Do you have excellent listening skills, the ability to put people at ease and make balanced decisions?
Would you like to become involved in an important, impartial service provided to parents and schools?
We regularly seek to recruit new members for our school appeals panels.
Education admission appeals panels hears evidence and make decisions in relation to appeals received from parents/guardians who wish to appeal against a decision of the not to admit a child to their preferred school.
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, are a parent of a child at a school, but are not an employee of Gwynedd 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).
Full initial training will be provided with refresher training at regular intervals to ensure everyone is kept up to date with changes to admissions law and the codes.
Admission Appeals Panels
The statutory basis for the admission appeals process is the Schools Standards and Framework Act 1998. The Education (Admission Appeals Arrangements) (Wales) Regulations 2005
The most recent School Admissions Appeals Code was issued under Section 84 of the Act in July 2013.
3 panel members are required to hold a school admission appeals hearing, with each panel composed of at least one member from each of the following categories:
- lay members - those without personal experience in the management of or provision of education in any school (a lay member can also be someone who is, or has been, a school governor or someone who has worked or works in a school as a volunteer)
- non-lay members - those with experience in education; this includes teachers/ teaching assistants, ex-teachers/ex-teaching assistants, individuals acquainted with educational conditions, or parents of a registered pupil at a different school.
Exclusion Appeal Panels
The statutory basis for the exclusion appeals process is the Education Act 2002. The most recent Exclusion from Schools and Pupil Referral Units Code was issued under Section 54(2) of the Act in November 2019.
3 panel members are required to hold a school exclusion appeals hearing, with each panel composed of at least one member from each of the following categories:
- lay members - those without personal experience in the management of or provision of education in any school (a lay member can also be someone who is, or has been, a school governor or someone who has worked or works in a school as a volunteer)
- an Education Practitioner - a headteacher or other person currently working in education management.
- A School Governor a governor who must have served for 12 consecutive months within the last six years and have not been a headteacher or teacher during the last five years.
Both Panels are supported by an independent Clerk who advises the Panel on points of law and procedure and takes notes during the hearing.
Being a Panel Member
Apply to become a member
If you are interested in the role, please complete the application form below.
Application Form to become a Member of a Schools Appeal Panel (opens in new tab)