Legality of After School Detentions in Wales

[CymruCow]

Hi new to posting so please be gentle.

First off I would like to make it clear I am not against discipline in schools where appropriate and I'm not looking for a get out clause etc.

I am not a lawyer or legal type of person so am just looking for some guidance from someone who maybe has a bit more of a clue then i do.

My sons school has recently got itself a new headteacher who is for want of a better term "trying to sort the school out" which has involved coming down on poor behavior, none of this I have an issue with and am supportive of it, what I do have an issue with however is detentions taking place on the same day that they are given with no notification being given to parents until after/during the detention. My understanding and this is where I need the help is that in Wales Section 91 and 92 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 are still in place and were only repealed for England by section 5 of the 2011 Education Act and therefore for an after school detention to be lawful Section 92(3)(d) needs to be met, if anyone could tell me if I'm correct on this it would be great.

Some additional information that may be pertinent, my son gets a school bus as we live just over 3 miles from the school, his route home after a detention would involve walking a significant distance on a rural road where there is no path or street lighting, the school so far have claimed that this is not a welfare issue and that their policy overrides any welfare concerns.

Any help/info/input greatly appreciated

What's he getting detentions for and is he expecting more?

Silly things really, forgetting homework or a planner. I'm not against the detentions if he has done something which is against the school rules/behavior policy, my issue is with not being given notice so that I can arrange safe passage home.

In general with detentions how the student gets home is considered not a welfare issue as it is the parent's responsibility.

Guidelines were changed in England (relatively) recently to make clear that same day detentions were lawful.

I am not sure of the situation in Wales.

its this specifically that I'm trying to determine if its still in place

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2011/21/notes/division/6/2/5

Again I'm not against detentions but would like at least to be able to arrange transport home as like you say that is my responsibility but as they do not communicate until after the fact it makes it quite difficult, ideally I would prefer that he didn't get the detentions in the first place, that's another battle though

I'm in Wales and I think same day detentions are legal unfortunately. Not 100% sure because my DDs school don't tend to do them fortunately.
I would be annoyed at not having notice too because my DD gets a public bus home which only goes every hour, and with not being allowed to use her mobile anymore at school she wouldn't be able to let me know until she was out of school

No, same day detentions are not legal in Wales. Section 92(3)(d) of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 requires parents to be given at least 24 hours notice in writing of any detention that will take place outside school sessions if the pupil is at a school in Wales. That section is still in force.

For clarity, section 5 of the 2011 Act did not repeal sections 91 and 92. It simply amended section 92(3)(d) so that it only applies to Wales.

@prh47bridge is correct. They also have to consider whether suitable travelling arrangements can reasonably be made when deciding when the detention is reasonable

@prh47bridge thank you for the concise explanation, now is there anything that can actually be done about it, the school/governors think that they are in the right and can do what they want and that the 2011 Education act gives them those powers.

Follow the school's complaints process. That should tell you where you can take the complaint if the governors reject it.

Dear school
Please note that section X of xxx states a need for 24 hours notice for after school detentions, please can you advise whether this has changed recently & forward the relevant legal & policy detail.
In the event that this information cannot be located I would appreciate it if "Harry " is given an after school detention that we/he is given 24 hours notice.
Please feel free to contact me about this if required.

Kindest regards

Harry's mum