Nicholas Hancox Solicitors specialise in the law relating to schools and colleges.  We advise local education authorities and independent schools, church schools and faith schools.  We advise FE colleges and nursery schools, extended schools and special schools. We advise heads and bursars, governors and teachers. Our expertise in Education Law covers children and adults, admissions and exclusions.  We advise on independent appeal panels, parental complaints, accidents at school and pupil misbehaviour.  We cover the employment of staff, discipline and grievances, land and property, governors and caretakers, admissions and exclusions, child protection and violence at school.

Nicholas Hancox has been practising Education Law since 1988.

This website was last up-dated on 25 April 2008. You may want to click the "Refresh" button on your Toolbar, to make sure you are looking at the very latest update of our website.

LATEST:

The Law of Education Bulletin

In the April 2008 issue of the Law of Education Bulletin, Nicholas Hancox wrote: "A High School in London has a little local difficulty in this issue, excluding a child with ADHD. The High Court supported the Tribunal." Meanwhile, the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 is coming closer to fruition with new regulations about the Independent Barring Board (IBB). No-one has yet explained to Mr Hancox why the Independent Barring Board is operating under the name of the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA). Or, to put it another way, if Parliament in 2006 wanted to create an ISA, why does the 2006 Act call for an IBB?

Debbie Ashton joins the firm We are delighted to announce that Ms Debbie Ashton has joined the firm as a Solicitor. Debbie Ashton qualified in 2004 and comes to us with 15 years' previous experience as a secondary-school teacher. More details...   Children's Rights In the Spring 2008 issue of "Public Opinion", a journal published by Birketts LLP, Nicholas Hancox reviewed the law and UN Convention on Children's Rights and asks whether we also need a UN Convention on Parents' Rights. The answer is "No, we do not." The article is on our Children's Rights webpage

Education and Charity
Nicholas Hancox wrote an article in the New Law Journal on 25 January 2008 about the new Charity Commission's plans to monitor more closely the 'public benefit' provided by those independent schools which are also charities. The "advancement of education" has been recognised as charitable since at least 1601, but the Charities Act 2006 has brought a new emphasis on there being a necessary public benefit in the advancement of education, before it can be recognised as truly charitable.

BBC News
On the BBC News website for 21 September 2007 is a report of an interview given by Nicholas Hancox about "cyber-bullying". A teachers' union had said it was ready to take legal action to support a teacher who appears to have been defamed or libelled in allegations on a website and Nicholas Hancox warned that it would be "difficult, but not impossible" for teachers to take their complaints into the courtroom. See the full BBC report on the BBC news website

Nicholas Hancox is one of the the Editors of Butterworths' Law of Education, the major seven-volume text on education law in England and Wales. This and other books by Nicholas Hancox on the subject of education law are described on the Law Books & Articles page of this website.

Nicholas Hancox often speaks at conferences and seminars on education law topics and our current programme of conferences and seminars is described on the Seminars & Talks page of this website

Nicholas Hancox Solicitors are corporate supporters of Norfolk Wildlife Trust. We are delighted to be helping this wonderful organisation.

Nicholas Hancox is also a consultant with Birketts LLP, a 36-partner firm of Solicitors in Norwich and Ipswich.   www.birketts.co.uk.