THE long held rights to education and a fair hearing strengthened in the new Human Rights Act are regularly denied children excluded from school.

About 10,000 a year are permanently excluded and probably more than 100,000 for fixed periods which can be for up to 45 days each year. Lives, education an careers are damaged and rules procedures and even the law ignored. Massive evidence to the harm caused to mostly already vulnerable children who need help, not rejection, is available.

The Government declared its intention to reduce exclusions but it is already backtracking to satisfy hard-liners. Very few exclusions are overturned with nine out of ten parents apparently having too little confidence in the system even to appeal.

Children are consigned to second best education or none and the luckiest scramble for places at other, possibly distant schools. The Campaign Opposing Pupil Exclusion (Cope) can supply information and welcomes accounts of the experience of exclusion.

Barbara Newman Cope Box 16752 London SW196ZJ