Appeals this summer and COVID-19
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Re: Appeals this summer and COVID-19
Wildfuture wrote:Ideally yes, that would be the case but not all panel members or parents will have access to use Skype etc, nor the experience of using it. A work meeting scheduled to start at 10am will start at 10am. Many appeals run over so those subsequent hearings will be unaware what is happening. Do you compensate panel members (who don't forget are volunteers and many are within the defined vulnerable category) for using their own electric, Internet etc and how? Some panel members now have their children at home and not in school. Is it professional to have children running around in the background during a hearing?hempsteadlad wrote:A friend whose DS is appealing for a grammar school in Kent has had an acknowledgment letter form the Clerk to the appeal panel to say that the Government are to issue new regulations to allow appeal panels to meet in different ways. Many of us have work meetings via Skype etc, this would be much better than the paper exercise, parents would still be able to meet the panel and ask the school questions. Everyone is learning to work in different ways, schools and appeal panels should be no different.
Lots to consider.
Also bear in mind that although it is almost certain that the average spouse / child / parent of a panel member, Clerk or Presenting Officer has zero interest in the contents of their relative's 'virtual' meetings (or, for that matter, in the protracted discussions re why the technology seems only to be working for some participants and not for others), it is almost impossible to make such a 'meeting' within the confines of the average family home completely confidential.
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx
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Re: Appeals this summer and COVID-19
I am going to really struggle to get anything from my ds school as his teacher is not physically in the building.
My appeal is gong to be very thin :/
My appeal is gong to be very thin :/
Re: Appeals this summer and COVID-19
Under the Code you're entitled to 10 school days' notice of your appeal hearing, so strictly speaking the 10 days can't start until the school has re-opened. That might give you the opportunity to get hold of some evidence before the hearing.Catjellycat wrote:I am going to really struggle to get anything from my ds school as his teacher is not physically in the building.
My appeal is gong to be very thin :/
Of course, we don't yet know what the DfE is going to do about the situation, so the regulations may change.
Etienne
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Re: Appeals this summer and COVID-19
I think technically all state schools are still open - just they are physically open just for key worker children. Even if teachers are not on the premises, they should still be contactable and will still be setting and marking work.
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Re: Appeals this summer and COVID-19
So by that reasoning there won't be any appeals prior to September then.Etienne wrote:Under the Code you're entitled to 10 school days' notice of your appeal hearing, so strictly speaking the 10 days can't start until the school has re-opened. That might give you the opportunity to get hold of some evidence before the hearing.Catjellycat wrote:I am going to really struggle to get anything from my ds school as his teacher is not physically in the building.
My appeal is gong to be very thin :/
Of course, we don't yet know what the DfE is going to do about the situation, so the regulations may change.
Re: Appeals this summer and COVID-19
Interesting point.kenyancowgirl wrote:I think technically all state schools are still open - just they are physically open just for key worker children.
I haven't been able to find a legal definition of a school closure in this context.
Closures are mentioned in the School Standards and Framework Act, but only with regard to failing schools!
Modified by "strictly speaking" and "we don't yet know what the DfE is going to do about the situation".Wildfuture wrote:So by that reasoning there won't be any appeals prior to September then.
The Appeals Code was never written for these extraordinary circumstances, and there may be some unpalatable choices.
A 'paper only' procedure has been spoken of, but appeals in the absence of appellants can be very unsatisfactory. Some parents struggle to put forward a coherent written case, perhaps because they're from a deprived background, English is not their first language, they don't understand the system, or for whatever reason. They can be seriously disadvantaged if there is no face to face meeting where the panel have an opportunity to tease out all the information they need.
Technology has been mentioned further up - but you and Toadmum have correctly identified some of the problems.
Etienne
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Re: Appeals this summer and COVID-19
I contacted our Appeals Clerk and she replied on Friday to say everything is going ahead as usual - no changes, no delays. They won't accept anything by email. Hmmnm, going to be interesting then.
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Re: Appeals this summer and COVID-19
Has the clerk not been watching any news in the last few weeks?!geocachers wrote:I contacted our Appeals Clerk and she replied on Friday to say everything is going ahead as usual - no changes, no delays. They won't accept anything by email. Hmmnm, going to be interesting then.
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Re: Appeals this summer and COVID-19
Clearly not!Wildfuture wrote:Has the clerk not been watching any news in the last few weeks?!geocachers wrote:I contacted our Appeals Clerk and she replied on Friday to say everything is going ahead as usual - no changes, no delays. They won't accept anything by email. Hmmnm, going to be interesting then.
I have received a letter by email from my son's teacher but it is not on school headed paper so am not sure if it is admissible. They are not going to back in school by the deadline. Causing so many issues!
Re: Appeals this summer and COVID-19
Is the email address the letter is sent from the teacher's school one? If so, just print out the whole thing.geocachers wrote:Clearly not!Wildfuture wrote:Has the clerk not been watching any news in the last few weeks?!geocachers wrote:I contacted our Appeals Clerk and she replied on Friday to say everything is going ahead as usual - no changes, no delays. They won't accept anything by email. Hmmnm, going to be interesting then.
I have received a letter by email from my son's teacher but it is not on school headed paper so am not sure if it is admissible. They are not going to back in school by the deadline. Causing so many issues!
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx