Stephen Byers: "Education is not a secret world"

Stephen Byers and John Banks, from the National Union of Teachers, comment on the expulsion Dur2' 32"

Government Calls For Expulsion Report

Sarah Briggs, who was a pupil at the The Queen Elizabeth's School at Mansfield in Nottinghamshire, told a local newspaper that progress towards her GCSEs was being hampered by teachers being absent.

Sarah Briggs: "I did nothing wrong"

David Briggs, Sarah's father fills in the background Dur 1' 51"

She said her school had not responded to criticism made by inspectors from the education watchdog, OFSTED. They visited the school last year and made a number of recommendations*. One of the requirements was for teachers to plan lessons better and use a wider range of teaching methods.

The girl's headteacher, Nicola Atkin, excluded the pupil for bringing the school into disrepute. She said the behaviour of Sarah Briggs had "seriously damaged the reputation of the school".

Stephen Byers refused to comment directly on the case but has called for an urgent report. However, he did say that education was not a secret world about which parents and pupils were denied any comment.

"We think where appropriate parents and pupils should comment on OFSTED reports," he said.

The Chief Schools Inspector, Chris Woodhead, went further. He thought Sarah Briggs should not have been punished. But he warned that there was a danger of inflaming a situation through unnecessary comment.

* OFSTED reports are available on the Internet. The one for The Queen Elizabeth's School is not, however. A spokesman told the BBC this was due to an oversight. It was being processed and should be there "next week". (The BBC does not endorse the content of external sites)