December education law newsletter - out now!

Welcome to our December's education law newsletter

Welcome to 3PB's Education Law Team December 2021 Newsletter. It features contributions from specialist Education Law Barristers Aimee Fox, Emma Waldron, Matthew Wyard, Naomi Webber and Jim Hirschmann and has been co-edited by Jim HirschmannJim HirschmannCall: 2018 and Katherine AndersonKatherine AndersonCall: 2005.

You will find legal analyis on:

(1) Discrimination in Foster Placeents as analysed in the recent Court of Appeal Judgment R (Cornerstone) v Ofsted [2021] EWCA Civ 1390
(2) The use of seclusion rooms
(3) Guidance from the upper tribunal in relation to (a) the use of the general term “waking day curriculum” as considered in London Borough of Southwark v WE (alternative person for OA) [2021] UKUT 241 (AAC) (b) Bespoke provision of

education outside of a conventional classroom as considered in NN v Cheshire East Council [2021] UKUT 220 (AAC)
(4) Schools and data protection risks.

We hope that you find it useful and wish you all the best as 2021 draws to a close. 

Ask us a question

Thanks for reading. Please don't hesitate to contact this month's contributors, or any of our friendly and approachable team if you need assistance with anything education-related.

9 of our 14 education law juniors ranked in the 2022 Legal Directories

3PB is delighted to announce another record performance for its education law team in the latest editions of Chambers and Partners UK Bar directory and in the Legal 500 directory.

Chambers and Partners lists 6 of our juniors in London (Band 3) and the Legal 500 awards us 7 rankings in London (Tier 4), one in the Midlands and another in Wales and Chester.

Charlotte Hadfield successful in High Court judicial review

3PB’s specialist education and regulatory law barrister Charlotte Hadfield was successful in a judicial review challenge against Nottinghamshire County Council, in a case brought under s42 of the Children and Families Act 2014 whilst acting for the parents.

The High Court Judgment is a “must-read” for those lawyers practising in the field of education law as it includes some helpful and insightful comments on a local authority's duty to "secure" special

educational provision, if the council commissioned it, planned to deliver it but haven’t, in circumstances where the EHC plan had been in force for nearly a year.

IICSA junior counsel Alice de Coverley on Inquiry findings into child sex abuse and UK religious groups

3PB education and public law expert Alice de Coverley acted as Junior Counsel for Ofsted, led by Sarah Hannett QC, in this major public inquiry. The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) found "shocking failings" and "blatant hypocrisy" in the way major UK religious groups handle child sex abuse allegations. IICSA concluded some religious organisations in England and Wales were "morally failing" children.

Aimee Fox elected to the Council of the Birmingham Law Society

3PB education law and family law barrister Aimee Fox has been elected to the Council of the Birmingham Law Society, which oversees the activities of the Board and represent the interests of its 5,000 legal professionals across Birmingham and the Greater Midlands.

Jim Hirschmann joins education, public law and family teams at 3PB

3PB was delighted to announce that specialist education, public and regulatory and family barrister Jim Hirschmann joined from 5 Pump Court to practice from 3PB’s office in the Inner Temple in London.

Reaction to Ofsted review; and the Everyone's Invited website

Ofsted's publication of its review on safeguarding policies in state and independent schools and colleges in relation to sexual abuse on 10 June emphasised how prevalent sexual abuse is in our education institutions and that steps must be taken to tackle this issue.

Head of 3PB's Education law group Charlotte Hadfield, Sarah Bowen and Alice de Coverley from

3PB’s Education and Employment & Discrimination teams presented a webinar on 21st June 2021 to update and discuss in relation to this important area.

The use of seclusion rooms within schools

Emma Waldron examines the lack of guidance in relation to the use of seclusion rooms in schools and its legal implications, following a number of BBC investigations into the issue.

View Emma's profile here

Schools and data protection risks

Matthew Wyard highlights the rights of access to data from schools and colleges and specifically what constitutes ‘education data’. The new Data Sharing Code of Practice from the ICO is also scrutinised for how it assists the higher education sector in situations of crisis on campus.

View Matthew's profile here

How the Tribunal should deal with the bespoke provision of education outside of a conventional classroom setting  

Jim Hirschmann Jim Hirschmann analyses NN v Cheshire East Council [2021] UKUT 220 (AAC), a case in which the Upper Tribunal provides guidance in relation to the bespoke provision of education outside of a conventional classroom.

Competing rights in foster care

Naomi Webber reviews R (Cornerstone) v Ofsted [2021] EWCA Civ 1390, a case considering whether a requirement for foster parents to be in heterosexual marriages on religious grounds was discriminatory.

View Naomi's profile here

‘Waking day curriculum’: the dangers of using non-statutory phrases when interpreting legislation  

Aimee Fox analyses the recent case of London Borough of Southwark v WE (alternative person for OA) [2021] UKUT 241 (AAC) in which Judge Jacobs considered the continued use of the term ‘waking day curriculum’.

Meet the team

3PB’s education law team represents parents, pupils, schools and their governing bodies (both from the maintained and the independent sectors), academies, universities and colleges, NGOs including charities, students, teaching and academic staff and local authorities in education law. Barristers also specialise in other complementary areas of law, notably public law, personal injury, human rights, employment and discrimination and misconduct and compliance.