Rights of excusal from relationships and sexuality education – Local Government Lawyer

‘Clíodhna Kelleher considers a recent High Court judgment that there was no parental right to withdraw children from relationships and sexuality education.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 13th January 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Afghan refugees made to move school take UK to court – BBC News

‘A group of Afghan families brought to London after the Taliban took power are taking the government to court because a subsequent move north meant their children had to leave a local school during their GCSE studies.’

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BBC News, 22nd January 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Newcastle council fined £280,000 after falling tree killed six-year-old – The Guardian

‘A council has been fined £280,000 for oversights that led to a six-year-old girl being crushed to death by a falling tree in her school playground.’

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The Guardian, 10th January 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Teenage girl awarded £25k compensation after assault at school – Local Government Lawyer

Posted January 6th, 2023 in assault, compensation, duty of care, news, school children, sentencing, sexual offences by tracey

‘A teenage girl has been awarded £25,000 in compensation after she suffered sexual assault at school by a boy who had been moved from another school where he was under police investigation for similar alleged criminal offences.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 6th January 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Schools hit by cyber attack and documents leaked – BBC News

Posted January 6th, 2023 in blackmail, children, computer crime, data protection, news, privacy, school children by tracey

‘Highly confidential documents from 14 schools have been leaked online by hackers, the BBC can reveal. One of those was Pates Grammar School in Gloucestershire, targeted by a hacking group called Vice Society.’

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BBC News, 6th January 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Council told to pay over £7k after failing to provide alternative education for autistic boy – Local Government Lawyer

‘An investigation by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has found that Oxfordshire County Council failed to provide alternative education for a boy with autism for a year.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 15th December 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Council told to pay £15k over failures in relation to provision of suitable alternative education – Local Government Lawyer

Posted November 28th, 2022 in children, compensation, education, health, local government, news, ombudsmen, school children by tracey

‘A child from West Sussex who was unable to attend school missed out on education after the council failed to provide a suitable alternative, an investigation by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has revealed.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 25th November 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Assessment of housing needs and cascading unlawfulness – Nearly Legal

‘YR, R (On the Application Of) v London Borough of Lambeth (2022) EWHC 2813 (Admin). Ms YR had applied to Lambeth as homeless. Her household consisted of her three children and four of her sister’s children, A, her youngest child, is 6 months old; R is 4; Y is 7; B is 9; H is 12; J is 12; and S is 16. Ms YR is a Spanish national with pre-settled status, and Spanish speaking. After becoming homeless in December 2021, she had been staying with a friend, but this could not continue. Following an approach to Lambeth, she was given temporary accommodation in a two bedroom flat in the borough, and the children were enrolled in schools in Lambeth. The accommodation was obviously overcrowded. A formal homelessness application was made in July 2021, with a request for suitable accommodation, together with a request for assessment of the children as in need under section 17 Children Act 1989.’

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Nearly Legal, 20th November 2022

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

ICO reprimand for misuse of children’s data: a proportionate response or a let off? – Local Government Lawyer

‘Last week, the Department for Education received a formal reprimand from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) over a “serious breach” of the GDPR involving the unauthorised sharing of up to 28 million children’s personal data. But the Department has avoided a fine, despite a finding of “woeful” data protection practices. Ibrahim Hasan reports.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 18th November 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Sex education: Wales’ curriculum legal challenge launched – BBC News

‘Campaigners have taken the Welsh government to court over sex education lessons they claim give prominence to LGBTQ+ themes.’

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BBC News, 16th November 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Pupils hear about what it means to be a Judge – Courts and Tribunals Judiciary

Posted November 14th, 2022 in judges, judiciary, news, school children by tracey

‘The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales visited The One Sixth Form College in Ipswich earlier this week to give the pupils a chance to hear about the work of judges, the justice system and the rule of law. He was accompanied by Tribunal Judge Jane McConell, a Diversity and Community Relations Judge, and Judge Levett.’

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Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 11th November 2022

Source: www.judiciary.uk

‘Public interest’ does not confer standing in JR, High Court rules – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted October 31st, 2022 in judicial review, news, public interest, school children, teachers by tracey

‘The High Court will interfere with a public authority’s decision only if there has been an error of law, a judge has stressed in a ruling explaining the requirements for judicial review.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 28th October 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Discriminating against ethnic minority pupils’ hairstyles is now much harder – The Guardian

Posted October 27th, 2022 in education, equality, news, race discrimination, school children by sally

‘EHRC guidance is a watershed, but the problem of hair discrimination in workplaces and public spaces remains.’

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The Guardian, 27th October 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Payout for sex abuse survivor who says Ellesmere College failed her – BBC News

‘A sex abuse survivor has been paid a substantial sum after claiming school staff failed to protect her when she was raped by her mother’s partner.’

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BBC News, 14th October 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Police forces asked to provide figures on strip-searches of children – The Independent

Posted October 14th, 2022 in Charity Commission, news, police, school children, statistics by tracey

‘The Children’s Commissioner has asked all police forces in England and Wales to provide figures on how many children have been strip-searched by officers since 2018.’

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The Independent, 14th October 2022

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Ombudsman criticises council over “flawed” school transport policy – Local Government Lawyer

‘Northumberland County Council has agreed to look again at families’ applications for school transport for teenagers with special educational needs, following an investigation by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 12th October 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Children’s commissioner demands ambition, not ‘tinkering’, in childcare reform – The Guardian

Posted October 12th, 2022 in children, government departments, news, school children by tracey

‘The children’s commissioner for England has poured cold water on Liz Truss’s proposal to scrap regulations governing child-to-staff ratios in nurseries, describing it as tinkering around the edges and calling instead for ambitious and transformative reform of the childcare sector.’

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The Guardian, 12th October 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

The school fines lottery for parents with absent children – BBC News

Posted September 30th, 2022 in children, education, fines, local government, news, school children by michael

‘Parents in England whose children miss school face harsher penalties depending on where they live, a BBC Panorama investigation has found.’

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BBC News, 30th September 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Liability of schools for abuse by work experience student – Local Government Lawyer

‘Paul Donnelly and Samuel Dawber discuss the implications of a recent High Court case where it was found that a relationship between a school and a work experience student was insufficient to give rise to vicarious liability.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 9th September 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Parents’ legal bid to ban sex education in schools fails

Posted September 2nd, 2022 in children, education, injunctions, judicial review, news, school children, Wales by tracey

‘A last-minute legal bid to block the teaching of relationships and sexuality education (RSE) in schools has failed. Five parents wanted to withdraw their children from the mandatory lessons from the start of the new term or stop the rollout of RSE altogether in Wales. At the High Court, judge Mrs Justice Tipples said an injunction would cause “very substantial disruption” just days before the start of a new term. A judicial review already granted to the group is scheduled for November.’

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BBC New, 1st September 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk