What is off-rolling?
Off-rolling is when a pupil is unlawfully removed from the school register.
Ofsted's definition
Ofsted defines off-rolling as:
The practice of removing a pupil from the school roll without a formal, permanent exclusion or by encouraging a parent to remove their child from the school roll, when the removal is primarily in the interests of the school rather than in the best interests of the pupil.
See paragraph 371 of the School Inspection Handbook.
The DfE's stance on unlawful exclusions and off-rolling
Your school should only permanently exclude a child where both of the following conditions are met:
Excluding a pupil is unlawful if it's done for any reason other than those