We are always looking for volunteers who would like to serve on appeal panels for Education Admission Appeals or Exclusion Independent Reviews
Overview
Education admission appeals panels consider appeals by parents whose children have been refused admission to their preferred school. Members of the independent panels consider the cases put forward by the parents and the schools and decide whether or not the appeal should be upheld.
Exclusion independent review panels consider appeals by parents or carers, whose children have been permanently excluded from a school. The panel consider the decision of a governing body to uphold a permanent exclusion, and decide whether to uphold their decision to permanently exclude a pupil, recommend that the governing body reconsider its decision or direct the governing body to reconsider its decision.
The panels are made up of education experts (people who have had experience in education, understand the educational conditions in Newcastle, are a parent of a child at a school, but are not an employee of Newcastle City Council except teachers) and lay people, (who have no experience of managing or providing education in a school, but may have been a governor or acted in another voluntary capacity, and have no connections with the school or council or any person employed by it).
The work is not paid but expenses for travel will be reimbursed. Appeals take place during the working day. You are free to accept or refuse any hearing offered to you. Training will be provided, and we generally run a training session in February or March of each year.
Please see below for more information.
Admission appeals panels
The statutory basis for the admission appeals process is the Schools Standards and Framework Act 1998. The most recent School Admissions Appeals Code was issued under Section 84 of the Act in February 2012.
An Appeals Panel is made up of at least 3 trained members: a person with experience of education (non-lay), a lay person (without experience of the provision of education) and a trained Chair (who can be either). Non-lay, or education experts are people that are not members of the Authority but who have experience in education, are acquainted with the educational conditions in the area of the Authority or are parents of registered pupils at a school, but not employees of the LEA except teachers. Lay members do not have any personal experience in the management of a school or the provision of education in any school, disregarding any experience such as a Governor or in any other voluntary capacity, and they have not at any time had any connection with the LEA or any person employed by it.
The Panel is supported by an independent Clerk who advises the Panel on points of law and procedure and takes notes during the hearing.