458.This section specifies the conditions that make the detention of a pupil outside school sessions lawful. These are in addition to the conditions specified in section 91. It (together with section 91) replaces section 550B of the 1996 Act.
459.Subsection (1) provides that the section applies to a disciplinary penalty that consists of detention outside school sessions.
460.Subsections (2), (3) and (4) provide that, in relation to such a disciplinary penalty, further conditions must be met in addition to the conditions specified in section 91. In the case of a detention during a break between school sessions on the same day (for example, a detention at lunchtime), the head teacher must have made the school's policy on detention outside of school sessions known within school and to parents. In other cases, for example evening or weekend detention, three further conditions apply in addition to this, namely that the pupil is below the age of 18, that the detention is on a "permitted day of detention" and that the pupil's parent has been given at least 24 hours' notice.
461.Subsection (5) has the effect that in considering whether the imposition of a detention is reasonable regard must be had (in addition to the factors specified in section 91(6)) to whether suitable travelling arrangements can reasonably be made by the pupil’s parent.
462.Subsection (6) enables the school to give a parent the required 24 hours’ notice by any effective method. (This requirement would not apply to detentions in breaks between sessions, such as lunch times.)
463.Subsection (7) has the effect that this section does not remove powers that heads and school staff have in addition to the powers conferred by this section. These may include powers conferred on them by the pupil’s parent.
464.Subsection (8) defines a “permitted day of detention” as: