Community Council Members (CCMs) support school leaders and help them make sure our academies provide the best possible education and life chances for our pupils. CCMs volunteer their time to help ensure our academies are working at their best, and make sure our schools understand the needs of their communities. 

Additionally, CCMs monitor the experiences of vulnerable groups, including those with special needs or at risk of underachievement, to ensure policies are effectively implemented. They contribute to identifying strategic risks, support career provision, foster business links, and maintain strong communication with the Trust Board. They are vital in promoting the academy’s positive reputation within the community.

You don’t need to be a parent, have a connection to the school or have experience in education to become a CCM. This exciting and fulfilling opportunity offers training and guidance to allow you to become an active member of an ACC and school community.

Local community members bring valuable knowledge and expertise, such as teamwork and communication skills, which strengthen the ACC and make a positive impact on our students and their community.

We value diversity and welcome people from all backgrounds with different skills and experiences.

Register your interest here.

We expect CCMs to attend three meetings per year, one each term, which are usually held in the evening.

Additionally, we ask CCMs to visit the school at least three times during the day to connect with staff and pupils, gaining valuable insights into the academy.

Introduction

The Co-op Academies Trust is required to make arrangements for parents to apply for a review of the decision of the Trust exclusion review panel not to reinstate a pupil who has been permanently excluded from one of its academies. This guide will help you decide whether or not to apply for a Review of the decision to permanently exclude your child.

Who has the right to apply for a Review?

The “relevant person”, defined as:

(i) Where a pupil has reached the age of 18 it is the pupil themselves; or

(ii) Where a pupil is under 18, their parent.

Under the Education Act, the definition of “parent” is broad. In addition to a child’s birth parents, it includes any person who has parental responsibility (which includes the local authority where it has a care order in respect of the child) and any person who the child lives with e.g. a foster carer.

What powers does the Independent Review Panel have?

• An Independent Review Panel (IRP) cannot reinstate your child.

• The Independent Review Panel can ask the Trust exclusion review panel to Review or reconsider its decision to permanently exclude and/or ask for its comments to be added to your child’s record. 

• You may have the decision reviewed by an Independent Review Panel even if you do not want your child to return to the excluding academy.

• You can apply for a Review even if you did not make a case to, or attend, the meeting at which the Trust exclusion review panel considered your child’s permanent exclusion. An IRP of three people (who have no connections with the Academy) will hear your Review.

• The IRP carefully considers your case and that of the Academy.

• If you think that your child may have or has special educational needs (SEN) and these have not been properly taken into account or the governing council exclusion review panels’ meeting was unfair in any way you should consider applying for a Review.

Are there circumstances where I do not have a right to a Review Hearing?

Yes. There are two circumstances:

1. You lose your right to a Review Hearing if your application is received after the 15th school day after the day on which you are informed, in writing, of the Trust exclusion review panels’ decision not to reinstate your child (unless you are pursuing a claim for discrimination).

2.  If you withdraw your application for a Review, you also lose your right to a hearing.

Make sure you send your application for Review as soon as possible after you receive the letter from the Trust exclusion review panel telling you your child has not been reinstated.

How do I apply for a Review?

1. You should fill in a ‘Request for an IRP’ form.

2. You must set out your reasons for applying for a Review in writing and, if relevant, state how you consider your child’s SEN are relevant to the exclusion.

3. Whether or not your child has recognised special educational needs, you have a right to require that the Local Authority/Academy appoint an SEN expert to attend the Review.

4. You must request an SEN expert attend the Review Hearing at the time you apply for a Review of the Trust exclusion review panel decision.

5. Sign and date the form.

Send your completed form to governance@coopacademies.co.uk.

When will my Review be heard?

The IRP must meet to consider your application for Review no later than the 15th school day after the day on which your application was received. However, an IRP may adjourn the hearing if there is good reason e.g. SEN expert unavailable to attend or there are parallel criminal proceedings.

Who will be at the Review Hearing?

• You and your partner and, if you wish, your child;

• Where requested, a friend; representative or legal adviser (who would attend at your own cost);

• The Independent Review Panel (3 members);

• The Clerk to the Review Panel;

• The Chair of the original panel;

• If attending, the legal or other representative of the Trust;

• The Head Teacher/Principal of your child’s academy;

• Any witnesses called by either the academy or by you;

• A SEN expert, but only when you requested one to attend at the time you lodged your application for Review. 

• If attending, and where relevant, the alleged victim or his/her representative may be present for part of the Review hearing;

• If requested, an interpreter.

Who is the SEN expert?

The SEN expert will be someone with appropriate expertise and experience of special educational needs (SEN). The final decision on the appointment of the SEN expert is for the Academy to make but the Academy should take reasonable steps to ensure you have confidence in the impartiality and capability of the SEN expert.

He or she will not have, or at any time have had, any connection with the Academy, or the incident leading to the exclusion, which might raise doubts about their ability to act impartially. They will not have any connection with you or your child (or their sibling). The SEN expert must also declare any known conflict of interest before the start of the Review Hearing. Current legislation states that individuals are not automatically taken to be partial simply because they are an employee of, or contracted by, a local authority or Academy Trust.

The SEN expert’s role will not include making an assessment of your child’s special educational needs.

Who are the Independent Review Panel members?

The IRP will have three members and:

• One must be, or have been within the previous five years, a Head Teacher/Principal;

• One must be a governor, provided they have served in that capacity for at least 12 consecutive months within the last five years.

• One must be a lay person, that is, someone who has never worked in a school in a paid capacity (disregarding any experience as a school governor or volunteer).

The Lay member must be the Chairman of the Panel. All the IRP members (and their clerk) will have received the required training.

Anyone who has, or has had, a connection with the school or with any of the parties involved in the case cannot sit on the Independent Review Panel.

What powers does the Independent Review Panel have?

The IRP does not have the power to reinstate your child but can decide to:

• uphold the exclusion i.e. refuse your application; or

• recommend that the the Trust exclusion review panel reconsiders their decision; or

• quash the decision and direct that the Trust exclusion review panel considers the exclusion again.

The IRP may only quash the decision on the principles applicable to judicial Review. Therefore, the IRP should apply the following tests:

• Illegality – did the Head Teacher/Principal and/or the Trustl exclusion review panel act outside the scope of their legal powers in taking the decision to exclude?

• Irrationality – was the decision of the Trust exclusion review panel not to reinstate your child so unreasonable that it was not one a sensible person could have made?

• Procedural Impropriety – was the process of exclusion and the Trustl exclusion review panels’ consideration so unfair or flawed that justice was clearly not done?

Procedural impropriety means not simply a breach of minor points of procedure but something that has a significant impact on the quality of the decision making process.

The Department for Education’s Guidance (paragraph 226) gives the following examples:

• Bias;

• Failing to notify parents of their right to make representations;

• the Trust exclusion review panel making a decision without having given parents an opportunity to make representations;

• Failing to give reasons for a decision; or

• Being a judge in your own cause e.g. if the Headteacher who took the decision to exclude were also to vote on whether to uphold the exclusion.

The IRP may also:

(a) direct the Trust exclusion review panel to place a note on your child’s educational record;

(b) in the case of a Trust exclusion review panels’ decision, order that a readjustment be made to the school’s budget or, in the case of an Academy, order that the Academy must make a payment directly to the local authority in which the Academy is located, if following a decision by the IRP to quash the original decision, the Trust exclusion review panel:

(i) reconsiders the exclusion and decides not to reinstate your child (where you want your child to be reinstated), or

(ii) fails to reconsider the exclusion within 10 school days after notification of the IRP’s decision.

What other routes can I pursue?

In addition to the right to apply for a Review to be heard by an IRP, under the Equality Act 2010, if you believe the exclusion has occurred for a reason related to your child’s disability, you can make a disability discrimination claim to the First-tier Tribunal Health, Education & Social Chamber (Special Educational Needs and Disability). You must lodge your claim within 6 months of the date your child was permanently excluded.

Also, if you consider that your child has been victimised, or directly or indirectly discriminated against on e.g. racial or other grounds, you can make a discrimination claim to the County Court, which you must lodge within six months of the date your child was permanently excluded.

You can make a claim of discrimination to the First-tier Tribunal and/or County Court before deciding to apply for a Review hearing. Where this is the case you must apply for a Review hearing within 15 school days of the date the discrimination claim is finally determined. Where you make such claims at the same time as applying for the IRP to Review the decision to permanently exclude your child, the arrangements for the Review hearing must not be delayed or postponed.

When will I hear the outcome of the Review hearing?

The Clerk will write to you, the Head Teacher, and the Trust exclusion review panel detailing the IRP’s decision as soon as possible after the IRP has decided on your case.

Is the Review Panel’s decision binding on anybody?

Yes. The IRP’s decision is binding on the: Academy Community Council; Head Teacher; LA; and the academy trust. DfE guidance states that where the IRP directs or recommends that the Trust exclusion panel reconsiders their decision, the Trust exclusion review panel must reconvene to do so within 10 school days of being given notice of the IRP’s decision.

However, where you or the academy apply for a judicial Review of the IRP’s decision and are successful in that application, the High Court may order a re-hearing of the Review.

What happens if I need an interpreter/signer or other help?

You may have an interpreter or signer at your Review hearing. If you would like us to arrange this for you, free of charge, please indicate this on the form or contact us directly well before the hearing. Alternatively, if you would prefer, you may arrange for your own interpreter/signer to come with you, please contact us to discuss.