PUPILS risk being excluded for “malicious coughing” or making “inappropriate” jokes about the coronavirus pandemic, some schools have warned.

The new behavioural guidelines have been issued to parents as many schools prepare to welcome children back into their classrooms in England this week.

It comes as the Department for Education (DfE) said teachers could see an increase in bad behaviour due to pupils’ lack of regular attendance and “classroom discipline” during the pandemic.

The Ark Alexandra Academy in Hastings has set out a list of “coronavirus red lines” which will result in fixed-term exclusions for pupils should they be breached.

These include “deliberate or malicious” coughs or sneezes, “humorous, inappropriate comments or statements” related to Covid-19 and “purposeful physical contact with any other person”.

In a letter to parents in August, Jerome Scafe, the Ark Alexandra Academy’s network associate principal, said: “Any student that needs to have a fixed-term exclusion during the pandemic will not return to main circulation until a risk assessment and we can be assured that the student will adhere to all our expectations.”

The DfE said schools should clearly state the consequences for bad behaviour, particularly around new movement restrictions and hygiene rules.