We are delighted to invite you the virtual 11KBW Education Law Conference. The conference will be covering topics for Schools and Higher Education. SCHOOLS webinars Date: Wednesday 4 May 2022, 10am -11am Prosecuting for non-attendance in a time of Covid; speaker: Paul Greatorex Transgender issues in schools; speaker: Zoe Gannon Date: Thursday 5 May 2022, 10am – 11am Academy conversion and rebrokerage; speaker: Joanne Clement Constraints on school curriculum and teaching; speaker: Ben Mitchell Date: Wednesday 11 May 2022, 10am – 11am Peer on pee ..read more

We are very pleased to announce that the ‘Education Law Handbook’ has just been published by LexisNexis. Written by education law specialists here at 11KBW, this is a comprehensive textbook for legal practitioners covering all areas of education law from pre-school to university. It might be too late for Santa to drop one down your chimney but copies are available here and we are (Covid permitting) planning to have a launch party in the new year.  Watch this space for further details! In the meantime, a very happy Christmas from all of the education team at 11KBW. Paul Greatorex ..read more

Date: Tuesday 23rd November 2021 Time: 10:00-11:00 Speakers: Paul Greatorex & James Cornwell   The High Court has today handed down judgment in the case of Goodred v Portsmouth City Council which concerns the duties of a local authority where parents elect to home educate their children.  Such parents have a duty to ensure that this education is suitable and local authorities are primarily responsible for policing this duty but there is very little case law in this area (indeed this was the first judgment in the area from the higher courts for several decades).  This decisio ..read more

Jonathan Auburn QC explains the new law on off site schooling as set out in today’s judgment on this issue in R (CHF) v Newick CE Primary School [2021] EWHC 2513 (Admin), 17 September 2021. This case sets out the legal principles by which schools and local authorities can require children to attend at a place other than the school they are registered at, to receive education, including requirements to attend at another school. Jonathan successfully argued the Newick School case on behalf of the school and local authority. Amongst the topics will be: the different type ..read more

The Decision of the FTT in Ogazi v Information Commissioner, EA/2021/0078, concerns a Freedom of Information Act (FoIA) Request made by a parent of a pupil to a School about the pupil’s GCSE exam grades in 2020. Due to Covid-19 the grades were assessed by schools rather than external examination.  The School provided anonymised information.  It declined to provide information in the format requested, which included the actual final grade for each student in the subject concerned. The refusal was upheld by the Information Commissioner and by the FTT.  This was on the basis of Sec ..read more

Date: Tuesday 29 June 2021 Time: 10:00 – 11:00 Peter Oldham QC considers some of the legal issues which may arise when schools deal with allegations of sexual harassment by pupils. He will consider maintained schools, academies and independent schools, and amongst the topics will be: the regulatory framework legal duties and liabilities dealing with allegations The webinar is free of charge. Register in advance for this webinar: If you would like to register in advance for this webinar, please email RSVP@11kbw.com. Please note this webinar is hosted by Zoom. Please see Zo ..read more

Date: Thursday 11 June 2020 Time: 10:00 – 11:00 Peter Oldham QC and Jonathan Moffett QC will talk about the legal implications for university admissions of the pandemic, and the impact of remote learning and working on HE providers’ legal duties to students and staff. Register in advance for this webinar: If you would like to register in advance for this webinar, please email RSVP@11kbw.com The webinar is free of charge. The webinar is hosted by Zoom, please see Zoom’s website for their Terms and Conditions ..read more

The normal Cyanamid test for granting an interim injunction is whether there is a serious issue to be tried; if so, whether damages would be a sufficient remedy; and if not, where the balance of convenience (or balance of injustice) lies. Sometimes these stages, particularly the last two, get compressed together. But where a party brings a judicial review claim against a draft report produced by a public body under its statutory duties, and seeks an interim injunction to prevent it being published pending the outcome of the claim, the Court will apply a heightened test, making it harder f ..read more

In an earlier blog today, my colleague Jonathan Auburn posted a link to the new school admission appeal regulations, or (in full) The School Admissions (England) (Coronavirus) (Appeals Arrangements) (Amendment) Regulations 2020. You can also find them here:- http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/446/made. The key (rather complicatedly formulated) change is in new reg 7 of, and Sched 2 to, the 2012 Regulations, which are introduced by regs 6-11 of the 2020 Regulations.  Para 2 of the new Schedule 2 applies where the coronavirus crisis means that it is not reasonably practicable for eithe ..read more

The new School Admissions (England) (Coronavirus) (Appeals Arrangements) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 have just been published and are available here. They provide in full: Citation, commencement and application 1. These Regulations may be cited as the School Admissions (England) (Coronavirus) (Appeals Arrangements) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 and come into force on 24th April 2020. 2. These Regulations apply to appeals to which the School Admissions (Appeals Arrangements) (England) Regulations 2012(2) apply which are lodged— (a)on or after 24th April 2020 but on or before 31st January 2021 ..read more