Become a Volunteer School Appeals Panel Member
Are you interested in taking an active role in your community?
Are you interested in Local Education and would you like to get involved?
Do you have the skills needed to be an impartial panel member?
We are looking for enthusiastic and dedicated people to join us as Volunteer Panel Members, providing impartial decisions on School Admission Appeals.
School Admissions Appeals
What are they?
A school admissions appeal will take place when a parent or guardian has appealed against the decision of an admissions authority to refuse to offer a place to their child.
What will I do?
The role of the panel is to hear the cases of the admissions authority and the family and to come to a decision on whether the child should be offered a place at the school. The panel must make their decision within the parameters of a legal framework and a clerk will be available to the panel to offer legal advice and guidance.
The panel will sit as a minimum of three and must be independent of the school, the parents and the local authority. The panel will be a mixture of those with experience within the education system and those without.
Key Information
For these panels we are open to volunteers with varied experiences, but strong panel members will be excellent communicators, good listeners, have integrity, and be able to make unbiased and fair decisions.
Hearings can take place across the county and throughout the academic year, and the time required can vary, but they can last for a half-day, a full day or over a couple of days depending on circumstances/number of appeals. Panel members will be asked their availability as and when appeals come in.
School Admissions appeals increase in frequency around May-July.
What can we offer you?
This is a fantastic opportunity to play an active role in an essential decision making process for our Education System.
Sitting as a panel member is a great way to develop your interpersonal skills, decision making and leadership skills.
Full training is provided, given by the Cumbria County Council Legal services team, and is updated/refreshed every 2 years.
This is a volunteer role, and all travel and parking expenses will be paid.
Tea and coffee will be available with food being provided at full day hearings.
Please note: County Council Members and employees are unable to sit on these panels.
If you would like to volunteer to be a panel member, or would like further information, please contact the School Admissions Appeals Team at SchoolAppeals@cumbria.gov.uk