Paragraph 2 Constitution of appeal panels

(1)

An appeal pursuant to arrangements made by a local education authority under regulation 6(1) shall be to an appeal panel constituted in accordance with this paragraph.

(2)

An appeal panel shall consist of three or five members appointed by the authority from—

(a)

persons who are eligible to be lay members;

(b)

persons who are, or have been within the previous five years, head teachers of maintained schools; and

(c)

persons who are or have been governors of maintained schools, provided they have served as a governor for at least twelve consecutive months within the last six years, and who are not teachers or head teachers.

(3)

Of the members of an appeal panel—

(a)

where it consists of three members one must be appointed from each of the three categories in sub-paragraph (2);

(b)

where it consists of five members—

(i)

one must be a person who is eligible to be a lay member and is appointed as such;

(ii)

two must be persons falling within sub-paragraph (2)(b); and

(iii)

two must be persons falling within sub-paragraph (2)(c).

(4)

For the purposes of this paragraph and paragraph 4 a person is eligible to be a lay member if he is a person without personal experience in the management of any school or the provision of education in any school (disregarding any such experience as a governor or in any other voluntary capacity).

(5)

Sufficient persons may be appointed by the authority under this paragraph to enable two or more appeal panels to sit at the same time.

(6)

No person shall be a member of an appeal panel if he is disqualified by virtue of sub-paragraph (7).

(7)

The following persons are disqualifed for membership of an appeal panel—

(a)

any member of the authority or of the governing body of the school in question;

(b)

the head teacher of the school in question or any person who has held that position within the previous five years;

(c)

any person employed by the authority other than as a head teacher;

(d)

any person who has, or at any time has had, any connection with—

(i)

the authority or the school, or with any person within paragraph (c), or

(ii)

the pupil in question or the incident leading to his exclusion,

of a kind which might reasonably be taken to raise doubts about his ability to act impartially.

(8)

A person employed by the authority as a head teacher shall not be taken, by reason only of that employment, to have such a connection with the authority as is mentioned in sub-paragraph (7)(d).

(9)

Where, at any time after an appeal panel consisting of five members has begun to consider an appeal, any of the members—

(a)

dies, or

(b)

becomes unable through illness to continue as a member,

the panel may continue with their consideration and determination of the appeal so long as the number of the remaining members is not less than three and the requirements of sub-paragraph (3) (a) are satisfied.

(10)

An appeal panel shall be chaired by the person appointed as a lay member.