‘The disparity between the best and worst legal practice course (LPC) providers has continued to grow, with only 23% of students passing at one institution.’
Legal Futures, 26th March 2021
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘In this brief post, I want to demonstrate how ostensibly neutral and efficient algorithms can cause discrimination in education. Last year, the national advanced level qualifications (“A-levels”) exams in the UK that lead to places in university, further study, training, or work had to be cancelled because of school closures owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. In mitigation, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (“Ofqual”) asked teachers to supply an estimated grade for each student and a ranking that compared with every other student at the school within the same estimated grade. This data went into an algorithm that also factored the school’s performance in the subject over the previous three years. The animating purpose behind the algorithm was to avoid ‘grade inflation’ and ensuring consistency with previous year’s results. When the grades were announced, the outcome was devastating for many. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, nearly 40% of results were lower than teachers’ assessments. The effects of “downgraded” results were disproportionately felt in comparatively poorly resourced state schools.’
Oxford Human Rights Hub, 15th March 2021
Source: ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk
‘An Administrative Court judge should have decided a point of statutory construction about the timetable for producing amended education health and care (EHC) plans instead of declining to do so since it was academic, the Court of Appeal has ruled.’
Local Government Lawyer, 18th March 2021
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘The Welsh government is failing in its legal duty to protect the rights of home-educated children a decade after a boy who was being taught by his parents slipped under the radar of education and health officials and died of scurvy, an official report has concluded.’
The Guardian, 25th February 2021
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The government is being urged to close a legal loophole to stop convicted sex offenders working with children as private tutors.’
BBC News, 25th February 2021
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Leicestershire County Council has agreed to apologise and pay a teenager £7,200 after an investigation from the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) found it left her without an academy school place for nearly 14 months.’
Local Government Lawyer, 23rd February 2021
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘The University of Law (ULaw) has unveiled a range of courses to prepare students for Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE), costing from £500 to £16,500 – the latter being little different from the legal practice course (LPC).’
Legal Futures, 10th February 2021
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘Khatija Hafesji looks at the legal action threatened against Muslim parents in relation to their daughter’s breach of school uniform policy.’
Monckton Chambers, 13th January 2021
Source: www.monckton.com
‘In this case note, Jack Williams of Monckton Chambers analyses the recent decision of the Upper Tribunal in Colchester Institute Corporation v HMRC [2020] UKUT 0368 (“Colchester”). In summary, in overturning the First Tier Tribunal’s decision, the Upper Tribunal held that state-funding did have a sufficient link to the provision of education and vocational training provided by a college to constitute supply of services for consideration and economic activity. Nevertheless, HMRC was entitled to set-off input tax to reduce the taxpayer’s repayment claim. The implications of the case are likely to be profound: many businesses – educational and otherwise – supplying services that are funded by state agencies are now likely to argue that their provision of services does, in fact, constitute the supply of services for consideration and economic activity. That being so, there would be no need to account for output tax on those services and any accounted for with HMRC may be recoverable.’
Monckton Chambers, January 2021
Source: www.monckton.com
‘A boy found dead in his bedroom was groomed into a world of drug trafficking and “failed” by the authorities, a serious case review said.’
BBC News, 20th January 2021
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘A mother was entitled to bring a lawyer to support her at a mediation of her dispute with Hillingdon Council about her son’s Education, Health and Care Plan and the local authority was in breach of its statutory duties by refusing to participate, a High Court judge has ruled.’
Local Government Lawyer, 7th December 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘A council has agreed to pay more than £2,400 in compensation after an investigation from the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman into the termination of a child’s transport to school.’
Local Government Lawyer, 4th December 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Students could be awarded financial compensation for lost teaching time during the Covid-19 lockdown after the higher education complaints watchdog told an institution to pay £1,000 to an international student.’
The Guardian, 26th November 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Two key events have taken place in the last week in relation to The Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018 (“the 2018 Act”): the publication of a commencement order and the publication of the Additional Learning Needs Co-ordinator (Wales) Regulations. This article considers both documents, concluding that, based on the limited information available they do not help clarify the confusion amongst practitioners as to the details of the forthcoming special needs regime in Welsh schools.’
3PB, 4th November 2020
Source: www.3pb.co.uk
‘Herefordshire academy conspired to sack drama teacher for her union activities.’
The Guardian, 10th November 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘”Once you’re caught in the grip of the system you are doomed,” says the founder of a radically different approach to jailing young offenders. Steve Chalke aims to stop a revolving door of criminality that at present sees 69% of young prisoners reoffending within a year of release.’
BBC News, 6th Ocotber 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘The level of educational achievement by incarcerated offenders in the UK is far lower than the average. In addition, 40-50% of prisoners assessed in John Rack’s research for the Dyslexia Institute (2005) were at or below levels of literacy and numeracy expected of an 11-year old. In 2007, the Prison Reform Trust reported that prison populations who showed serious deficits in literacy and numeracy reached up to 60% with a 30% dyslexia rate. This literacy problem extends to oral speech. People in the Criminal Justice System are ten times more likely to have a Speech and Communication Difficulty than members of the public. Research shows that 60% of young male offenders have a communication deficit as opposed to 3-10% of the general population (Available evidence for young female and adult offenders shows similarly high levels of speech-difficulties.) In the UK, low socio-economic status (SES), speech difficulty and school exclusions are co-morbid factors for offending. Having a speech difficulty also makes it near impossible for anyone with significant communication difficulties to navigate a legal system built upon excessive jargon without help. The criminal justice system must make structural interventions to protect the rights of persons with Speech and Communication Difficulty.’
Oxford Human Rights Hub, 17th September 2020
Source: ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk
‘Grammar schools in England will have to ensure their 11-plus entrance exams are accessible to disabled pupils, after a legal ruling found a visually impaired child suffered discrimination when he was refused the opportunity to take the exam.’
The Guardian, 9th September 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘This year is a year like no other. Students have found out how they performed in exams they did not even sit. The Department for Education (“DfE”) changed its approach in a major U-turn five days after the A Level results were released.’
3PB, 20th August 2020
Source: www.3pb.co.uk
‘An A-level student has launched a legal bid against the exams regulator Ofqual to “force them to come up with a fairer system”.’
The Guardian, 16th August 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
© Inner Temple Library 2021