Education

Educational institutions face an increasingly broad range of challenges – from finance and strategy and academic staff and student matters to audit and compliance safeguarding, governance, charity law and freedom of speech. Our highly regarded education team brings extensive knowledge and experience in advising across the sector, with clients including Cambridge and Oxford colleges, universities, and other higher education institutions, as well as research and assessment institutions and independent schools.

Integrated advice across an evolving sector

Many academic institutions are seeking to develop new sources of revenue and business partnerships, particularly as the independent schools sector faces increasing pressure on tuition fees – including the widely debated impact of VAT on school fees. Institutions recognise the need to develop growth strategies to ensure future survival in a more commercialised marketplace, while also protecting existing revenue streams. As a result, many are obtaining external specialist advice across a range of disciplines.

Our education group comprises a multidisciplinary team of lawyers who work closely together to provide an integrated service across a broad spectrum of issues. These include governance, sponsor licensing and international student management, student contracts, disputes, reorganisations, joint ventures, student accommodation, property transactions and employment matters, particularly in relation to academic employees and employment tribunals.

We are increasingly being instructed by clients in the sector to help them mitigate commercial and reputational risks. This includes advising on complex governance reviews, safeguarding, and freedom of speech and expression, as well as carrying out internal investigations into regulatory matters, financial mismanagement and misconduct. For institutions with international students, we provide guidance on sponsor compliance, UKVI audits, and managing or avoiding action plans.

Clients welcome our ability to guide them through contractual disputes including employment, regulatory and charity issues relating to students, academic staff or education partners. We also advise on corporate development matters such as restructuring, overseas development and governance.

Penningtons leads the pack in education law. The team is very well organised, across the detail of their cases, and hardworking.

In addition to many of the UK’s leading universities, specialist higher education institutions and Oxford and Cambridge colleges, we work with many independent schools and academies, assessment and examinations bodies, educational publishers, national research councils and academic research associations.

With decades of experience across the sector, our education team is recognised in the Legal 500 and Chambers UK directories. This depth of expertise enables us to deliver pragmatic advice on a broad range of issues faced by the sector, and provide strategic support, including secondment of key staff members, for large-scale projects and complex matters.

How we help our clients

Joint ventures, partnering and collaboration agreements

Educational oversight, governance, charity and regulatory issues

Academic and non-academic employment and pensions issues

Immigration support including sponsor licences, international student management and UKVI audits

Safeguarding and SEN issues in independent schools and academies

Reputation management

Managing disputes

Trade mark, brand protection, licensing and competition issues

Property, development, student accommodation and planning issues

Restructuring, amalgamations and take-overs

Tax planning

Finance and banking arrangements

Useful resources

DSAR support service

Understanding DSARs

Legal training and professional development: education sector

Recent work highlights

Freedom of speech on university campus

Advising a UK university in respect of the protection of freedom of speech on campus and on religious and philosophical views following recent cases.

Education institution in financial distress

Assisting an education institution in financial distress on its legal and regulatory obligations as well as on steps to avoid administration and insolvency.

Biomedical engineering research group

Acting for a university in relation to the transfer of a biomedical engineering research group from another university and on the associated research contract.

UKVI ‘Action Plan’ support

Providing strategic advice, training and assistance to a UK university which received an ‘Action Plan’ from UK Visas and Immigration to ensure it did not lose its student sponsor licence.

Dismissal of senior university academics

Acting for a number of high-profile academics facing dismissal including senior academic members of staff at Cambridge and Oxford colleges and many other universities.

Student conduct and disciplinary support

Supporting higher education clients on a range of student matters, including providing advice on an allegation of assault between students, a student disciplinary panel, and a no contact agreement.

Streamlined DSAR review process

Providing guidance to an education institution on multiple data subject access requests, using our DSAR support service tool to significantly reduce the number of documents requiring manual review.

Cambridge and Oxford internal conflicts

Representing several Cambridge and Oxford colleges on employment matters raised by members of their academic staff, as well as governance and charity law issues, including the management of internal conflicts.

Peer on peer abuse allegation

Advising a leading boys’ independent school in relation to an allegation of peer on peer abuse, including the steps the school could take to alleviate concern and ensure the safeguarding of all pupils.

Streamlined DSAR review process

Providing guidance to an education institution on multiple data subject access requests, using our DSAR support service tool to significantly reduce the number of documents requiring manual review.

Cambridge and Oxford internal conflicts

Peer on peer abuse allegation

The team at Penningtons is excellent. They are highly knowledgeable about the education sector and take the time to get to understand their clients to give the best possible service. Whoever answers the phone, Penningtons provides outstanding support.

The Penningtons Manches Cooper team have provided unwaveringly exceptional and timely advice and support.

Outstanding knowledge and experience with the ability to deliver advice in easy to understand and clear terms. I feel very confident using Penningtons.

Penningtons Manches Cooper’s extensive experience and in-depth knowledge ensures they can adeptly manage any issues that arise.

There is a breadth of knowledge within the team which means we can get answers to all our questions quickly. It is a talented team and they are friendly and easy to work with.