About the panels
School admissions panel
The admissions panel considers appeals from parents or carers whose children have been refused admission to their preferred school. Our independent panel members consider the cases put forward by parents and schools and decide whether or not the appeal should be upheld.
Herefordshire's panel consists of three members with a clerk to take notes and offer advice. The panel, which is set up under the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 and operates according to the principles of fairness and natural justice, can be made up of a range of different people from education experts and parents to those who have served in the voluntary sector.
Exclusion review panel
The exclusion review panel considers appeals from parents or carers whose children have been permanently excluded from a school. The panel members consider a governing body's decision to uphold a permanent exclusion and decide whether or not this decision should stand or if it should be reconsidered by the governing body.
This panel is slightly different to the admissions panel, as one member must have served as a headteacher within the last five years whilst another must have been an active school governor for at least a year.
Panel members
Panel members for either panel serve on a voluntary, unpaid basis but travel expenses are reimbursed. All panel members receive full training prior to being eligible to serve on the admissions or exclusion panels. All appeals take place during the working day but members are free to accept or refuse any hearing offered to them. When vacancies occur they are advertised on this site.
A current panel member had this to say: "In the three years since I joined the panel, I have sat on a few occasions (a couple of days a year) and not found this to be too onerous or demanding. In fact it is great to feel you are helping people in your area."
Apply to join a panel
We are currently looking to recruit panel members.
To find out more about the role take a look at our panel member information sheet and application form
If you would like to find out more about the panels, please contact the Schools Appeals team at schoolappeals@herefordshire.gov.uk