We are delighted to announce that we will be holding an in person event on 10 October 2023, with guest…
Long-awaited government guidance for single sex schools on transgender issues has been trailed over recent months. This guidance was expected…
The Government has now announced that for the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) “the direction of travel is in the order…
Schools have noticed a significant increase in children vaping on school premises.
This has been concern among schools and parents…
We are aware of a recent increase in the number of independent schools failing ISI inspections, with a growing trend…
Earlier this month, the DfE published an updated version of Keeping Children Safe In Education (KCSIE) and this will come…
The Charity Commission’s guidance note on Internal Financial Controls (CC8) is relevant for all schools that are registered charities. The…
ACAS has recently published new guidance on making reasonable adjustments for mental health. The link to the ACAS guidance is here.…
In the recent case of Randall v Trent College Ltd and others ET/2600288/2020, an employment tribunal rejected a school chaplain’s claim for belief or religion…
A look at Labour’s proposals for VAT and fees in advance schemes, on school fees and what schools can do…
A professional misconduct panel of The Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) has prohibited a maths teacher, Mr Joshua Sutcliffe, from teaching…
As a highly experienced solicitor in Moore Barlow’s Guildford office, I possess a wealth of expertise in the area of…
Deputy headteacher wins unfair dismissal claim against school who dismissed him for gross misconduct – Kitchener v The Thinking Schools…
The Employment Appeal Tribunal recently delivered its decision in the case of Lloyd v Elmhurst School. Ms Lloyd was employed…
There is a new petition to add content on death, dying and bereavement to the national curriculum which has now…
Many parents looked to schools for help when Andrew Tate’s profile blew up on social media which spread dangerous and…
The Government recently published its response to its “Making flexible working the default” consultation. The Government launched the consultation in…
Stay updated with the rising employment rates and limits.
As April 2023 approaches, schools should ensure they are ready for…
The majority of independent schools in England are registered charities, which means that they need to comply with charity law…
In July 2022, the Supreme Court issued its long-awaited judgment in the case of Harpur Trust v Brazel. Mrs Brazel…
Since the issuing of the Supreme Court’s decision in the Harpur Trust v Brazel case on holiday entitlement and pay…
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) published guidance in October stating that preventing school pupils from wearing their hair…
The Department for Education has recently issued updated “Behaviour in schools” guidance. Importantly, this updated guidance now explicitly states that…
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) released its long-awaited final report on 20 October 2022. It sets out…
At the 2022 Labour Party Conference, Shadow Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson repeated Labour’s plans to “end the tax breaks private…
Charity law
Independent schools
I am a solicitor in the Schools & Charities team. I assist clients with matters including formation…
When it comes to giving your child the best start in life, choosing the best school to suit their individual…
Almost three years after the Court of Appeal found in favour of Mrs Brazel in her claim against her employer,…
When something goes wrong in a school’s relationship with one of its employees, there’s often a need to check that…
New research conducted by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) and education charities Ambition Institute and Teach First has…
Ms Mellor was a citizenship teacher at Mirfield Grammar School in West Yorkshire. After her return from maternity leave following…
In February 2022, the Department for Education published new guidance on political impartiality in schools which explains the existing legal…
It has been determined that an employee who refused to attend work during the pandemic did not have a reasonable…
The Equality and Human Rights Commission has recently published guidance for separate and single-sex service providers, which contains helpful advice…
The Department for Education has now published the updated version of Keeping Children Safe In Education, which will come into…
The Charities Bill has now worked its way through parliament and, having been given Royal Assent on 24 February 2022,…
In January, the Department for Education put forward its proposed amendments for this September’s update to Keeping children safe in…
The Court of Appeal has recently made its decision in the case of Cunningham v Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council.
The…
The events brought to light in a recent claim for unfair dismissal and sex discrimination from the former Assistant Director…
On the 24th of February 2022 and as part of the Government’s living with Covid plan, those who test positive…
The Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) continues to stay in the headlines with an ever-increasing number of independent schools exiting and…
Over the past couple of weeks, we have seen the shocking events unfold in Ukraine. The UK has imposed sanctions…
Joanna Lada-Walicki, an independent schools lawyer, sets out the potential pitfalls facing schools when offering reduced sick pay to unvaccinated employees. …
I am a trainee solicitor supporting the firm’s schools and charities team based at our Guildford office. In 2023, I…
Following the news that double Covid-19 vaccinations are to become mandatory for care home workers in England from the 11…
Safeguarding has never been more high profile and a wave of recent reports and inquiries have led to an intense…
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has held that, where a teacher had disability which meant she could no longer teach,…
Following on from the shocking revelations brought to light by Everyone’s Invited, it came as no surprise that the Independent…
1 October 2021 saw “Natasha’s Law” come into effect. “Natasha’s Law” was passed in 2019 following the tragic death of…
At the start of this term schools were presented with a fresh challenge arising from the Covid 19 pandemic –…
The Scottish Court of Session has held that it was fair to dismiss a teacher suspected of viewing child images…
We take a closer look at Labour’s pledge to remove charitable status from independent schools to raise money for state…
The Everyone’s Invited movement has brought to light the widespread trivialising and normalising of peer on peer sexual harassment and…
As daily school life returns ever closer to normal, a continuing key focus for school governors and senior leadership teams…
The Employment Appeal Tribunal has held that a belief that biological sex is immutable is protected as a philosophical belief…
On 6 April 2021, HMRC withdrew the “representative occupier” exemption for the tax treatment of staff accommodation. Previously this had…
Having completed the process of submitting their Teacher Assessed Grades (TAGs) for the 2021 summer exams, schools are now waiting…
The Everyone’s Invited movement is but the latest spotlight to fall on safeguarding in schools.
The list of allegations seems…
The furlough scheme is helping a large number of schools to reduce their overheads at a time when their revenue…
To reflect the end of the Brexit transition period, the Government has updated Keeping Children Safe in Education. The relevant…
The closure of schools due to Covid-19 has been an unprecedented challenge. In addition to the difficulties associated with remote…
The news that pupils would be returning to school on 8 March threw up lots of questions and concerns from…
The School, an independent co-ed prep school for children aged 3-13 in Tunbridge Wells, Kent dismissed Sue Allington, aged 60,…
The last 12 months have been some of the hardest the independent schools sector has had to face. Attention has…
For the second year running, responsibility falls on teachers to award exam grades to their students. After the fiasco of…
After one of the most challenging years in recent memory, strategic planning for the year to come has never been…
In the recent case of K v L UKEATS/0014/18/JW the Claimant was a teacher charged by the police with possession…
Schools have not been isolated from the financial and social effect of the pandemic. In many cases, they are seeing…
One of the many additional challenges presented to schools as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic was the requirement for…
When schools were forced to close in March, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many schools chose to make use of…
The last seven months have been some of the hardest ever faced by the independent schools sector. Whilst the Government’s Job…
The Government has been under increasing pressure to extend the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme which will cease providing support to…
Whilst most of the attention recently has understandably been on the COVID-19 crisis, the past few months have seen a…
In March we produced our toolkit to help independent schools manage the unprecedented challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. As…
The Government has just released the updated version of Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE), which will come into force…
Independent schools
Charities
I am a charity law specialist and I act as both trustee and advisor to a wide…
School employment law
Teacher’s pensions
I am an associate solicitor in the independent schools and charities team and I specialise…
I specialise in employment and education law and advise on issues such as unfair dismissal, discrimination cases, safeguarding, parent contracts…
I specialise in handling professional negligence claims on behalf of both businesses and individuals. I have particular and extensive experience…
Charity law
I lead the charities team. I work with charities and independent schools of all shapes and sizes, advising…
I am an associate solicitor in the Schools & Charities team, specialising in governance and transactional work for independent schools…
I head the firm’s independent schools and charities practice and I specialise in education and employment law. I advise on…
Independent schools
Safeguarding
Charities
I specialise in advising independent schools and other charities on wide ranging areas of education law,…
The Home Office has released updated guidance to deal with individuals affected by travel restrictions associated with coronavirus (COVID-19).
Tier…
In these unprecedented times, independent schools are under unprecedented financial pressure. Schools are closed; parents are asking about refunds; staff…
The new Points-Based Immigration System will award points for an appropriate job offer, English language skills, and a salary threshold.…
Conclusion of Phase 1 of the residential schools investigation
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) was set up…
The Equality and Human Rights Commission has this month issued guidance on the use of confidentiality clauses in settlement agreements.…
In the case of Harrison v Aryman Limited, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (“the EAT”) has recently decided that a pre-termination negotiation…
The Employment Tribunal (“the ET”) has recently handed down judgment in the case of Conisbee v Crossley that vegetarianism is not a…
The Charity Commission has recently issues important new guidance on preventing charity fraud which should be incorporated by all schools…
In this article we look at the recent developments affecting schools sponsoring international students, and discuss some of the anticipated…
The past few months have seen a number of developments regarding the on-going impact of increases in employer contributions to…
The recent case of Harpur Trust v Brazel witnessed the Court of Appeal attempting to clarify the complex issue of holiday pay…
Last year we reported on the case of C and C –v- Governing Body of a School and Others which changed the…
In London Borough of Lambeth v Agoreyo the Court of Appeal recently considered the circumstances in which an employee may be…
The Government has recently conducted a consultation on Relationships and Sex Education in schools in England and produced new draft…
“Invoice fraud”, “mandate fraud”, “transfer fraud”: this particular scam has acquired many names over the years and now fraudsters are known to…
In Gan Menachem Hendon Limited v De Groen the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) considered whether an employee could bring a claim for…
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has recently considered the meaning of “long term” and “substantial” when assessing whether a person is disabled for the…
The General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), which came into force on the 25 May, needs no introduction. You probably know…
John Lewis has suffered very public criticism in relation to alleged payment of some of its seasonal workers below National…
Hitherto, independent schools have been able to offer staff the opportunity to save some of the cost of the school…