Appealing Exclusion From School - Appealing Student's Exclusion From School

Written by Sarah-Jayne Bass

6. Who will consider my appeal?

We will set up the independent appeal panel of 3 people. They will be:

• a lay member (someone who has not worked in school in a paid capacity, although they may be a governor or a volunteer) - they will be the chair of the panel
• a governor of a maintained school (either currently serving or having served at least 12 months in the last 6 years, but not a teacher or headteacher)
• a headteacher of a maintained school or ESC (either currently serving, or having served within the last 5 years).

The appeal panel is independent and must be fair to both sides. A person will not be allowed to be on the panel if they are:

• a member of the LEA or the Governing Body of the excluding school
• an employee of the LEA or the Governing Body (unless they are employed as a headteacher in another school or ESC)
• someone who has, or who has had, a connection with an interested party (which might raise doubts about whether they can act fairly)
• the headteacher of the excluding school (or if they have been the headteacher in the last 5 years)

7. When will my appeal hearing take place?

The appeal panel must meet to consider your appeal no later than the 15th school day after the day on which your appeal was lodged.

8. What arrangements will be made in advance of the hearing?

The Appeals Section of CAU will write to you regarding the time, date and venue for your appeal hearing, which will be held in private.

Appeal hearings will always take place during the school day, normally starting at 10.00 a.m. Occasionally they may last all day and into the evening.

If you have any matters to raise or documents you wish to produce for the hearing, which were not included with your notice of appeal, you are asked to submit them to the Chief Clerk no later than 6 working days prior to your hearing.

You, the school, and the LEA representative will be sent written evidence 5 working days before the hearing. This will include the statement of decision by the Discipline Committee, your appeal form, your grounds for appeal and any other written evidence you send us. It will also include any written representation from the headteacher, Governing Body and LEA.

You will be sent details of all those attending the appeal panel hearing and their role. You will also be sent an Order of Proceedings (a running order) for the hearing.

9. What will happen at the appeal hearing?

Your hearing will be held in private and will be reasonably informal so that all sides can present their case effectively.

The appeal panel will conduct the hearing, and a clerk will be on hand to provide independent advice on procedure for all parties. The clerk will also keep a record of the proceedings, who attended, and any decisions made. The clerk will also ensure that no side is alone with the appeal panel without the other sides also being present.

At the start of the hearing the chair of the panel will outline the procedure to be followed, and explain that the panel is independent from both the school and the LEA. The panel will closely follow current legislation and DfES guidance in both the way it conducts itself and the decision it makes.

Following introductions by the chair of the panel, the clerk will explain the order in which the sides can state their case. After each presentation the chair of the panel will take the lead in establishing the facts. The other sides will then have the opportunity to ask questions, followed by panel members, who may want to clarify an issue or ask for more information.

Generally the order of proceedings will be as follows:

1. The school's case
2. Questioning of the school's case (by the parent, LEA representative and panel)
3. The parental case
4. Questioning of the parent's case (by the school, LEA representative and panel)
5. The LEA's case
6. Questioning of the LEA's case (by the school, parent and panel)
7. Summary of case - school
8. Summary of case - parent