KENT Asking questions in appeal????

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Zee

KENT Asking questions in appeal????

Post by Zee »

Im going to the appeal panel this week (18.05.06)

ive been told 2 ask questions to the appeal panel, but i am not sure what to
ask them. has anyone got any ideas of what questions i should ask them?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks. Zee :)
patricia
Posts: 2803
Joined: Mon Jan 30, 2006 5:07 pm

Post by patricia »

Dear Zee

Post your request in the General Topics section, asking for Etiennes advice, giving details of your reasons for appeal.

Also, take a look at the main website, appeals

Patricia
mother appealing

questions

Post by mother appealing »

I had my appeal last week (and unfortunately failed), I personally didn't feel the need to ask any questions. I would like to advise you to write down every single little thing you want to say even if you may think it not important. I came out wishing I'd said sooooo much more. I would also like to warn you that it's quite hard going, obviously you may have different people to me, and this may not make you feel any better, but they don't make you feel at ease, I have never been in court, but I felt like I was. I would also make sure that you go through all the 'evidence' you sent as they may have missed some very important facts (like I felt my panel had). They also asked me questions that made me feel like a bad parent because I did not know the answers, like 'did your child finish the paper'. I really don't want to scare you, but I just wish I'd met someone who'd been through it before and could let me know what it's like. If I make it sound worse than it is, then hopefully it won't be as bad as you expect to be. I wish you all the luck in the world.
Etienne
Posts: 8978
Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 6:26 pm

Post by Etienne »

I’d just like to add a few comments.

I hope Zee looked at the appeals section on this website’s homepage before the hearing. Number 19 may have helped.

There is the opportunity for parents to ask questions about the authority’s case, but this does not mean you have to. I see no point in asking questions just for the sake of it. I suggest that questions should only be asked if you do not understand something, or if you think something in the authority’s case is factually incorrect. (Do not make the mistake of starting to talk about your own case – the opportunity for that comes later.)

I was very sorry to hear that Mother Appealing found the experience so distressing. Panels do of course have a judicial function to perform, and although they are meant to try to put parents at their ease, even so there’s inevitably a lot of stress and pressure associated with an appeal.

Moreover, parents react in different ways. Mother Appealing says she felt like a bad parent because she didn’t know the answer to the question “Did your child finish the paper?” It is quite understandable that a parent, under stress, might react in this way, but this, of course, was not the intention of the questioner. It’s a perfectly reasonable question that is often asked.

I think Mother Appealing is right to suggest that you should have a list of everything you want to say, and that at the hearing you must take the panel through your case. Panel members may have hundreds of papers to read beforehand, and although they will have noted what they regard as being the key points, they will not necessarily recall every detail. The purpose of your presentation is to draw their attention to what you consider to be the important points.
Etienne
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