Education

The principles of public law underpin the majority of education cases. For most people, education remains a function carried out by public authorities. Judicial review of public bodies - whether schools, universities or local education authorities - has grown over the last ten years.

As regards local authority schools, a number of areas of challenge have opened up. In particular, the proper assessment of a child's special educational needs has proved to be a matter of some legal difficulty and, of course, of tremendous significance to a child and his or her parents. Likewise, the failure to admit a child to a particular school may be legally challengeable and a matter of great moment for the child and his parents. The exclusion of children has, unsurprisingly, led to legal challenges. Other legal rights and duties may become the subject of legal argument e.g. the right to free school meals or the duty to wear school uniform. Other such cases involve argument on the scope and application of the Human Rights Act.

The law of tort may be relevant in relation both to playground accidents or in the failure to diagnose dyslexia. Often such tort claims can be both complicated in their facts and raise difficult points of principle.

Chambers brings to education law generally its long experience of the workings of the public sector, but also the individual experience of members serving as school governors, teaching at universities and on the Bar's Education Committee.

The following issues may be the subject of an education law dispute:

• LEA policy decisions including school closures and reorganisation
• Special educational needs - lack of provision and inadequacy of statements, etc.
• Retrospective claims for lack of educational provision for a child who is continuing or left education
• School Admissions
• School Exclusions
• School Reorganisation
• Disputes regarding school curriculum
• Exclusions
• Examination Procedure
• Student loans and grants
• Higher and Further Education Funding

Education cases in which members have acted include the following:

• R (Varma) v HRH Duke of Kent (Visitor) and Cranfield University [2004] EWHC 1705 (Admin) - jurisdiction of the Visitor and right to a fair hearing
• Nash v. Chelsea College of Art and Design (No.2) [2002] EWCA Civ 69 - the giving of late reasons
• R v Cambridge University, ex parte Persaud [2001] EWCA Civ 534 - deregistration of Ph.D students and demands of fairness
• R (Haracoglou) v Department of Education and Skills [2001] EWHC Admin 678 - entitlement to grant, purposes of residency within the UK
• R v Chelsea College of Art and Design, ex parte Nash (No.1) CO/4225/1999 - Extenuating circumstances, treatment of sexual harassment claims
• R v Bexley LBC, ex parte Jones [1994] COD 393 - fetter of discretion in local authority's discretionary grant policy