Matthew Wyard

Year of Call: 2014
Email Address: matthew.wyard@3pb.co.uk
Telephone: 0117 928 1520

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Education

Matthew Wyard has practised in the field of education law for 8 years and is happy to represent any party in educational disputes. He is currently writing for the forthcoming, inaugural edition of the new Education Law Handbook and, has previously been published in The Times Higher Education, the Education Law Monitor and the Solicitors Journal.

A busy education law barrister, examples of Matthew’s caseload in education is set out below:

Special Educational Needs

Matthew is one of only a handful of barristers who has an understanding of, and experience in, both the English and Welsh special educational needs systems. He has appeared in over 80 appeals/claims representing all parties in all types of appeal before SENDIST and SENTW. Additionally, Matthew has appeared in the Upper Tribunal and in judicial review challenges arising out of the special educational needs system.

Most recently, Matthew was instructed as junior counsel in the Court of Appeal for the Respondents in Nottinghamshire County Council v SF & GD concerning the interpretation of “necessary” under section 37 of the Children and Families Act 2014.

He is an expert on the new special education needs system planned in Wales for 2021 and is undertaking training for Schools on the changes and demands of the new law.

Having worked in house he also has experience attending annual reviews, dispute resolution meetings and mediations.

Admissions/exclusions

Judicial review challenges to legality of decisions made by Admissions Authorities, Independent Review Panels (England) and Independent Appeal Panels (Wales) are Matthew’s main area of focus in admissions and exclusion matters. That being said, Matthew is more than happy to assist at all stages of the admissions and exclusions processes.

Civil claims

Having spent his first few years working in-house in the public law and commercial litigation departments of a national public law firm, Matthew is well placed to advise from the outset on all forms of civil litigation in the education sector. He has a particular interest in claims brought by students against higher education institutions and has been involved in a variety of such claims to date including:

Re: GY – claim for breach of contract and/or negligence against the country’s leading higher education institution for a failure to remove the student from a PhD course when it became clear she could not succeed.
Re: MK – claim for negligence against a medical school for how it conducted a fitness to practise process, resulting in a six figure settlement for lost earnings.
Re: AS – claim for breach of contract against a London college for failing to appropriately deal with bullying.
Re: B – defending a claim for fees in lieu of notice brought by a prestigious independent school.
Re: JH – defending a claim for unpaid university fees.
Re: CN – claim against an independent school for breach of contract and breach of the Equality Act 2010 in how it handled the exclusion of a child resulting in a five figure settlement.

Matthew is happy to be instructed as early as possible in all civil matters in order to assist manage expectations and develop the initial case strategy.

Education judicial review challenges

Matthew has depth of experience in education public law challenges. These have included :

Re: AT – Advising on the grounds of challenge to an Academy’s procedure for conducting a managed move which successfully settled at the pre action stage
Re: DR – Advising on the merits of bringing a judicial review claim against a London Borough for maintaining a policy on not placing children below 16 in children’s homes.
DJ v The Welsh Ministers & Ors [2018] EWHC 2735 (Admin) – a challenge to the Welsh Ministers Guidance on post 16 education
Thilakawardhana v OIA [2018] EWCA Civ 13 – application for permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal and the substantive appeal
Zahid v University of Manchester [2017] EWHC 188 (Admin) – leading authority on the relationship between the courts and the OIA
DS v Wolverhampton City Council [2017] EWHC 1660 (Admin) – considering the application of s19 Education Act 1996
AC v OIA (unreported) – considering the legality of the OIA’s rules

For more information please see his public law expertise section of his CV.

Governance/employment issues

Matthew has experience advising schools and higher education institutions on a wide range of governance and employment issues including information law obligations. Additionally, he has drafted and advised upon various policies, procedures and contractual documentation (see Matthew’s public & regulatory CV).

Publications

8th Jul 2020

3PB’s specialist public law barrister Matthew Wyard has reviewed the draft Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) bill. The bill was introduced to the Senedd on 6 July 2020 without prior public consultation.

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12th May 2020

Matthew Wyard and Alice de Coverley have produced a guide to remote hearings in SENDIST including practical top tips for both practitioners and witnesses. They cover topics from using technology to adapting your approach to this new style of hearing.

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12th May 2020

Matthew Wyard considers the meaning of "reasonable endeavours" in public and private law following the modification of the LA's duty to secure special educational provision specified in an EHC Plan under section 42 to a reasonable endeavours duty, and the likely approach of the Administrative Court to applications to enforce provision in Section F via judicial review.

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20th Mar 2020

Education law barrister, Matthew Wyard examines the impact of the Coronavirus Bill on the independent education sector.

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12th Mar 2020

Education and public law barrister Matthew Wyard and Paul Wyard of Sinclairslaw review Nottinghamshire CC v SF and another, a case in which the Court of Appeal held that the First-Tier Tribunal had correctly construed the meaning of ‘necessary’ in section 37(1) of the Children and Families Act 2014 (CFA 2014) in finding that it was necessary for special educational provision to be made for a child in accordance with an EHC Plan – even though the school had identified and made provisions for the child’s needs and the child was making progress at school.

This article was first published by LexisPSL on 9 March 2020.

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Academic qualifications

2014: Called to the Bar (Lincoln’s Inn)
2012 – 2013: Postgraduate Diploma in Law, City Law School
2008 – 2012: LL.B (Hons)(SW) Law, University of Surrey

Scholarships

Erasmus Scholarship
Blackstone Chambers BPTC Mooting Competition, Semi finalist, 2013

Professional qualifications & appointments

Chair of the Valuation Tribunal for England
Member of the Welsh Government Public Law Scheme
Member of the Attorney General’s Junior Junior Panel
Bar Professional Training Course, City Law School, 2012 – 2013

Professional bodies

Lincoln's Inn, Member

Direct Access

Matthew Wyard is qualified to accept instructions directly from members of the public and professional clients under the Direct Public Access scheme.

More Information

News

3PB identifies flaws in the draft Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Bill
3PB’s specialist public law barrister Matthew Wyard has reviewed the draft Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) bill. The bill was introduced to the Senedd on 6 ...
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More judicial appointments for 3PB
3PB is delighted to announce that public law barrister Matthew Wyard has been appointed as a Chair of the Valuation Tribunal for England as of 22 June 2020. Mat...
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3PB reviews the law regulating novel foods and how to bring them into the UK market
3PB’s Public and Regulatory Law barrister Matthew Wyard has reviewed the law regulating novel food products in the UK, specifically how those supplying unlice...
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