Cheshire East Council is seeking expressions of interest from people who may be eligible to sit on panels, to consider appeals by parents against decisions made by the Local Authority/Academy not to admit a child to a particular school or to review a decision of a governing board not to reinstate a permanently excluded pupil from a school in the Cheshire East area. 

Applications are invited from people of all backgrounds as the panel is made up of lay members and those with experience in education. A lay member is a person without personal experience in the provision of education in any school (disregarding experience as a school governor or in another voluntary capacity). A member with experience in education is a person who has experience in education (such as a retired headteacher or teacher); or has knowledge of educational conditions in the local area or is a parent of a registered pupil at a school.

The Independent Review Panel hearings are held as face-to-face meetings, throughout the year and School Admission Appeal hearings are held as virtual and face to face meetings, all year round, Monday to Friday during normal office hours.  The majority of school appeals are held from May to July to consider block appeals (applications for Reception or Year 7 in September), and casual appeals (in-year applications to start at a school at any other time other than September for Reception and Year 7) are held throughout the year.  Each panel is made up of three members who are independent of the Local Authority.  Full training would be provided prior to sitting on a panel.

The position is unpaid, but you will be able to claim reasonable travelling expenses.  For further information and to request an application form, please contact Gaynor Hawthornthwaite – Email: DSAdmin@cheshireeast.gov.uk telephone: 01270 686467.