Graham Vials - Graham is friendly, understands our Trust. Guidance is bespoke to our needs. The team understand the intricacies, and sometimes complications, of conditions of employment for teachers, support staff and casual staff
You have got important work to do, but these seats of learning are about more than just education. To stay at the top of your game in a challenging sector, you require a pragmatic legal, commercial, and compliance focus – and some issues need an expert legal hand.
From nurseries and schools to FE colleges and universities, our large, multi-disciplinary team of education lawyers advise education establishments across England. Our dedicated team has acted on hundreds of academy conversions and the establishment and expansion of multi-academy trusts (MATs). Additionally, we have a particular reputation for the excellence of our advice in support of PFI-provided schools, including specialist input on contract performance, variations, value for money, cost increases, and expiry.
Our education lawyers have significant experience as leading experts advising independent schools in these challenging times, whether it be in relation to parent contracts and fees in advance schemes or pastoral matters. We can also support independent schools with day-to-day commercial contracts; collaboration; and hire facilities agreements. Following the Government’s introduction of VAT, our team stands ready to support independent schools looking to merge and school groups considering acquisitions.
Tailored solutions from trusted Education Law specialists
We have a reputation for high-quality work across a range of specialisms, and our education solicitors provide an in-depth working knowledge of education law. We apply our expertise to your unique situation, providing robust and effective advice to deliver the best solutions. Our large team advises education clients across the country, and we will be happy to support you – whether you are located in the South, East, West, or North.
Ward Hadaway is a nationally recognised law firm with a specialist team ready to support schools, colleges, and universities facing a constantly changing combination of Government legislation, financial pressures, demands from parents and students, and ever-increasing regulatory compliance obligations to the DfE and Ofsted. We work hard to build a collaborative relationship and work alongside your team in partnership.
Our popular HR Protect product is a dedicated package whereby our Employment team provides fixed-cost monthly access to unlimited HR and Employment Law advice. This is popular with education establishments looking for value without compromise on quality in a challenging financial climate. Our Education Law experts also offer a number of legal packages for schools, including our comprehensive Education Retainer, a School Policy package, a Complaints package, an External Governance Audit, and an SEND package to support schools facing challenges with EHCP placements.
If you are looking for unparalleled sector knowledge, coupled with added value from a friendly, professional team of education lawyers, we are here to help.
Education services
Academy conversions and MAT expansions
As leading education solicitors, we have acted for hundreds of schools nationwide on academy conversions, transfers and MAT expansions.
Our multi-disciplinary team will support you with the all the complexities of the change to legal status, from the initial stages of stakeholder consultation; to engaging in discussions on the appropriate governance structure, particularly for Church of England schools where there are specific requirements in place in relation to the Articles of Association.
We will partner with you on every step of the process – drafting Funding Agreements; Deeds of Variation; Church Supplemental Agreements; and Commercial Transfer Agreements to transfer staff and assets across to the new MAT. Our education team will also support you post-conversion with a wide range of legal services.
Find out more about our Academy Conversion and MAT Expansion services.
Admissions
Our specialist education lawyers are able to support you to ensure that your maintained school or academy has admission arrangements in place that are compliant with admissions law and the School Admissions Code.
We can support your school with drafting oversubscription criteria and clerking Admissions Appeal Panels. Our team are leading experts at robustly defending against judicial reviews and objections raised with the Office of the Schools Adjudicator (OSA).
Behaviour and Exclusions
With an increase in behavioural incidents and consequent rise in suspensions and exclusions, our team supports schools in managing complex incidents whilst ensuring strict procedural compliance with DfE guidance and legislation. We can assist in drafting Behaviour Policies that accord with best practice. Our team can also support you in conducting investigations and fulfilling SEND and equality obligations to ensure that no unlawful exclusions take place. Furthermore, we can advise governing bodies and clerk independent review panels.
Find out more about our Behaviour and Exclusions legal support.
SEND
We fully understand the significant challenges facing the education sector in terms of the pressure on schools to support children with special educational needs and in particular, EHCPs.
Our education law specialists are able to provide schools with a comprehensive suite of documents, including a SEND Policy and challenges to the local authority and Secretary of State. We can also help you secure appropriate funding, and defend your staff against disability discrimination claims before the First-Tier Tribunal.
Safeguarding
We help education institutions draft robust safeguarding policies that comply fully with the statutory requirements set out in Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) guidance. Our team will carefully guide you through sensitive abuse allegations, reputation management, adverse press coverage, and mandatory reporting requirements for the LADO, DBS, and Charity Commission.
Governance/Significant Changes
Our education team can support your school with any queries relating to governance, including:
- Strategic guidance on the initial legal structure and overall governance framework of the school.
- Specialist training on roles, responsibilities, and legal obligations (including charity trustee and company director duties), ensuring clear boundaries between the board and the Senior Leadership Team (SLT).
- Ongoing daily counsel on complex queries or conflicts relating to company and charity law.
- Full support updating constitutional documents and Articles of Association, including managing the formal consent process with the DfE and the Charity Commission.
- Independent external Governance reviews featuring stakeholder interviews with governors and the SLT, meeting observations, review of minutes and committee/scheme of delegation evaluations, concluding with a detailed recommendations report.
- Expert management of the DfE approval process for major operational changes (such as altering age ranges, expanding physical capacity, or changing SEN types), alongside drafting necessary Deeds of Variation and amendments to Funding Agreements.
Parental complaints
We help all schools manage the challenging burden of the extraordinary volume of complaints, both from parents and members of the public. Whether robustly defending complaints that are AI-drafted or of a vexatious nature, or preparing sound documentation for independent appeal panels, our education solicitors ensure your policies and procedures are fully compliant.
Ofsted inspections
Recent fundamental changes to the Ofsted framework mean schools must be thoroughly prepared. Our education lawyers conduct comprehensive risk and compliance assessments – including safeguarding and governance audits – to prepare your team, and we provide robust legal advice should you wish to challenge the outcome of an inspection.
Find out more about our Ofsted Inspection preparation and challenges.
Commercial contracts
From day-to-day catering, cleaning, and transport agreements to complex public procurement frameworks, we help you protect and maximise your school or college’s commercial interests. We regularly draft safeguarding compliant Hire Facilities and collaboration agreements. Our team can also advise you on contract variations, breaches, force majeure, and notice clauses, allowing you to focus on running your school or college.
AI
The Government has been broadly supportive of the use of AI in schools. Our education team is at the forefront of advice on AI and our team have spoken at regional and national events on the subject. We are well placed to support your school or college, either in drafting an AI policy or in providing a training session for school staff on the risks and implications for its use, including Equality Act, safeguarding, data protection and intellectual property considerations.
PFI
Our multi-award winning team, which consists of leading individuals in the sector, can offer unparalleled guidance and support on a multitude of matters arising from PFI arrangements, including contract variations, expiry, dispute resolution and contract performance and management.
School Policy Package
Schools often welcome the ability to purchase a comprehensive school policy package that includes 20 pastoral policies that we ensure are updated and reflect the latest legislation, guidance and best practice.
From our experience over the years, supporting schools in challenging situations, our school policies are not only legally compliant – they also work effectively in practice.
These policies will include, for example:
- child protection and safeguarding;
- parental complaints;
- suspensions and exclusion;
- anti-bullying;
- behaviour; and
- SEND
Do take a look at our School policy package attached and get in touch with our team.
How else we can support
- Construction
- Data Protection
- Employment and HR support
- Environmental
- First Tier SEN Tribunal claims
- Food safety
- Fraud
- Health & Safety
- Immigration
- IP
- Inquests and coronial investigations
- IT contracts
- Planning
- Procurement
- Property development
- Property disputes
- Regulatory
Who we help
Independent schools
Our education team has acted for many years for a wide range of independent schools from pre-prep and prep schools; senior schools; boarding schools; and special schools, including section 41 approved independent schools. We have experts who can support your school with a wide range of issues including employment, charity, property, commercial and governance. Our leading experts can also support your school on pastoral issues, including parental complains and safeguarding. We also regularly advise independent schools on parental contracts and fees in advance schemes.
Find out more about our Independent School legal services.
Further and Higher Education
Our multi-disciplinary team is recognised as one of the strongest in the UK, combining the most experienced legal practitioners in the higher and further education fields across a range of specialisms.
From governance to constitutional issues, reputation management to commercial strategy, employment matters to health and safety, estate management to property development, intellectual property to litigation – we’ve got you covered.
Find out more about how we help Universities and Colleges.
Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs), Academies & Schools
Managing a maintained school, a single academy or a rapidly expanding multi-academy trust (MAT) requires specialist legal expertise to ensure regulatory compliance and navigate shifting DfE priorities and financial pressures. We look beyond day-to-day legal issues to partner with leadership teams to support long-term organisational goals in the face of ever-evolving challenges.
Find out more about how we help Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs), Academies & Schools.
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