In this edition of our higher education newsletter, we provide you with the latest in legal updates, news and insight from the higher education sector.
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In this edition we provide you with the latest in legal updates, news and insight from the higher education sector.
With an estimated two in five spinouts ceasing activity between their fifth and tenth anniversary of trading, in this article Senior Associate Sam Sharp considers what makes for a successful spinout.
Digital transformation is accelerating in the sector, as universities recognise that they must embed digital experiences into their curricula to remain competitive. With students expecting seamless integration of the systems they use for learning, the new digital environment creates a number of challenges for IT departments. In this article, one of our newest Partners, Sophie Ashcroft, considers the fundamentals of good design and planning, contract governance, data security and systems integration to help institutions manage their risk.
Assessment arrangements for those due to finish their level 3 studies in 2021 are being finalised at present. The impact on students, parents and schools is significant as everyone struggles to avoid a repeat of last year. The impact of the system on the HE sector is significant both in terms of timing and quality of data impacting on the selection process for students who are looking to progress to their university of choice.
Subject to meeting a four step criteria, every commercial organisation in the UK is now required to publish their annual modern slavery statement.
With the first universities having now published their statements, Ray Silverstein looks at the new process that is anticipated to ‘radically enhance transparency’ in rooting out modern slavery practices.
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced HEIs to move exclusively to remote learning but, longer term, HEIs will no doubt be looking at the benefits of continuing with remote learning and/or a hybrid of in-person and online learning.
When considering whether to make that move, institutions should consider the potential knock-on effect it can have on their energy contracts. In this article, Senior Associate, Chloe Poskitt explains more.
The financial pressure that many companies are currently under may prove insurmountable. The financial support schemes cannot go on indefinitely and, when they are removed, it is likely that we will see the number of insolvencies increase.
Following the administration of Gaia Technologies, one of the UK’s leading suppliers of ICT services to UK schools and universities, we look at the options that are open to you, including engaging in the creditor processes.
Join us at UHR’s annual conference, where we welcome Tracey Hulme and Sukhvinder Singh to discuss how the University of Wolverhampton’s Race Equality Charter is delivering impact.
In this one-hour webinar, our IP and corporate specialists will look at how spinouts and joint ventures are providing significant commercial opportunities for universities to capitalise on their research and innovation expertise.
Come and meet the team! We will be online throughout this four-day conference to discuss how we can support your institution.
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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.
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.
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.
Browne Jacobson’s education team has again been confirmed as a national powerhouse after securing five Tier 1 rankings relating to Education in the latest edition of Legal 500 and maintaining a Band 1 UK-wide ranking for Education in Chambers & Partners UK 2023.
Created at the end of the Brexit transition period, Retained EU Law is a category of domestic law that consists of EU-derived legislation retained in our domestic legal framework by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. This was never intended to be a permanent arrangement as parliament promised to deal with retained EU law through the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill (the “Bill”).
In this article we set out the criteria, expectations and support schools should consider if notified they fall within this new category.
The words “Grammar schools” are once again being whispered in government and the question of whether the creation of new grammar schools will finally be implemented as a central focus to DFE policy has re-surfaced.
