The BL education legal retainer

The BL education legal retainer is designed to provide you with the help you need across an extensive range of legal areas. We offer specialist, focused and practical advice in a timely manner. 

Our education team has years of experience in assisting education institutions and has a deep understanding of the education sector. We know that time is of the essence for our education clients and we therefore strive not to “sit on the fence”. If you have good advice that allows you to be confident of your strategic options, you will be free to focus on other matters. 

The BL education legal retainer acts as a support mechanism for the key stakeholders within your education institution and gives you access to a legal specialist by phone or email. It covers all enquiries that can be dealt with in about an hour and that are not employment law or HR related. 

For example, this could include reviewing straightforward documentation, advice on immediate problems, drafting initial letters and occasionally agreements. A breakdown of some of the areas where we can help can be found below.

Where a matter requires more extensive support or if there is a significant project you require assistance with, we will agree to a separate scope of instructions at an additional charge. Such charges are discounted for retainer clients and all fee quotes are set out in a transparent manner so that you are clear as to the advice and assistance included and can budget effectively. 

At the outset, we will do our utmost to identify matters that could require additional support. In circumstances where this is not possible - for example if matters escalate or more support is needed than originally envisaged -  we will discuss the options open to you in order that you can plan and budget for the way forward. 

Institutions that are limited companies will have legal requirements to provide certain information, create and maintain records and registers, and make certain decisions in accordance with statutory procedure. As part of the BL education legal retainer we provide advice and assistance on all company secretarial matters that can be dealt with in about an hour. 

Retainer clients also benefit from discounted rates on our practical and engaging training sessions, the content of which can be tailored specifically for you. 

We encourage you to use us as a sounding board for any proposed course of action. We are here to advise on strategy and day-to-day legal matters. If you use us infrequently, we may be less quick to set out a separate scope of instructions for any extensive support you may require, to ensure that you are getting value for money from our service.

At Birkett Long we believe that any retainer works best when there is a well founded and honest relationship between the provider and the client. To help build and maintain that relationship, a solicitor from our education team will schedule an annual review meeting with you. That meeting could be used to advise on a particular matter, provide training at a discounted rate, or attend a meeting of your governors.

It is important to us that we tailor our education legal retainer for your establishment and therefore we would be delighted to meet to discuss your requirements. 

How can we help?

The table below gives an overview of the types of advice and assistance we can provide either under retainer or on a bespoke basis.

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

Exclusions

• Reviews of exclusion letters
• Advice on fixed term and permanent exclusions

Behaviour and discipline

• Review of behaviour policies
• Complaints about sanction

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 Safe in Education” and “Working Together to Safeguard Children” guidance

Land and buildings

• Lettings
• Licences
• Leases
• Selling of school land
• Assured shorthold tenancies
• School accommodation/ caretakers’ accommodation
• Estate management and prioritising “Standard Capital Allocation

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