Education
Those who educate have one of the most important roles in any civilised society. This means that you need and deserve a service which both acknowledges and complements your responsibilities. This is what Michelmores' Education team is dedicated to providing.
At the heart of everything we do is a commitment to working with you to produce the best outcomes for students.
To achieve this, we promise to:
- Deal with the distractions so that you can get on with the important stuff (providing education)
- Always seek to provide you with a fixed fee to give you cost certainty
- Deal with the complexity rather than creating it
- Provide support and partnership
Our Education solicitors are split into four distinct areas, to ensure that your specific needs can be met by people who understand your particular challenges.
We advise:
- Maintained schools, academies & free schools
- Independent schools
- Further education colleges
- Universities and higher education colleges
We are proud supporters of Education and Employers - a charity which ensures that every school and college has an effective partnership with employers to provide its young people with the inspiration, motivation, knowledge, skills and opportunities they need to help them achieve their potential and so to secure the UK’s future prosperity.
The Education Team have been involved in the Free Schools Programme since the first wave of schools opened in 2011. We have now worked with more than 60 applications across the various waves. We are pleased to have been selected as a trusted partner for Premier New School's Intensive Support Programme for free school proposers.
You're there for your students; we're here for you...
They give really good advice and are very clear about next steps, risks and costs.
Chambers and Partners 2020
When discussing legal matters they are very clear and they take into account the practicalities of a situation when assessing risk.
Chambers and Partners 2020
The education team at Michelmores always go above and beyond and have a rapid response time. They instil so much confidence and one feels well supported. They really do know their stuff.
Legal 500 2020
Michelmores offer a personalised and prompt service and all of their lawyers are extremely knowledgeable about their field of expertise. The speed of action is the best facet of this firm.
Legal 500 2020
Michelmores is a firm which takes time to listen to client needs, prefers face-to-face meeting and is responsive to requests. The advice is clear and well communicated.
Legal 500 2020
A fantastic, five-star service: response times are almost immediate and nothing is ever too much to ask for.
Legal 500, 2018
Very impressed with their commitment to establishing a long-term relationship.
Chambers, 2016
Related Areas
News
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- Holiday pay for term time workers
- Are local authority SEN cuts unlawful?
- When can a school agree to change a child's name?
- Freedom of Information Requests to Academies - FAQs
- Head to Head with Chris Daniel, Business Development Manager at South Dartmoor MAT
- The 2019 Budget: an overview for schools
- Funding Agreement changes for projects progressing October 2018
- Hot off the press from Lord Agnew....
- Crystal ball gazing – Multi Academy Trusts, what next…
- Approaches to preventing and tackling bullying
- Approaches to preventing and tackling bullying
- Charging for school activities
- The Teaching Regulation Agency – the new teaching profession regulation
- The Teaching Regulation Agency – the new teaching profession regulation
- GDPR - A Few Practical Questions
- Exclusions; when can a governing body decision be quashed?
- New science teacher retention statistics
- New science teacher retention statistics
- The DfE make changes to the model funding agreements
- The DfE make changes to the model funding agreements
- To concentrate or confiscate – banning energy drinks in schools
- Searching, screening and confiscation – DfE guidance
- Separating parents – practical issues for schools
- Freedom of Information Requests and Subject Access Requests
- GDPR: An overview for schools
- GDPR: An overview for schools
- Does competition law apply to academy trusts?
- Updates to School Inspection Handbook
- How compliant is your Academy's website?
- How compliant is your Academy's website?
- New legal duties for schools concerning previously looked after children
- Department for Education – updated guidance on schools forums
- Brexit and education: where are we now?
- Ending the 'postcode lottery' – the new National Funding Formula
- Ending the 'postcode lottery' – the new National Funding Formula
- Data protection and complaints
- Updates to EduBase no longer possible
- Permanent and fixed period exclusions – the headteacher's dilemma
- What does the future hold for education?
- New power to remove elected parent governors
- Schools' duties when it comes to politics – where do they stand?
- Financial responsibilities for schools and academies
- Please, Miss – school term-time holidays
- Academy trust mergers – holding consultations
- Taking children on holiday during term time
- Social media – risks and opportunities for schools
- TUPE top tips
- The importance of social media policies in protecting employers
- What do you need to tell the EFA?
- DfE proposes to expand number of good school places
- Reasonable adjustments for disabled pupils
- Can I refuse a pupil a school trip because of disability?
- Disciplining a child with SEN
- Sixth Form Colleges looking to become Academies
- Proposed change to definition of "coasting" schools
- Head to Head with Judith Tinsley
- Head to Head with Nicky Dunford of The Link Academy
- Head to Head with Discovery Schools Academy Trust
- Conversion and consultation
- Multi-Academy Trusts are the future
- Brexit, what does it mean for education?
- Parental Responsibility and a School's role
- Head to Head - Mark Greatrex
- Conflicts of interest and connected persons
- High Court Judge finds OFSTED inspection unlawful
- Defending disability discrimination claims
- Apprenticeships, be prepared
- Head to Head - Mark Sturgeon
- Education and freedom of speech
- Head to Head - Louise Northern
- Procedural fairness? What does it mean in practice?
- Protection for schools with a religious character
- Key points from The White Paper 2016
- Parents' Evening - what is the legal position?
- Children and Families Act 2014 and Special Educational Needs
- Choosing a CEO isn't always easy
- Consultation on the proposed new ‘schools national funding formula'
- Education and Adoption Bill
- Michelmores partners with The Education and Employers Taskforce to celebrate International Women's Day
- Academies – have you at least considered changing teachers' pay and conditions?
- Head to head with Jo Evans, Headteacher at St Leonard's School
- Updated model Articles of Association for Academy Trusts
- Head to Head with Executive Headteacher/CEO for the First Federation Trust
- New Guidance on Timelines for Academies from the Department for Education
- Let's Teach Intellectual Property!
- Aspirations Academies Trust
- Cornwall students challenged to 'ThinkBIG' to win £500 prize for their school
- Michelmores' Bristol office announce partnership with Blaise Primary School
- Primary Academy Chain Development Grant
- Head to Head with Head of Teaching and Learning at East Allington Primary
- Charlotte Antoniou wins Associate Solicitor of the Year at the British Legal Awards
- Holiday Headaches
- Grammar Schools: The debate continues
- Schools urged to review school uniform policies
- Head to Head with Headteacher of Carwarden House Community School
- Michelmores shortlisted in two categories for the British Legal Awards
- Wage Deductions for Striking Teachers
- Head to Head with Executive Headteacher of the Castleman Academy Trust
- Michelmores Education team's record breaking month
- Are we being too safe?
- Consultation to change the £30,000 tax-free allowance
- Baseline Assessments: An unfair start to Education?
- Michelmores expands relationship with South Devon College
- Do your contracts and policies protect you?
- Raising aspirations
- Can financial considerations justify dismissal of an employee?
- Changing working hours
- Persistent absences are not always as they seem
- Early conciliation: negotiating through ACAS
- Options to address loss of funding for apprenticeship training
- Cloud services in education and the Data Protection Act
- A festive bonus or a lump of coal?
- Can a teacher be disciplined by the Local Authority rather than her School?
- Employer not obliged to award pay increase despite pay progression clause
- Safeguarding Disclosures and Duty of Care
- Is the admission process for Free Schools fair?
- Two of the West Country's Most Prestigious Schools Merge
- Michelmores Supports New Free Schools
- Academy sponsor E-ACT hands back control of 10 schools
- Additional £100,000 available to Primary Schools becoming academies
- Is demand not enough?
- New guidance takes away place guarantee for younger siblings
- Being a Governor
- An Identity Crisis in Colleges and Courtrooms
- Renewable energy grid connection
Get in touch
Charlotte Antoniou
Partner
Meet the team
Carol McCormack
Partner
Emma Honey
Partner
Russell Holland
Barrister
Tom Stenner-Evans
Partner
Bethan Jones
Senior Associate
Samantha Poulter
Associate
Tom Briant-Evans
Associate
Grace Williams
Head of BD
Siobhan Murphy
Trainee Solicitor
Laura Tudor
Trainee Solicitor
Simona Kasperaviciute
Senior Business Development Executive
Recent experience
- Academy conversion: supporting around 200 academies across the country including the establishment of individual academies, umbrella trusts, multi-academy trusts and multi-academy sponsors.
- Academy post-conversion support: assisting academies in relation to the range of legal issues facing them following conversion.
- Private school: working in partnership with the wider professional team to deliver a significant development of the school’s estate within a tax efficient structure.
- Private school: recovery of fees.
- School: advice on PFI/PPP structures.
- School: advising on third party occupational issues and management of occupation of the estate.
- Free schools: advising in excess of 40 applicants across all of the application rounds to date.
- Free schools: supporting a nationally recognised charity in the establishment of a multi-academy trust to support several applications for special free schools.
- FE Institution: intellectual property spin-out matters and internal intellectual property procedures.
- FE Institution: collaboration agreement, including phased tenancy arrangements between the college and a charity to establish a secondary campus focused around an innovative and dynamic teaching programme.
- FE Institution: advising on a £multi-million disposal of surplus accommodation to a developer including strategic support and complex title issues.
- FE Institution: advising on commercial contracts and procurement of day-to-day services including standard terms and conditions.
- FE Institution: defending a large scale group action relating to the pension rights of part-time workers.
- University: procurement of £133m PPP for the transfer, development and operation of campus student residences.
- University: contentious employment matters, including allegations of breach of contract, wrongful and unfair dismissal, unlawful discrimination and whistleblowing.
- University: procurement of an IT-based HR and payroll system and support services.
