‘I didn’t stand a chance’: how parents experience the exclusions appeal tribunal

ABSTRACT

In September 2012, the process changed in England for how parents (and carers) can appeal against their child’s exclusion from school. This paper is one of the first accounts of how parents experience the new system. Using data from a research study with a range of stakeholders in the appeals process, this paper focuses on the accounts of the 21 parents interviewed. Thematic analysis was utilised to identify the factors that motivate parents to make an appeal, the barriers and enablers to doing so, and the physical, emotional, and financial costs that result from engagement with the process. The findings reveal that the costs are extremely heavy for parents with very limited rewards. The process is experienced as inequitable with a bias towards schools and many of these parents call for the provision of experienced legal support to make it a more balanced system. In spite of the challenges involved the need to call schools to account remains a strong motivation to appeal but this was not the preferred option for parents. Instead they call for schools to develop more inclusive and enabling environments that rely more on understanding the needs of pupils and their families than on exclusion from school.

KEYWORDS:

• Appeal
• exclusion
• education
• schools
• special educational needs
• parents

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Mike Coldwell for his assistance in early drafts of this paper. We would also like to acknowledge the contribution of fellow project team members, Bernadette Stiell and Ben Willis. Lastly we would like to thank the peer reviewers for their comments which we feel have led to a strengthened paper.

Notes on contributors

Nick Hodge is a Professor of Inclusive Practice in the Sheffield Institute of Education at Sheffield Hallam University. Nick’s research interests focus on the conceptualisation and practice of autism and how these impact upon children and young people and their families.

Claire Wolstenholme is a research fellow in the Sheffield Institute of Education at Sheffield Hallam University (SHU). She has worked in the Centre for Education and Inclusion Research at SHU since 2006. Claire manages a number of diverse projects within the centre, her areas of interest are: wellbeing, inclusion and social justice in education.

Notes

1. A statement of special educational need was a formal legal document that detailed a pupil's educational requirements. This system is currently being replaced by Education, Health and Care Plans.

2. In English legislation a parent is defined as any person with 'parental responsibility' (DfE 2012, 3).

3. The governing body consists of elected and co-opted lay members and school staff and it is their responsibility to provide strategic leadership, hold the headteacher to account, and to make sure that the school’s money is well spent (DfE 2014a).

4. Academy schools are schools in England that are directly funded by central government (specifically, the Department for Education [DfE]) and independent of direct control by the local authority.

5. The body with statutory responsibility for oversight of exclusion appeals.

6. Secretary of State for Education in the Coalition Government at that time.

7. The term ‘special educational needs’ (SEN) is the legal category assigned to children in England who are assessed as having difficulties with learning. SEN can also include perceived difficulties with behaviour, socialisation, and physical impairments (Gov.UK 2014). With the Children and Families Act 2014 (DfE 2014b) the category has been renamed as Special Educational Needs and Disability.

8. The government that was in power in Britain when the legislation was enacted.

9. Face-to-face interviews with the 21 parents who had experienced the IRP were conducted by the team within CEIR.

10. Local Authorities in England are the councils that provide services for local areas.

11. Some families in certain particular situations can qualify in Britain for government-funded legal representation. Only a few families would meet the criteria for this however.

12. Coram is a children’s legal centre that provides free legal information and advice to families. See http://www.childrenslegalcentre.com/.