education bosses at Hampshire County Council have set aside £365,000 next year to pay for tutors for pupils barred from school.

New rules mean excluded pupils are entitled to 25 hours of tutoring per week, compared with just 14.5 hours at present.

County education boss Andrew Seber said the cost of paying for an excluded pupil's education was roughly £9,000 a year - more than three times the price of state teaching. And if exclusions rise further than the current low level, the county will have to find the cash to pay for them.

The figures were released as councillors discussed planned changes to guidelines on who headteachers could expel and for what.

The draft Government guidance to schools says pupils may be excluded for a first or one-off offence if the incident involves serious or threatened violence, sexual misconduct, supplying drugs or carrying an offensive weapon.

The shift from current policy comes in the subtle change of wording. Heads will be told: "Before excluding a child, in most cases a range of alternatives should be tried", instead of the current: "Children should not normally be excluded for a first or one-off offence".

The re-wording is said to give headteachers more leeway in deciding whether to expel a child. It also affects the ability of Independent Appeal Panels to overturn some expulsions.

The county has warned that the changes could lead to a rise in exclusions, which have steadily dropped over the last four years in response to Government policy.

Now the picture appears to be reversing, with 36 more exclusions made during the autumn term this academic year compared with 12 months ago.

Councillors, who have generally welcomed the changes, will send their views on the guidance to the Department of Education and Skills.