The Government has published its Schools White Paper 2010 ‘The Future Of Schools’ which makes interesting reading for any parent of school-age children.
One of its more contentious proposals is to effectively remove from parents the right of appeal to an Independent Appeals Panel against the decision of a school to permanently exclude a pupil from school. It intends to replace such appeals with a ‘review’ panel, which will no longer, as now, have the power to order a pupil’s re-instatement, no matter what injustice may have been done to the child by the school in excluding him or her. The decision on exclusions will rest solely with the school.
Only 15% of appeals against permanent exclusion are successful, but it seems even this is too many for the government.
How Mr Cameron, who co-wrote the forward to the White Paper, can square the concept of fairness and justice with the proposal that an un-elected body, a school, can in future, make life-changing decisions with no right of appeal, and thus redress, is beyond me.
I know of no other state organization, be it a court, or any of the various tribunals, where a right of appeal does not exist. Are schools to be considered as above the ancient common law rights of the people to have the decisions of those placed in authority over them subject to scrutiny?
If that is truly the way this government thinks then it’s a sad day for Great Britain.
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