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:
- Removing a pupil from the school roll without a formal, permanent exclusion
Or, when the decision is made primarily in the interests of the school and not the pupil:
- Encouraging:
- A parent to remove their child from the school roll
- A sixth form student not to continue with their course of study
- Keeping a pupil on the school roll but not allowing them to attend school normally, without a formal permanent exclusion or suspension
See paragraph 428 of the School Inspection Handbook.
The DfE's stance on unlawful exclusions and off-rolling:
The exclusion is in response to a serious breach or persistent breaches of the school's behaviour policy; and Allowing the pupil to remain in school would seriously