They excluded your child and you have 15 days to appeal.

Your child has been permanently excluded and the appeal clock is ticking. This drafts a formal letter to the Independent Review Panel, addressing the head's decision and the governors upholding it, citing the DfE statutory guidance on exclusions, and setting out your grounds. For the parent facing a process they never expected to learn under pressure.

Write a formal appeal letter to the Independent Review Panel against the permanent exclusion of my child [child's first name] from [school name]. The exclusion was issued on [date] citing [stated reason for exclusion]. I am appealing on the following grounds: [list your grounds]. The letter should: address the headteacher's decision and the governing body's upholding of it, cite the DfE statutory guidance on exclusions 2023 by name, set out each ground of appeal with supporting facts, request reinstatement or reconsideration, and note that I am within the 15-school-day appeal window. Tone: composed and factual. Do not let anger into the letter.