Tom Cross has successfully represented in the Court of Appeal a school (anonymised) accused of permanently excluding a pupil in breach of the public sector equality duty in the Equality Act 2010.
The pupil was Black Caribbean and had special educational needs. He was excluded for assault. The issues were:
- What role the PSED plays in exclusion decisions;
- The relationship, in general, between a head teacher’s exclusion functions and those of governors who must consider reinstatement; and
- How a school should respond to decisions of an Independent Review Panel.
The judgment of Underhill LJ, with which King and Warby LJJ agreed, contains crucial guidance for schools, pupils, and others grappling with these issues.
Tom Cross was instructed by Richard Wilkins of Russell Cooke LLP. You can read the judgment here.
