Education News

Welcome to the second edition of the 3PB Education Team’s newsletter, edited by Matthew Wyard and featuring contributions from Caroline Stone, Katherine Anderson, Emma Waldron, Sarah Bowen, Naomi Webber, Alice de Coverley and news about Emma Waldron, Matthew Wyard and Hannah Bush. The past few months have been packed full with news and changes for the sector, with some of the most interesting changes for years, both from a political and legal perspective. Editing this quarter’s...

3PB’s specialist education barrister, Emma Waldron, has been interviewed for the UK's No. 1 legal consumer podcast "Get Legally Speaking" about the current legal landscape and what the future may hold for unhappy students. On 18th March 2020, exams were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic; then on 17th August this year, a U-turn decision was announced by the Secretary of State for Education that allowed A-Level students to receive grades based on their teachers'...

3PB Barristers have created a dedicated webpage on its website to act as a hub for the many articles, briefings and webinar and podcast recordings about lockdown laws and regulations as well as practical issues like court attendance, e-bundles, remote and hybrid hearings. The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues to create employment, contractual and other legal challenges which are in many ways unprecedented. The impact of the virus is being felt, and in response, 3PB have...

3PB’s specialist education  barristers Alice de Coverley and Matthew Wyard have co-authored a two-part report, for students and schools separately, about today’s GCSE results day (20 August 2020). This follows their A Level advice guide and webinar earlier this week. The Department for Education (“DfE”) changed its approach in a major U-turn five days after the A Level results were released. The switch to centre assessment grades (rather than the standardised/moderated grades) will apply to...

3PB education barristers Lachlan Wilson and Matthew Wyard join forces with insurance brokers Hayes Parsons and law firm DAC Beachcroft to advise schools and colleges on how they can best support students and pupils. We'll explore the implications of today's government decision to revert to centre-assessed grades decided by teachers rather than relying on the algorithm as previously advised for schools and colleges.  

Specialist 3PB education barristers Matthew Wyard and Alice de Coverley hosted a webinar this morning for those affected by last week’s A-level results. Watch the recording for some useful guidance now that the government has announced its decision to let teacher-assessed grades stand instead of those generated by the central algorithm.

Specialist education law barristers Alice de Coverley and Matthew Wyard have issued urgent advice for students and schools regarding today’s A-level results. Since the Coronavirus pandemic started, the education sector has had to adapt to new ways of working. This has posed significant challenges for schools and students across the UK. Today (13th August 2020), A-level students will receive their long awaited results for exams they didn’t get to sit. The guidance is ever-changing and...

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. Matthew concludes that whilst the background and the rationale to the Bill are admirable, the way in which the Bill is drafted and the lack of consideration given to how its provisions will work in practise are worrying features. He calls for revisions of...

More judicial appointments for 3PB

22nd June 2020

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. Matthew will sit in the Valuation Tribunal for England hearing appeals against decisions of the Valuation Office in respect of both council tax bandings and business rates. To contact Matthew, please email him at [email protected] or to instruct him, email his clerk Tom Cox on [email protected].

3PB are delighted to announce that family barrister Hannah Bush has been appointed a Deputy District Judge and a part-time First Tier Tribunal judge after separate competitions, the latter of which was announced today Thursday 28 May 2020. Hannah will sit in the Health, Education and Social Care Chamber and will hear appeals concerned with Special Educational Needs and Disability and will sit as a Deputy District Judge on the Midlands Circuit. Hannah was called to...

3PB's Education Team has produced a newsletter featuring contributions from Matthew Wyard, Alice de Coverley, Naomi Webber and Faizul Azman with a foreword from team head Charlotte Hadfield. Read the newsletter here The team has chosen two topics that are related to Covid-19 that we think are here to stay (at least for the next quarter!) and reviewed two new authorities that are unrelated to the pandemic. On the Covid-19 front, Matthew Wyard considers the meaning...

3PB’s specialist Education and Regulatory Law Barrister Jennifer Agyekum has successfully appealed a decision made by Ofsted to cancel the registration of a child-minder. Judgement followed a five day hearing and the decision of SB v Ofsted concluded that it would be disproportionate to cancel the registration of the child-minder and imposed realistic conditions that were both proportionate and appropriate. To read the full decision please click here. This case follows soon after fellow 3PB...