We undertake all aspects of mainstream education work concerning schools (maintained, academies, and independent), special educational needs, unlawful discrimination, and further and higher education claims. We appear in all courts, SEND tribunals and panels where education law is in question.
All members of the team share a crossover of experience/specialism in employment law and have a deep understanding of the work of education providers. They are therefore well placed to help education institutions and professionals with cases in employment disputes, internal disciplinary hearings and other regulatory matters.
Members of the team have first-hand experience of the sector having worked within the higher education sector, including: As a lecturer (of philosophy and formal logic) at the University of North Carolina; Policy Officer at Cardiff University, with responsibility for implementing the Equality Act 2010 in its provision of education; and as a member of the national advisory group for the Learning & Teaching section of the Quality Assurance Agency’s Quality Code for Higher Education.
The full range of legal work across the sector is covered by our team, including cases at the intersection of education and employment law.
Examples of our work include:
- representing an Oxbridge University in a failure to make reasonable adjustments and victimisation claim brought by a student, including challenges to the form of assessment;
- representing a University in a breach of contract claim brought by a PHD student regarding an alleged failure to provide adequate supervision;
- successfully representing a well-known London Academy in a series of disability discrimination claims, including in relation to an exclusion;
- recently successful at trial in resisting a claim against a University for a failure to make reasonable adjustments during its admissions procedure;
- representing a school in a complex holiday pay claim brought by peripatetic teachers;
- successfully representing a prestigious independent school in a disability discrimination claim brought on behalf of one of its pupils in the SENDIST;
- successfully representing a school in a disability discrimination claim brought by a prospective pupil challenging the approach taken by the school and local authority following the naming of the school on the child's statement;
- a breach of contract claim against a University, the Claimant having discontinued proceedings after her pleaded defence was served;
- a pregnancy discrimination case against an Academy and in a race discrimination case against a University, both in the Employment Tribunal;
- representing the claimant teacher in a disability discrimination claim brought against Harrow School in the Employment Tribunal.
