Roper - Centres for the seriously disaffected students are few and far between, and I'm afraid to say it but what the girl has done would not get her into one of those referral units, she could go for doing it 10 or 15 times and that might work.
You're absolutely right that each school has a duty to care for the students but the school's hands are very often tied. Students we've managed to get into referral units for a maximum of 8 weeks are serial brawlers, both staff and students, committed racists or guilty of sexual assault. I think criminal charges should be brought but there simply isn't the political will, locally or nationally
As to your comment that she sounds seriously disturbed I think you're a little naive - our school has retained for 5 years a boy who tried to cut of a dog's head with a spade and broke his hand punching walls when frustrated a girl who cut her lips with a razor blade as 'lipstick', a boy who crapped on desks termly as a dirty protest.. I could go on. In each case we tried to remove them to some kind of additional support for he safety of others or themselves and in each case they were back within a month or never left because here aren't he spaces to house them.
Alternative educational provision in England is appalling and comprehensives like the one I teach in are left carrying the can - it's very frustrating.
