Procedure for appealing student's exclusion from school in the UK.

1. How can I appeal?

You must appeal in writing to an independent appeal panel, setting out the grounds on which your appeal is made. Please complete the appeal form EXC/02 sent to you with this booklet and send it, together with any other relevant documents, to:

The Chief Clerk to the Appeal Panels, Conciliation and Appeals Unit (CAU), County Hall. Or the address which will be in your letter from the school advising you of the exclusion.

We must receive your EXC/02 form and your written grounds for appeal within 15 school days from the date that you receive the letter telling you of your child's exclusion. The letter will be from the School Discipline Committee and will tell you the latest date for the Chief Clerk to receive your completed form. We will then set up a hearing for you with an independent panel of three people.

You will lose your right to put your case to an independent appeal panel if:

• your appeal is not received within 15 days
• you inform the Local Education Authority in writing that you do not wish to appeal

2. How will I know about my right of appeal?

When the school Governing Body's Discipline Committee decided not to reinstate your child they should have sent you a letter. The clerk of the Committee should have informed you of your right to appeal against their decision within one school day of their hearing at the school. The letter should have explained:

• the reasons for their decision
• your right to appeal to an independent appeal panel, and the date by which your appeal must be
• received by the Chief Clerk
• the address of the Chief Clerk to the Appeal Panel who you have to send your appeal to
• it is a requirement that your appeal set out your grounds (reasons) for appealing

You can appeal to the appeal panel even if you did not put your case to the Discipline Committee.

Student Services, on behalf of the LEA, should have written to you within 3 working days of the Discipline Committee meeting. This letter will also tell you the last date for your appeal to be received. No appeal can be accepted after this date.

3. What are school exclusion appeal panels?

These are independent panels set up by the Conciliation and Appeals Unit (CAU) on behalf of the Local Education Authority (LEA) to consider appeals from parents and carers.

Your appeal will be against the decision of the school Governing Body's Discipline Committee. They will have decided to uphold the headteacher's decision to exclude your child permanently from school.

4. How do I decide whether I have grounds (reasons) for appeal?

You have grounds for appeal if:

• you do not believe your child did what he or she is accused of doing
• you do not believe the school has acted reasonably by excluding your child permanently from school for what he/she is accused of doing

To help you decide whether you feel you have grounds for appealing against your child's permanent exclusion from school you may find it helpful to know what guidance has been given to schools about exclusions. The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) has issued the following guidance to schools. Schools must have regard to this guidance, which is included in the revision of circular 10/99 issued in January 2003.

1. Introduction

1. A decision to exclude a pupil should be taken only:

• in response to serious breaches of the school's behaviour policy; and
• allowing the pupil to remain in school would seriously harm the education or welfare of the pupil or others in the school.

2. Only the headteacher or teacher in charge of a PRU - ESC in Hertfordshire (or, in the absence of the headteacher or teacher in charge, the most senior teacher who is acting in that role) can exclude a pupil.

3. A decision to exclude a child permanently is a serious one. It will usually be the final step in a process for dealing with disciplinary offences following a wide range of other strategies, which have been tried without success. It is an acknowledgement by the school that it has exhausted all available strategies for dealing with the child and should normally be used as a last resort.

4. There will however be exceptional circumstances where, in the headteacher's judgement, it is appropriate permanently to exclude a child for a first or 'one off' offence. These might include:

• serious actual or threatened violence against another pupil or a member of staff
• sexual abuse or assault
• supplying an illegal drug
• carrying an offensive weapon

Schools should also consider whether or not to inform the police where such a criminal offence has taken place. They should also consider whether or not to inform other agencies, eg Youth Offending Team, social workers, etc.

5. These instances are not exhaustive, but indicate the severity of such offences and the fact that such behaviour can affect the discipline and well-being of the school community.