In this edition we provide you with the latest in legal updates, news and insight from the sector.
In this edition we provide you with the latest in legal updates, news and insight from the sector.
be connected is your space – it is important that the mix of content offers you real value and relevant, useful information. Please help us to help you by providing feedback and comments. What would you like to see featured in the newsletter – and would you like to be part of a future edition – click here to let us know!
One of the themes of last month’s COP26 was Youth and Public Empowerment. It was therefore fitting that the Secretary of State for Education released their draft Sustainability and Climate Change strategy for education and children’s services systems.
The draft strategy will apparently be built upon over the next six months in collaboration with young people, educators, sustainability experts and environmentalists, with the final version of the strategy being published in April 2022.
Earlier this year a new law providing guidance about the costs of school uniforms was approved and the DfE has issued supporting advice. When developing and implementing their uniform policy schools must now ensure that costs of school uniforms are affordable and that those buying them get best value for money.
Whilst the world continues to emerge from the COVID pandemic, there are several considerations for schools to keep in mind as we go forward. In this article, our legal and HR experts cover some of the key areas you should be aware of and discuss how senior leaders, governors and trustees can best meet the needs of their communities.
Schools and colleges across the country are preparing students for sitting formal exams in summer 2022 in line with Department for Education and Ofqual guidance published early in the autumn term. Broadly, the plan is for exams to take place as usual, with variances to curriculum content and the provision of advance information or exam support material, depending on the subject being examined.
An ongoing enquiry into asbestos has revealed that this problem still looms large in the UK, with asbestos continuing to be the UK’s number one occupational killer, causing more than 5,500 deaths in 2018. With an estimated 80% of schools containing the fibre-like material, teachers are three to five times more likely to develop mesothelioma than the general UK population.
Many schools seem to be suffering from attacks made by students on their teachers and schools through the medium of TikTok. This is causing considerable distress and anger for teachers and leaders who feel bombarded by these faceless criticisms, which are flung out without apparently any accountability on behalf of the individuals posting them or the organisation that provides the platform for their distribution.
In this article, Partner Julia Green outlines what can be done to respond to such attacks, including possible legal recourse.
The Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims (PAPDC) came into force on 1 October 2017. The PAPDC applies to schools seeking payment of a debt from an individual debtor and will therefore apply to the collection of all school fee debts.
In this article, Associate Mia Plume provides a reminder of the PAPDC and explains how it applies to schools.
Last month a joint guidance paper written by the National Governance Association and our legal experts was released. The guidance provides academy trust leaders and trustees who might be considering or already involved in merger discussions with an essential resource by way of an overview of mergers, how to approach a merger and the processes involved.
Coaching is a powerful method of ensuring that people achieve to their full potential. All too often, coaching is only proposed when there is a specific issue to be addressed and an individual wants (or has been advised to get) support. Coaching can be so much more than this.
Developed by our expert education lawyers, EduCompli is a fun and engaging way to evidence compliance. Intuitive and simple to use, the four courses can be played anytime, anywhere on any device:
Find out more and book a demo
Regardless of the outcome of ballots on industrial action, unless there is drastic change to funding for schools in relation to pay increases, it will be unusual to find any organisational budget that is not impacted by the current economic situation.
There’s been little evidence of interventions or financial management reviews this year and it appears the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) has re-focussed on financial delivery. It’s also telling that there were no discernible changes to the reporting of financial irregularities in the Academies Trust Handbook 2022.
The Children’s Commissioner, Rachel De Souza, has recently published a report “Beyond the labels: a SEND system which works for every child, every time”, which she intends to sit alongside the DfE’s SEND Review (2019) and SEND Green Paper (2022) and which she hopes will put children’s voices at the heart of the government’s review of SEND system.
As well as providing day-to-day support to help you focus on managing your settings, we also provide training and professional development on a range of topics to keep you and your staff up-to-date.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHCR) recently issued new, non-statutory guidance regarding the wearing of natural or protective hairstyles, specifically in reference to their representation in uniform, behaviour or standalone appearance policies.
Emma Hughes, head of HR services at Browne Jacobson, explains how CST’s updated executive pay report and the linked benchmarking service from XpertHR can help trust boards make robust decisions on pay.
There’s greater opportunity than ever for parents, carers and guardians to voice any concerns they have relating to their child’s education and for their concerns to be heard and to be taken seriously. While most staff in schools and academies are conscious of their legal duties relating to complaints management, many are struggling to cope with such a significant increase in the volume of complaints they must manage.
This guidance has been prepared to support academy trusts (Trusts) who want to hold a fully virtual Annual General Meeting (AGM) or a hybrid AGM, as we know that Trusts may want to be prepared for future disruption as well as having a general interest in holding more meetings virtually. The guidance also applies to other meetings of the Members (known as General Meetings).
We’re pleased to collaborate with Lloyds Bank, who recently asked us and audit and risk specialists Crowe UK to offer guidance that academy trusts would find helpful when considering setting up a trading subsidiary.
The DfE has published new guidance and opened the application process for window two of the Trust Capacity Fund (TCaF) for 2022/2023, with a fund of £86m in trust capacity funding focused particularly on education investment areas.
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse was established in March 2015. We now have its report. As you would expect with such a broad scope, the report is long and makes a number of far-reaching recommendations. In this article, Dai Durbridge highlights seven of the 20 recommendations, sets out how they could impact on schools and suggests what steps to take now.
Browne Jacobson’s education team has been named as winner of the ‘Legal Advisors to Education Institutions’ category at the Education Investor Awards 2022 for a record sixth time.
Since the new Suspensions and Exclusions Statutory Guidance was published, we have received a lot of questions about the use of managed moves. For the first time, the Statutory Guidance does explain what a managed move is, but in relatively broad terms and does not cover the mechanics of how a managed move should operate.
Over 3000 young people from across the UK and Ireland took part in a virtual legal careers insight event, aimed at making the legal profession more diverse.
Holly Quirk, an associate barrister in Browne Jacobson’s Manchester office, was awarded the Legal Professional of the Year Award at this year’s Manchester Young Talent Awards.
The risk of assault against staff is, sadly, something that all schools need to consider carefully. Here one legal expert explains what they can do to protect staff and ensure they fulfil their duty of care.
An engineering company in Tyne and Wear was fined £20,000 after a worker fractured his pelvis and suffered internal injuries after falling through a petrol station forecourt canopy, whilst he was replacing the guttering.
