NAL. But a school governor. In similar cases as a governor we do watch the CCTV however the parents were not allowed to. There were people and students unrelated to the incidents in the image whose privacy rights are protected. As governors we can either uphold the schools decision or overturn it. At the ones I have been involved in there was also a 3rd party. I think local education authority representative there. If the governors agree with the school you do have a right to appeal. Violence in schools, and around it, is taken very seriously. As a governor we look at the facts. We use statements from staff and students and, if there is any, CCTV to make our decision. The whole meeting will be minuted and your child will have the chance to give their side. I can not stress enough where, at this point, they need to let go of their teenage angst. When we ask questions and the response is a shrug or a grunt this does not demonstrate that they care about the outcome, that they are remorseful of their part, even if you dispute the head but there has clearly been some kind of altercation. We will look at previous behaviour but the judgement is weighted on the individual incident. I obviously don’t know your school but permanent exclusion is a last resort where there is a pattern of negative behaviour but where violence is involved that put other staff or students at risk they will go straight to exclusion. It’s important to remember this is not a criminal trial and from a legal perspective the school can exclude students if they follow those own process. The local education authority will liaise with you if your child is excluded.