‘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.

‘They’d already made their minds up’: understanding the impact of stigma on parental engagement

“…The accounts in this paper are similar to those expressed by parents experiencing the exclusion process in the UK (Hodge and Wolstenholme 2016;Wright et al 2012). Here, parents described the emotional strain of engaging with a system that was felt to be predisposed to support teaches, where they enforced power inequalities, where teachers are positioned above parents (Hodge and Wolstenholme 2016;Wright et al 2012). This experience has been evidenced in exclusion elsewhere, where teachers applied negative stereotypes to single working-class mothers, resulting in parents, especially mothers, feeling powerless and 'looked down on' (Gazeley 2012, 304).…”

“…For example, parents have interpreted experiences of school as being stigmatising towards their children with SEN, manifested through public stigma and stigma by association (Uba and Nwoga 2016). The accounts in this paper are similar to those expressed by parents experiencing the exclusion process in the UK (Hodge and Wolstenholme 2016;Wright et al 2012). Here, parents described the emotional strain of engaging with a system that was felt to be predisposed to support teaches, where they enforced power inequalities, where teachers are positioned above parents (Hodge and Wolstenholme 2016;Wright et al 2012).…”

A Cross-National Analysis of the Effects by Bullying and School Exclusion on Subjective Happiness in 10-Year-Old Children

“…In relation to school exclusion, only 67.9% of the children had never been left out by others, while 17.6% suffered it on two or more occasions in the last month. According to the scientific literature [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ], school exclusion is increasingly recognized as relevant to children’s health, existing risk factors including children who are looked after, children with special educational needs, those living in poverty, or from some ethnic minorities. From a cross-national perspective, our results also revealed high that frequencies in school exclusion and bullying were observed in South Africa, Turkey and Malta, and lower frequencies in South Korea, Algeria and Norway.…”

“…With regard to the consequences of being a victim of bullying, research yields very worrying data. In this regard, it can lead to depressive and anxiety symptoms [ 11 , 12 , 13 ], and the bullied are twice as likely as their non-bullied peers to experience negative health effects, such as headaches and stomachaches [ 14 ], exclusionary situations [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ], difficulties in academic performance [ 20 ], sleeping difficulties, lower academic performance and dropping out of school [ 21 ], are more prone to depression, prolonged victimization and maladjustment [ 22 ], and can even lead to suicidal ideation, suicide attempts or even completed suicides [ 23 ]. Negative effects on subjective well-being are also demonstrated in different studies [ 24 , 25 ].…”