Volunteer Appeal Panel Members

With the complexity of school admissions, occasionally a parent may feel that the school they have been allocated for their child is not appropriate or practical and so in certain circumstances the parents have a right to appeal for a place in another school. In these situations, the school has to ensure that an independent panel of three people hear the parents’ case and understand the school’s situation  and make a decision on whether the child should be offered a place or not. For some of our schools the education team offer the Catholic Schools Appeals Service that provides independent, trained panel members to hear such appeals. the schools are grateful for the generosity of those who give up their time to assist the schools.

If you:-

• are interested in education and want to get involved though you do not need to be a teacher?
• have excellent listening skills, combined with the ability to put people at ease and make balanced decisions?
• have the time to offer (usually appeals last half a day to a day at each sitting. panels meet around once a month except in the peak time of may – June when it can be weekly)
• are willing to undertake training to understand the rules of school admissions

then this is an excellent way to serve parishes and schools – why not apply to become a Volunteer School Appeals Panel Member.

The training is half a day per year, informal giving you lots of opportunities to hear from more experienced panel members and is free of charge. All panel hearings are supported by an experienced clerk who will provide guidance. Appeals are heard in parish halls and schools across the diocese so we try to recruit members from a wide geographic region to minimise their travel time to venues. We are not legally allowed to pay members but do provide lunch and reimburse travel expenses. For more information, please call 0113 2618040 or complete the application form.

For further insight to the school admissions and appeals, please follow the links