BL Education Legal & HR Support Service
The comprehensive solution to your educational institution’s Legal and HR requirements.
The BL Education Legal and HR Support Service gives educational institutions access to advice, support and guidance on any legal or HR issue that arises. Below is an overview of some of the legal areas we advise and assist on:
AREA Examples of Advice Admissions and appeals
- Advice on the Admissions Code
- Responding to objections to the Office of the Schools Adjudicator
- In-year admissions
- Fair access protocols
- Admissions appeals
- Review of admission arrangements
- Variations to determined admissions arrangements
Employment and HR
- TUPE implications arising from academy conversions/service provision changes
- Discrimination claims
- Grievances
- Disciplinaries
- Restructuring
- Redundancies
- Preparing and reviewing employment contracts and policies
- Workplace investigations
- Ad hoc employment law and HR questions
- Strategic exits and offers
- Maternity leave and rights
- Sickness absence and rights
- Absence management and instructing occupational health
Exclusions
- Reviews of exclusion letters
- Advice on fixed term and permanent exclusions
Pupil Behaviour and discipline
- Review of behaviour policies
- Complaints about sanctions
Parent complaints
- Dealing with parent complaints
- Preparation of responses to parent complaints
- Review of complaints policies
- Advice to senior leadership teams and governors on dealing with a complaint
SEND
- Challenge being named in an ECHP
- Dealing with concerns relating to an ECHP/annual reviews
- SEND Tribunal Claims
Discrimination and the Equality Act 2010
- Dealing with claims of discrimination based on disability, race, age or any other protected characteristic
- Preparation of correspondence and documentation relating to claims of discrimination
- Advice on the application of equality law
- Public sector equality duty
Safeguarding
- Sexual abuse committed by pupils
- Offences committed by pupils
- LADO investigations
- MASH referrals
- Prevent duty
- Safeguarding investigations involving members of staff
- Referrals to the Teaching Regulation Agency
- Application of guidance including the “Keeping Children Sage in Education” and “Working Together to Safeguard Children” guidance
Land and buildings
- Lettings
- Licences
- Lease
- Selling of school land
- Assured shorthold tenancies • School accommodation/caretakes’ houses
- Estate management and prioritising “Standard Capital Allocations”
Capital Projects
- Procurement
- Development agreements
- JCT contracts and collateral warranties
- Other building contracts and warranties
- Advice on funding agreements
- Advice on grant agreements
- ESFA requirements
Dispute resolution
- Advice on matters of litigation
- Responding to claims
- Negotiating settlement
UK GDPR and data protection
- Subject access requests
- Data security breaches
- Application of exemptions
- Redacting information
- Dealing with ICO correspondence and investigations
Freedom of Information
- Responding to requests
- Application of exemptions
- Responding to investigations and correspondence from the ICO
Governance
- Constitution of governing bodies in maintained schools
- Trustee responsibilities
- Governor responsibilities
- Schemes of delegation
- Governance reviews
- Compliance with Academies Financial Handbook
- Appointment and removal of trustees/governors
- Training
- Company and charity law
Procurement and contracts
- Advice on procurement law
- OJEU notices
- Project management
- Letters to bidders
- Drafting the invitation to tender
- Contract drafting
- Contract reviews
- Drafting a service level agreement
- Advising on remedies for breach of contract
Crisis Management
- Responding and managing investigations
- Managing press/media interest
- Liaising with third parties
- Communications strategy with stakeholders
Significant changes to academies and prescribed alterations to maintained schools
- School expansion
- Changes to funding agreements
- Updating documents from single academy trust to multi academy trust
- Acquiring a foundation
- Federations
School organisation/School collaborations
- Changes to school category
- Creating a federation
- Opening a new VA School
- Drafting a memorandum of understanding
- Establishing an umbrella trust
- Setting up teaching schools
- Strategic learning partnerships
Regulation and compliance
- Complaints about Ofsted inspections/reports
- Requirements for school website
- Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014
- Exam malpractice/JCQ guidance
Flexibility based on your level of need; the two BL Education Legal and HR Support Service retainers
We offer a choice of two BL Education Legal and HR Support Service retainers. Under both options, all advice is provided by qualified solicitors.
Platinum Gold The platinum service is for those who require a higher level of support and expect to require regular legal input. It includes: The gold service is for those who require light touch legal support and want access to a solicitor for a response to quick questions or for a sense check that can be provided on the telephone. Like with the Platinum service, there is no limit on the number of enquiries. Telephone, video conference and written advice on routine enquiries (there is no limit on the number of enquiries) When instructions fall outside the scope of the BL Education Legal and HR Support Service’s scope of service, discounted fixed fees and estimates will be provided. Advice on and reviews of routine documents and correspondence Template documents, policies, and guidance notes are available to gold retainer clients for a discounted fee. Access to template documents, policies and guidance notes Discounted fixed fees and estimates for instructions that fall outside of the BL Education Legal and HR Support Service’s scope of service Discounted rates for our training sessions An annual review meeting at your premises or virtually Access to our Data Protection Quickcall Service Access to our SENCo support quickcall service Service Delivery and Response Times
How much advice is included in the retainer? We encourage our clients to contact us about their legal and HR queries. We don’t place a cap on the number of enquires that can be made. We also don’t limit the amount of time that is spent on an enquiry under our retainer services, however as a guide we would expect to spend about an hour on an enquiry under the Platinum retainer service depending on the matter.
If an instruction falls outside the scope of our retainers, for example because it involves a transaction or an on-going dispute, we will provide you with a separate discounted fee estimate or fixed fee (dependant on the matter) and scope of instructions in writing, before we undertake any chargeable work. This ensures you are clear about the work to be undertaken and the costs associated with it. We will not undertake any work that falls outside the scope of a retainer without your express agreement.
We want to ensure that you are obtaining value for money. We will keep track of your usage and provide a breakdown on request of how you have used any retainer service. Where the number of enquiries received indicates that your usage requirements are greater than anticipated by your chosen retainer and the fee associated with it, we may discuss with you a new revised bespoke package.
We invoice for the BL Education Legal and HR Support Service at the start of the retainer year and on the anniversary of the retainer thereafter, should you agree to continue with our annual service.
What are your response times?
You can call or email our solicitors directly. You will be given direct email addresses and telephone numbers. We will nominate a main contact for you so that you know where to go, even if you are unsure which member of the Education Team is best to assist you. That contact will ensure you are advised and assisted by the best person in the Education Team for your matter.
We will endeavour to ensure any email or telephone call is acknowledged within one day and substantive advice provided within 2 days of receipt of an enquiry, although we usually provide a substantive response on the same day where possible and will ensure that urgent enquiries are actioned quickly. The Team is available during normal business hours, including during the school holidays. You can contact our Head of Education at any time via his mobile number.
