Q about appeal panel members

[Londondad]

Hi all

I hope someone can answer this... Can an ex-head teacher sit on an appeal panel (not the ex-head of the appealed for school but a neighbouring school)? I thought current and previous local authority staff were not able to be panel members. But please correct me if I'm wrong.

Thanks

[dutchy005]

At both our appeals in 2010 there were ex heads on the panels. They were retired and I do not know where they had worked.

[Londondad]

Thanks for that. The wording in the Appeals Code is a little ambiguous but it must be acceptable then.

[Stocky]

There was an ex grammar head on our panel last week from the same county, my understanding is that it is noone connected to the school in question.

[capers123]

I've sat on panels with retired teachers and head teachers. For a start, 1.5b insists that there must be someone with experience of education

1.5. A panel must consist of the following persons with at least one from each category:
...
b) people who have experience in education, who are acquainted with educational conditions in the local authority area, or who are parents of registered pupils at school.

1.7 is fairly explicit as to who is disqualified -

1.7. ... A person is disqualified if they are: ...
c) employed by the local authority or governing body of the school in question, other than as a teacher or teaching assistant
d) any person who has, or at any time has had, any connection with the authority,
school or any person in sub-paragraph c) above which might reasonably be taken to raise doubts about that person’s ability to act impartially;

If the school is its own Admissions Authority, which in Gloucestershire is certainly the case for almost all secondaries, then a former head of a different school would be fine as long as they had no connection the the school you're appealing for. Likewise, someone whose child went to that school (even many years ago) is disqualified.

[Londondad]

Thanks for that. Is that from the Appeals Code 2012 - it reads differently to how I remember it?

[capers123]

Thanks for that. Is that from the Appeals Code 2012 - it reads differently to how I remember it?

Yes, that's the 2012 version (http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/adm ... egulations" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;).

I must say I do keep referring back to it to make sure that I'm not missing some subtle (or blooming obvious) change since the previous code.