ABSTRACT
This is a crucial stage in the process of review of exclusion decisions, not only because the outcome of the governors’ deliberations will determine the necessity for an appeal to an appeal panel, in a case of permanent exclusion, but also, as we shall see, because the experience of the reinstatement meeting of the governing body may influence parents’ perceptions about the value of making an appeal. It would appear, from our evidence, that the majority of parents do not exercise their right to make representations to the governing body and that, despite the statement in the previous guidance (DFE 1994b: para. 58) that the governors’ role is ‘by no means a “rubber-stamping” exercise’, those parents who do are highly unlikely to be successful in having the head teacher’s decision overturned. Inevitably, this raises questions about whether the governors’ lack of independence in the matter prejudices their fair disposal of a case.
