Schools and educational charities

Our charity law and non profit team increasingly advises both stated funded schools and independent schools and charities connected with them on all aspects of their legal requirements.

We can also draw on support from our highly rated specialist education lawyers within the children and family team.

The areas we can advise on include:

• Governance and constitutional matters
• Commercial contracts including contracts with parents
• School land and estates, including construction and planning
• Employment law
• Data Protection
• Admissions, exclusions and other education law issues

Examples of our work in the Education sector include:

• Advising the trustees of a Voluntary Aided School on issues arising from the School on its site being forced to become an Academy
• Amending the constitution of a Multi Academy Trust to change the role played by its sponsor in the governance of the Trust
• Advising on incorporations of the Foundation Trusts of Voluntary Aided Schools to limit trustee liability, including one where the School site is subject to a Private Finance Initiative arrangement
• Advising a foundation school on the legal issues arising from a proposal to sell part of its site for development to finance rebuilding works
• Advising an independent school on a proposal to create an international franchise
• Drafting a new parent contract for an independent school
• Advising an international group of independent schools on governance, intellectual property, data protection and safeguarding
• Advising on governance, constitutional and buildings issues for an independent school following the Steiner model