Here is a summary of the scheduled discussions for the School Placings and Exclusions Appeals Committee meeting. The meeting was scheduled to include an exclusion appeal relating to Ellon Academy, as well as standard business such as agreement on adherence to the Public Sector Equality Duty¹. Due to the nature of the appeal, the public and media were expected to be excluded from the meeting during that item.

Exclusion Appeal: Ellon Academy

The committee was scheduled to consider an exclusion appeal, reference E 1003, relating to a pupil from Ellon Academy. Information pertaining to this appeal was considered exempt from public disclosure under paragraph 5 of Schedule 7A of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, which relates to information concerning the adoption, care, fostering, education or supervision of a particular child. As a result, the public and media were expected to be excluded from the meeting for this item.

The procedure for the hearing was outlined in the report pack. This included:

• Presentation of the case for the Education Authority, including witnesses.
• Questioning of witnesses by the appellant(s) and the Committee.
• Presentation of the case for the Appellant, including witnesses.
• Questioning of the appellant/witnesses by the Education Authority and the Committee.
• Summing up by both the Education Authority and the Appellant, with no new evidence introduced.

The report pack stated that all parties would be advised that the committee would deliberate in private and the decision would be notified in writing within 14 days.

Public Sector Equality Duty

The committee was scheduled to consider and, if deemed appropriate, adopt a resolution regarding their duty under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010. This duty requires them to:

(1) to have due regard to the need to:-

(a) eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation;

(b) advance equality of opportunity between those who share a protected characteristic and persons who do not share it; and

(c) foster good relations between those who share a protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.

The report pack included guidance for members on how to discharge this duty, stating that they must consciously consider the need to do the three things set out above, and that the duty must influence the final decision. It also directed members to the section in reports headed Council Priorities, Implications and Risk , which indicates whether an Integrated Impact Assessment (IIA) has been carried out and its outcome. The report pack stated that where an IIA is provided, members should consider its contents and take those into account when reaching their decision, ensuring the assessment is sufficiently robust and that they have enough understanding of the issues to discharge their legal duty satisfactorily.