In the recent case of K v L UKEATS/0014/18/JW the Claimant was a teacher charged by the police with possession of indecent images of children under section 52A of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982. The Claimant freely admitted that the images were downloaded on to a computer in his possession but denied that he […]
Schools have not been isolated from the financial and social effect of the pandemic. In many cases, they are seeing challenges which affect the way they run in a much more severe way than other businesses. The pandemic has, so to speak, torn up the rule book on how many schools are run and they […]
One of the many additional challenges presented to schools as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic was the requirement for schools to produce Centre Assessed Grades (CAGs) for last summer’s A levels and GCSEs. Whilst a challenge in itself, the task was made no easier by the Government’s changing policy and last minute U-turn on standardisation […]
When schools were forced to close in March, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many schools chose to make use of the Government’s Job Retention Scheme and furloughed some of their staff. Whilst most employers acted honestly and were grateful for the lifeline offered by the scheme, the Government revealed last month that an estimated £3.5 […]
The last seven months have been some of the hardest ever faced by the independent schools sector. Whilst the Government’s Job Retention Scheme has supported jobs for a temporary period, all prudent boards of governors and senior leadership teams (SLTs) have inevitably been focused on re-evaluating their staffing needs in the light of reduced budgets and […]
The Government has been under increasing pressure to extend the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme which will cease providing support to employers at the end of October 2020. With infection rates of Covid-19 on the rise and anticipation of continued disruption to the economy, the Chancellor has outlined new measures to support employers in the form of […]
Whilst most of the attention recently has understandably been on the COVID-19 crisis, the past few months have seen a number of developments regarding the on-going impact of increases in employer contributions to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) on the independent schools sector. An ever increasing number of independent schools have left (or are leaving) […]
In March we produced our toolkit to help independent schools manage the unprecedented challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. As society starts making steps towards a return to normality and schools prepare to welcome back pupils, we have updated this key resource for independent schools as they continue to navigate their way through the next […]
The Government has just released the updated version of Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE), which will come into force on 1 September 2020. You should continue to refer to the current version of KCSIE until 31 August 2020, but schools will want to start preparing for the upcoming changes. The key new developments are […]
The Home Office has released updated guidance to deal with individuals affected by travel restrictions associated with coronavirus (COVID-19). Tier 4 students affected by the coronavirus restrictions Tier 4 students are not normally permitted to undertake distance learning, however if they are forced to due to the current exceptional circumstances, this will not be considered […]
In these unprecedented times, independent schools are under unprecedented financial pressure. Schools are closed; parents are asking about refunds; staff are self-isolating; commercial contractors demand payment. We have prepared a checklist to help you keep on top of this fast-moving crisis…. Parents Most schools are receiving enquiries from parents asserting that they will expect a […]
The General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), which came into force on the 25 May, needs no introduction. You probably know that it is a European law which governs what we can and can’t do with people’s personal data. It will apply directly to us and will be incorporated into our laws post-Brexit by the Great […]
John Lewis has suffered very public criticism in relation to alleged payment of some of its seasonal workers below National Minimum Wage (NMW). This has caused a good deal of concern among schools, which clearly engage employees/workers to perform work at certain times of the year, while not necessarily requiring performance throughout the school holidays. […]
Hitherto, independent schools have been able to offer staff the opportunity to save some of the cost of the school fees relating to their own children’s attendance at the school via salary sacrifice arrangements. In March 2016, the government indicated it was considering introducing restrictions on the use of salary sacrifice schemes. From August to […]