Education Law Solicitors

Whether you are a student or parent, if you are concerned about the way you or a child has been treated by an educational institution, getting expert legal advice from impartial education solicitors can make a real difference.

What types of education cases do we deal with?

IBB’s specialist and dedicated education solicitors deal with the following range of cases:

Schools and Children

• Bullying including Cyber Bullying
• Discrimination
• Disputes against Independent Schools
• Negligence
• Safeguarding in schools
• School Admissions
• School Complaints
• Special Educational Needs
• School Exclusions
• Transgender Questioning School Children

Further and Higher Education Law

• Academic Failure
• Academic Misconduct
• Academic Plagiarism
• Allegations of Sexual Misconduct at University
• Allegations of Violence at University
• Complaints to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA)
• Degree Classification Issues
• Fitness to Practise
• Problems with PhD
• UK Education Law Advice for International Students
• University Breach of Contract, Negligence and/or Discrimination
• University Disciplinary Issues
• University Exam Appeals
• University Fee Issues and Disputes
• Withdrawal from University

We only act on behalf of children, students and their parents. We do all we can to ensure they receive the education to which they are entitled and are treated fairly. We do not act on behalf of schools, colleges or universities, so you can be sure we are committed to achieving the best outcome for you.

All members of our education legal team have chosen to pursue their careers in helping children and young people throughout their education, from overcoming school admissions challenges and all the way through to supporting young adults at university. We are 100% education focused. Our team only practice law in the field of education. This is what we do.

Please note that we are only able to take on cases on a privately paying basis. If you are unable to privately fund your case, or you looking for general guidance on what actions you can take to protect you or your child’s education rights, you can contact Citizens Advice.

Education law is a  complex and complicated area of the law, frequently involving a variety of issues and different forms of legal redress, as well as different forums to achieve the right outcome.  Therefore, when there is the need to challenge an academic institution, whether a school, college or university, it is not unnatural to feel confused about your or your child’s rights. Neither is it uncommon to be unsure or anxious about the process for raising an issue, as well as  the potential remedies and legal rights that you or your child may be entitled to because of the actions and behaviour of the academic institution.

At IBB Law, we have specialist expertise in our expert education solicitors, advising clients facing a variety of education law challenges. All our lawyers are specialist in the field of education law. They spend 100% of their day helping children, students, young people and adults. They do not act on behalf of schools, colleges or universities.  We can assist with any education law issue that a child, parent or student faces.   We can provide an initial fixed fee consultation to advise on the merits of the case. We can then provide further support to achieve your objective of achieving justice for you or your child. Get in touch today.

Here are some examples of our work

• Persuaded university to give student second chance in a module, so the student could achieve a 2:1.
• School agrees to quash its decision not admitting pupil to school and the school to reconsider the child’s application afresh.
• Persuaded university to treat student as a home student rather than an overseas student, saving her £1000s.
• Successfully defended a student in respect of allegations of sexual misconduct. Allegations were not upheld by Student Disciplinary panel.
• Successfully defended a student in response to allegations of plagiarism.
• Secured a positive outcome for 3 pupils who had been expelled from school.
• Advised students studying medicine when their regulator withdrew approval of course run by a university.
• Persuaded university to grant student more time to complete her degree, due to mental health issues.
• Acted for 16 year old at independent school in respect of allegations of discrimination.
• College student received an acknowledgement of disability discrimination and awarded financial compensation.
• Advised parent on the recovery of school fees from independent school.

For detailed summaries of the kind of cases that we can deal with on your behalf, click here.

Contact Our education law specialists.

How we can help you

Our aim is to give you clarity over where you stand, whether you have grounds for challenging a school decision, challenging a college decision or challenging a university decision, and the likelihood of securing the outcome you want. Our specialist education law solicitors can provide step-by-step guidance through each stage of your case.

Wherever possible, we will seek to agree an amicable positive solution with the educational institution without resorting to the courts or tribunals. However, in cases where this is not possible, because they will not give way, we are willing and able to take robust action to ensure your rights or those of your child are protected, so they can reach their full educational potential.

We offer a fixed fee initial consultation with a member of our team to discuss your needs and see how we can help. Our charges thereafter will depend on the nature of the case you are bringing and the amount of work involved.  We will endeavour to provide you with certainty over the costs involved, to give you comfort.

For expert help with any aspect of education law for individuals, please contact our education law senior administrator, Rachael, on 01895 207230 or  educationteam@ibblaw.co.uk  We will provide step by step guidance.

How long do I have to make an Education Law claim?

There are time limits to make an education claim. Depending upon the type of case, these time limits range from a matter of days to years. For the majority of education cases time is of the essence and action needs to be taken promptly, in response to an issue that has arisen. Therefore, to avoid missing out on your legal rights we strongly recommend you contact expert education solicitors immediately after a problem with your education or your child’s education arises.

Our expertise with education law

Our education law team benefits from the expertise of specialist solicitors, who only do education law work, helping children, students, young people and their parents.    Our specialist education law team are independently recognised as being experts in their field. We are expert education lawyers.

Celia Whittuck has two decades of experience acting on behalf of children, meaning she is well placed to address the full breadth of legal issues thrown up across the education system. Celia is ably assisted by a team of lawyers, including Priscilla Adu and Malcolm Underhill who  similarly specialise. The team help parents and students, to protect their rights and to secure favourable outcomes, sometimes under even the most challenging circumstances.

We have experience handling education law challenges at all levels, both dealing directly with schools, colleges, universities and other institutions, as well as where matters are escalated to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education, to tribunals or to the courts, including the Court of Appeal.

No matter how difficult your situation might seem, we have the skills, experience and specialist knowledge to support you with confidence, giving you the best chance of securing the outcome you or your child need.

How our education law solicitors can help you

Our education law fees

We typically work on a fixed fee basis for the initial consultation. After that initial fixed fee consultation, where we provide you with advice on the merits of your education law case, we can continue to act for you. We will provide you with a cost estimate for any work you ask us to undertake after that initial consultation.  The cost of our legal advice is agreed with you in advance. This ensures complete certainty and transparency over the cost of securing our help with your educational law issue.

The exact cost of our services will depend on the nature of your problem, including the amount of time and level of expertise needed to support you effectively. We will be happy to discuss this with you when you contact our team.

We recognise you will want to know how much it will cost to deal with your case. We are therefore, increasingly, trying offer more fixed fees, so you have absolutely certainty over the costs involved and, importantly, peace of mind.

We offer an initial consultation for a fixed fee to analyse your case and to advise on how we can help. This is an opportunity for you to tell us your story, what has happened and to provide documents that you would like us to consider at the initial consultation meeting. This is your chance to ask any questions and find out whether you are likely to have a case for challenging the school, college or university. We can also discuss the costs involved in more detail at this time. Make your claim today.

For more information on our education law pricing, please get in touch.

Get clear legal advice and support for any aspect of education law

The information given here is intended for general information purposes only and should not be taken as legal advice.

For specific guidance relevant to your situation and to arrange an initial fixed fee education law consultation, please contact our education law senior administrator, Rachael, on 01895 207230 or email  educationteam@ibblaw.co.uk  Contact our team of experts.