Black hair discrimination must be banned, equalities watchdog told – The Independent

Posted October 21st, 2021 in education, equality, news, race discrimination, sport by sally

‘A group of parliamentarians, organisations and writers have urged the Equality and Human Rights Commission to ban hair discrimination in schools, places of work and wider society across the UK.’

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The Independent, 20th October 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Parental responsibility: a short guide for local authority SEND teams – Local Government Lawyer

‘Grace-Mary Sweeney of LASEN explores the concept of parental responsibility, how it interacts with education law, and some practical implications for Local Authority SEND Teams.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 15th October 2021

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Two people sentenced for running unregistered school in London – The Guardian

Posted October 12th, 2021 in education, news, recidivists, sentencing, suspended sentences by sally

‘A headteacher and her father have been sentenced for the second time for running an illegal unregistered school in south London after a crackdown by the schools watchdog Ofsted.’

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The Guardian, 11th October 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Faith schools and safeguarding: R (Khalsa Academies Trust Ltd) – Law & Religion UK

‘The Khalsa Academies Trust Ltd is a multi-academy trust responsible for operating three academies, one of which is Khalsa Secondary Academy in Stoke Poges. Ofsted had concluded in January 2020 that the Academy was “Inadequate” and “requiring special measures”: in particular, that the arrangements for safeguarding were “not effective” and that “Leaders, including those at trust and governance level, have not learned from serious safeguarding failures. They have not acted with the urgency required.” The Secretary of State then decided that the Academy should be transferred, or “re-brokered”, to the Sikh Academy Trust. In R (Khalsa Academies Trust Ltd) v Secretary of State for Education [2021] EWHC 2660 (Admin), the Trust sought judicial review of that decision.’

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Law & Religion UK, 7th October 2021

Source: lawandreligionuk.com

Programme Launched To Fight Digital Inequalities – Each Other

Posted September 28th, 2021 in education, equality, internet, news by sally

‘A new, cross-sector collective of organisations is launching a Digital Inclusion Impact Group to facilitate better access to digital technologies across the UK.’

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Each Other, 27th September 2021

Source: eachother.org.uk

Education Secretary and local authorities threatened with legal challenge over approach to vulnerable children and school attendance – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Good Law Project (GLP) has written to the Secretary of State for Education, Gavin Williamson, threatening legal action if he fails to issue guidance that protects vulnerable children and families as schools reopen.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 7th September 2021

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Affordable uniforms law will miss new school year – BBC News

Posted August 31st, 2021 in consumer protection, education, news, school children by sally

‘A new law aimed at making school uniforms cheaper in England and Wales will not be in place in time for the start of this school year.’

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BBC News, 30th August 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Whose Job Is It To Fix The Normalisation Of Sexual Abuse In Schools? – Each Other

Posted August 3rd, 2021 in duty of care, education, human rights, news, school children, sexual offences by sally

‘The government released a report in June that revealed rampant sexual abuse in schools all over the country. Nine in ten girls surveyed said that sexist name-calling and being sent unwanted explicit imagery happened “a lot”, but whose responsibility is it to fix it?’

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Each Other, 2nd August 2021

Source: eachother.org.uk

Offering more law degrees “could save struggling universities” – Legal Futures

Posted July 23rd, 2021 in brexit, budgets, coronavirus, education, legal education, news, universities by sally

‘Universities should prioritise law degrees for investment because they produce “better employability outcomes”, are “comparatively cheap to deliver” and “well-suited to remote or blended learning”, a report has found.’

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Legal Futures, 22nd July 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Applications for review in Special Educational Needs Cases – Local Government Lawyer

‘What constitutes a change in “circumstances relevant to the decision”? Holly Littlewood considers the practical implications of a recent Upper Tribunal ruling.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 14th May 2021

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

New Acts – legislation.gov.uk

2021 c. 24 – Fire Safety Act 2021

2021 c. 21 – Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021

2021 c. 20 – Education (Guidance about Costs of School Uniforms) Act 2021

2021 c. 19 – Botulinum Toxin and Cosmetic Fillers (Children) Act 2021

2021 c. 18 – Prisons (Substance Testing) Act 2021

2021 c. 16 – Education and Training (Welfare of Children) Act 2021

2021 c. 15 – British Library Board (Power to Borrow) Act 2021

2021 c. 13 – Non-Domestic Rating (Public Lavatories) Act 2021

2021 c. 12 – Air Traffic Management and Unmanned Aircraft Act 2021

2021 c. 10 – Trade Act 2021

Source: www.legislation.gov.uk

Wide LPC attainment gap based on provider and ethnicity – Legal Futures

‘The disparity between the best and worst legal practice course (LPC) providers has continued to grow, with only 23% of students passing at one institution.’

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Legal Futures, 26th March 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Algorithms and Education: A New Frontier of Discrimination? – Oxford Human Rights Hub

‘In this brief post, I want to demonstrate how ostensibly neutral and efficient algorithms can cause discrimination in education. Last year, the national advanced level qualifications (“A-levels”) exams in the UK that lead to places in university, further study, training, or work had to be cancelled because of school closures owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. In mitigation, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (“Ofqual”) asked teachers to supply an estimated grade for each student and a ranking that compared with every other student at the school within the same estimated grade. This data went into an algorithm that also factored the school’s performance in the subject over the previous three years. The animating purpose behind the algorithm was to avoid ‘grade inflation’ and ensuring consistency with previous year’s results. When the grades were announced, the outcome was devastating for many. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, nearly 40% of results were lower than teachers’ assessments. The effects of “downgraded” results were disproportionately felt in comparatively poorly resourced state schools.’

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Oxford Human Rights Hub, 15th March 2021

Source: ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk

Court of Appeal says judge should have decided issue over statutory construction about timetable for producing amended EHC plans – Local Government Lawyer

‘An Administrative Court judge should have decided a point of statutory construction about the timetable for producing amended education health and care (EHC) plans instead of declining to do so since it was academic, the Court of Appeal has ruled.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 18th March 2021

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Welsh watchdog criticises lack of action since home-school scurvy death – The Guardian

Posted February 25th, 2021 in children, education, health, news, Wales by sally

‘The Welsh government is failing in its legal duty to protect the rights of home-educated children a decade after a boy who was being taught by his parents slipped under the radar of education and health officials and died of scurvy, an official report has concluded.’

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The Guardian, 25th February 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Government urged to ensure convicted sex offenders cannot work as tutors – BBC News

Posted February 25th, 2021 in child abuse, children, criminal records, education, news, sexual offences, vetting by sally

‘The government is being urged to close a legal loophole to stop convicted sex offenders working with children as private tutors.’

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BBC News, 25th February 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Council to pay more than £7,000 to Year 10 pupil left without a school for more than a year – Local Government Lawyer

‘Leicestershire County Council has agreed to apologise and pay a teenager £7,200 after an investigation from the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) found it left her without an academy school place for nearly 14 months.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 23rd February 2021

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

A cheaper route to qualifying? ULaw unveils SQE pricing – Legal Futures

Posted February 10th, 2021 in education, fees, legal education, news, solicitors, universities by sally

‘The University of Law (ULaw) has unveiled a range of courses to prepare students for Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE), costing from £500 to £16,500 – the latter being little different from the legal practice course (LPC).’

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Legal Futures, 10th February 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

School Uniform Policies and Indirect Discrimination under the Equality Act 2010 – Monckton Chambers

‘Khatija Hafesji looks at the legal action threatened against Muslim parents in relation to their daughter’s breach of school uniform policy.’

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Monckton Chambers, 13th January 2021

Source: www.monckton.com

Supplying the answer: when are statefunded services “supply of services for consideration” for VAT purposes? – Monckton Chambers

Posted January 22nd, 2021 in chambers articles, education, HM Revenue & Customs, news, VAT by sally

‘In this case note, Jack Williams of Monckton Chambers analyses the recent decision of the Upper Tribunal in Colchester Institute Corporation v HMRC [2020] UKUT 0368 (“Colchester”). In summary, in overturning the First Tier Tribunal’s decision, the Upper Tribunal held that state-funding did have a sufficient link to the provision of education and vocational training provided by a college to constitute supply of services for consideration and economic activity. Nevertheless, HMRC was entitled to set-off input tax to reduce the taxpayer’s repayment claim. The implications of the case are likely to be profound: many businesses – educational and otherwise – supplying services that are funded by state agencies are now likely to argue that their provision of services does, in fact, constitute the supply of services for consideration and economic activity. That being so, there would be no need to account for output tax on those services and any accounted for with HMRC may be recoverable.’

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Monckton Chambers, January 2021

Source: www.monckton.com