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Executive Summary

Introduction

This Special Report by the Council on Tribunals is made to the Lord Chancellor and Scottish Ministers in accordance with the terms of the Council's governing Act, the Tribunals and Inquiries Act 1992 (as amended). The Report is produced under the Council's statutory obligation to report from time to time on the constitution and working of the tribunals which fall within its jurisdiction.

The Report concerns the operation of school admission and exclusion appeal panels in England and Wales (previously education appeal committees, before the 1998 School Standards and Framework Act), and restates the Council's concerns about the panels. Few of these concerns will be novel to those with an interest in this area of tribunal policy, and particularly not to the policy makers and Ministers in the Department for Education and Skills, with whom the Council have maintained an ongoing dialogue over the years.

In addition to members' regular programme of visits to tribunal hearings, over the past year the Council has undertaken a programme of additional visits to admission and exclusion appeal panel hearings. Council Members observe the private deliberations of the panels, which gives them a valuable insight into the fairness or unfairness of the hearing. Discussions are also held with panel Chairs, members and clerks. In the preparation of this Report, Council members have also held meetings with other interested parties, including representatives from the Local Government Ombudsman's office, representatives from the training organisation ISCG (Information for Schools and College Governors), and researchers from Sheffield Hallam University who have recently completed an academic study of admission appeal panels.

Sir Andrew Leggatt, in his Report of the Review of Tribunals published in March 2001, expressed concerns about admission appeal panels his team had been unable to observe a hearing by an exclusion appeal panel. His Report touched on many of the matters discussed in this report, including the need for better and more timely information for parents about the appeal process; better access to independent advice and support; a wider spread of, and stronger, lay representation; better administrative support for panels by properly trained clerks; better training for panel members and Chairs; a proper appraisal system for panel members; and better use of IT for managing cases.

In view of the perceived weakness of admission appeal panels noted by the Leggatt Review, and our own observations of both admission and exclusion appeal hearings, we believe that greater consistency could be achieved through moves towards a more coherent national structure, initially through regionalisation, and in the longer term by inclusion in a national unified system.

Summary of key issues

The Report considers and makes recommendations in respect of the following matters:

  • the Council's concerns about the lack of independence of admission and exclusion appeal panels;
  • concerns about the constitution of admission and exclusion appeal panels, and particularly the over-representation of teachers on the panels, and the Department's recent decision to increase the numbers of teachers on exclusion appeal panels;
  • the need for greater consistency in the arrangements for clerking admission and exclusion appeal panel hearings;
  • the need for a clear and uniform policy on training for panel members, and particularly in respect of the skills needed by panel Chairs;
  • the need for better guidance and information for parents about the appeals processes for admission and exclusion appeals, and about access to local representation services;
  • the need for better and more appropriate accommodation for appeal panel hearings;
  • the need for admission panels to have proper regard to the two-stage appeal process;
  • the handling of multiple admission appeals;
  • the need for better information for parents about "class size" admission appeals, and particularly concerning the limited jurisdiction of the panels in these cases;
  • the need for more effective co-ordination of school admission arrangements;
  • concerns about the operation of admission appeal panels for voluntary-aided and foundation schools.

Key Recommendations

The Report's key recommendations are that:

  1. In view of the recurring link between exclusion and special educational needs, exclusion appeals should be heard by the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST), which has legally qualified chairs and a national structure.
  2. Admission appeals should be organised on a regional rather than a local basis, involving the grouping of the appeals function for several LEAs. This would be an interim measure, pending the establishment of a national appeals system.

Implementation of these and some of the other recommendations made by this Report would undoubtedly require primary legislation.

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