URL: https://barnsleymbc.moderngov.co.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?ID=3070

Decision Maker: Executive Director Children's Services

Outcome: Recommendations Approved

Is Key Decision?: No

Is Callable In?: No

Purpose:

Content: To appoint the following panel members from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2028:   Barry, Ken Bate, Louise – extension to term of office Beedham, Alison Clark, Maria - extension to term of office Cooper, Darren - extension to term of office Everett, Sarah - extension to term of office Gair, Nigel - extension to term of office Gallagher, Judith - extension to term of office Guest, Claire Hopkinson, John Jones, Julie Lee, Angela - extension to term of office Oldham-Hepper, Ellen Ramsden, Mark - extension to term of office Richardson, Gillian- extension to term of office Schofield, David- extension to term of office Sheekey, Adrienne- extension to term of office Sinclair Graham- extension to term of office Talbot, Beverley- extension to term of office   And to note the continuation of the following panel member until 31 December 2026:   Pearson, Teresa   Section 94 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 and School Admissions Appeals Code 2022 requires admission authorities to make arrangements to enable parents to appeal against any decision of the admission authority to refuse admission to school as set out in the.  Barnsley Council undertakes this for all local authority schools and has a number of service level agreements in place to provide an appeals service for other schools throughout the borough.   Section 4 of the Education Act 2011 (which amends Section 3, Part 3 of the 2002 act), and Suspension and permanent exclusion from maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units in England, including pupil movement 2024 statutory guidance requires the Local Authority, or in the case of Academies, Academy Trusts, to make arrangements for Independent Review Panels to consider pupil exclusions, where requested by parents.  Barnsley Council undertakes this for all local authority schools and has a number of service level agreements in place to provide this service for other schools within the borough.   Barnsley Council Home to School/College Travel Assistance Policy - 2018- 2023 (still valid and in use) provides for parents to request that an independent panel reviews their application should it be refused by officers.   The above functions are undertaken by the Democratic and Member Services Team, working in conjunction with colleagues in Children’s Services and with the Home to School Transport team in the Growth and Sustainability Directorate.   To ensure there is sufficient availability of panel members for the above hearings, the Local Authority maintains a pool of panel members who are available to constitute panels for numerous hearings of individual appeals throughout the year. 18 panel members were engaged from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2026.   There has recently been a small number of resignations, and one member has indicated that they would no longer wish to to continue post 31 December 2026.  In addition, a number of existing panel members have indicated that they will have reduced availability going forward.   Therefore, a recruitment process has been undertaken by Democratic Services, and 6 additional panel members with the appropriate skills and experience were selected.   Though the term of office of current panel members expires in December 2026, given the need to recruit at this point, existing panel members have been approached to ask whether they would be amenable to extending their of their term of office.  13 indicated that they were happy to have their term extended, whilst 1 responded that they would like their term of office to come to an end in December 2026.   It is therefore proposed to reappoint and extend the terms of office for panel the 13 current panel members to 31 December 2028, and engage the 6 panel members secured through the recruitment process from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2028.   This will enable the service to be effective going forward.   Authority   Under Part 3 of the Constitution – Responsibility for Executive Functions Officer Delegations:   8a) To exercise the functions of the Council in respect of the provision of personal social care for children and young people, education and schools and wider children’s services arrangements under the following legislation:- ·         School Standards and Framework Act 1998 ·         Education Act 2002 and 2011   (and as part of this any related statutory guidance related to School Admissions Appeals and School Exclusions.) Education Act 1996 Education and Inspections Act 2006   In so far as this relates to transport, however it is noted that it is only local policy for appeals against the refusal of support with home to school transport, rather than this being a statutory requirement.   A number of alternatives have been considered:-   1.         Do nothing - To maintain the current number of panel members.   During the 2024/25 academic year there have been a number of panel members who indicated they no longer wished to continue in the role, and have since subsequently resigned.   There have also been a number of minor issues when arranging hearings, with some dates proposed where no panel members were available.  Although these issues were resolved, this leaves the service vulnerable with a risk that the service may be compromised.  Therefore, this is not the preferred option.   2.         To maintain the current service, but work with other authorities to share panel members where issues occur.   All local authorities have pressures at similar times, most notable in May – July when processing appeals for Reception and Year 7 admissions.  Barnsley Council has been approached by other authorities in the past, however there can be significant differences between authorities and their admission policies and processes, which may cause issues.  Therefore, this option is not recommended.  

Date of Decision: December 15, 2025