Education

Education bodies are at the centre of many of our areas of practice and it is a sector we are proud to support. From complex legal arrangements to individuals' roles as governors or trustees, we are committed to every aspect of the education community.

We advise many schools, colleges, universities, education charities and academic and learned institutions. We understand the particular challenges faced in this specialist sector and the Education Group has built up a detailed knowledge of the complexities involved.

Crucially, we recognise that education bodies should operate as businesses whilst always upholding their educational objectives. This means, as well as being an educational body you are likely also to be a property owner or developer, an employer, a charity, or a commercial contractor. In the commercial environment, you need access to employment, technology, regulatory and other specialist lawyers, all of which we can provide for you.

Every organisation is different, so we give you an individual service to tackle your specific needs. We can draw on our expertise in advising many long established education sector clients.

We know you need someone you can talk to who understands your challenges. Our aim is to build trust and develop close relationships with our clients and we are proud to work with every one of them.

Our Education Group, headed by Clare Colacicchi, is comprised of specialists in fields which have an impact on the operation of organisations and individuals involved in the education sector. The nature of the work that members of the Group undertake is described below. If there is any matter that we can assist you with, please contact Clare on 01604 463317 or one of the individuals named below.

In addition, members of our staff act as school governors in both the independent and maintained sector.

Establishment and conversion of schools

We are experienced in establishing, advising on or converting new forms for state schools such as Trust Schools and Academies. We provide advice and the documents for all aspects, including constitutional documents, funding arrangements and regulatory matters.

For more information contact Clare Colacicchi via email here or call her on 01604 463317 or Chris Knight via email here or on 01604 463103.

Charity and governance

We have a well regarded charities practice. We are very experienced in advising on charity issues, including Charity Commission regulation, public benefit and independent schools, governance, including trustees and senior management team interactions.

For more information contact our head of charities, Chris Knight, via email or call him on 01604 463103, or Clare Colacicchi on 01604 463317.

Property and estates

We provide a broad range of property services including the sale and acquisition of freehold and leasehold, mortgaging and charging property, advice relating to investment property portfolios (including agricultural land), licensing for summer schools, student accommodation agreements and property sharing arrangements (eg letting of rooms to community groups).

For more information contact Patricia Kempson in our Northampton office on 01604 463352 or click here to email her, or Denise Wilkinson in our Cambridge office on 01223 461155 or click here to email her.

Construction and development projects

We have an extensive practice advising on capital construction projects for education clients. Recently, this has included a number of campus refurbishment projects.

For more information contact Tim Richards on 01908 247011 or click here to email him.

Corporate and commercial matters

We provide a comprehensive service for clients in relation to their commercial activities including preparation and review of parent contracts, terms and conditions, outsourcing and other third party contracts and innovative collaborations, company law matters and intellectual property rights.

We have experience in advising clients on the application of European Union procurement rules in relation to tenders and on the impact of EU state aid rules in relation to public grants and loans.

For more information contact Kevin Fletcher in our Northampton office, on 01604 473373, or Luisa Leone at our Cambridge office on 01223 532714.

Employment

We act for educational establishments on the whole range of employment issues, including “day to day” advice on matters such as disciplinary and grievance procedures, as well as employment tribunal proceedings covering areas such as race, disability and sex discrimination (including claims for equal pay), as well as unfair dismissal claims

For more information contact our head of employment, Nick Hall on 01604 463375 or click here to email him.

Disputes

From the perspective of both sides, we have advised on issues that arise in the relationships between education establishments and those that they serve, including discrimination, parent contracts, unpaid school fees, and various types of claims arising against schools. We have also assisted educational clients in disputes with suppliers and third parties.

For more information please contact Stephen Cole by email or call him on 01604 463346.

For further information on the services we offer beyond our specialist Education team, please follow the relevant link below:

M11 Development Group

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