Robust Line Management Versus Bullying - How Far is too Far?
Maintaining a positive workplace culture is essential for any school's success. Unfortunately, the line between strong management and bullying can become blurred.One person perceives 'reasonable...
View ArticleNew Statutory Guidance on Suspensions and Permanent Exclusions in Force From...
The DfE has published new statutory guidance on Suspension and Permanent Exclusion from maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units in England, including pupil movement, which will come...
View ArticleOfsted's Inspection Practice Changes
On 12 June, Ofsted provided more detail around their hailed changes to their inspection practices. The changes, while not altogether seismic or particularly detailed at this stage, at least provide...
View ArticleKeeping Children Safe
The Department for Education (DfE) published the revised version of the statutory guidance Keeping Children Safe in Education in June.This year's KCSIE 2023 amendments are relatively light touch and...
View ArticleA 'back to school' bulletin for our academy and maintained school clients
The DfE published some revised statutory guidance and advice in recent weeks which came into effect on 1 September 2023We have reflected on this, and have taken some time over the summer to update and...
View ArticleMobile phones in schools - what to expect from the Government guidance?
As widely reported in the media, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan recently announced (2 October) the Government's intention to produce new guidance banning mobile phone use in schools.The guidance...
View ArticleChanges to Flexible Working Regime
Flexible working has been a hot topic since the pandemic. With the changes to the statutory regime being widely reported, we are already seeing an increase in flexible working requests, and push back...
View ArticleNavigating staff based conflict in schools and strategies for effective...
The modern workplace has witnessed a noticeable increase in employee conflicts in recent years and schools are no exception. Strained relationships amongst school colleagues can spill over into the...
View ArticleInspections - safeguarding and elective home education
The updated Ofsted School Inspection handbook (the Handbook) came into force on 1 September 2023 (as updated on 6 October 2023) and now applies to all inspections of academies and maintained schools...
View ArticleStop Press: Government will introduce pro-rata mechanism for part-year and...
Significant regulation change is coming regarding Working Time Regulations for part-year and irregular hours workers at academies and maintained schools.Since the Supreme Court handed down its...
View ArticleRecruitment challenges - can the immigration system help your school fill the...
With academies and schools throughout the country struggling to fill vacancies at all levels, many are now recruiting staff from overseas.Whilst some foreign nationals will hold their own visa that...
View ArticleUnderstanding agency worker rights
We have seen an increase in claims being brought by agency staff where their legal entitlements have not been met. It is therefore crucial that schools understand agency workers' rights and comply...
View ArticlePart-year and irregular hours holiday entitlement to be pro-rated from next...
Following consultation earlier this year, the Government has now confirmed significant changes to holiday entitlement for part-year and irregular hours workers.Since the Supreme Court handed down its...
View ArticleTop 10 tips for effective complex complaints handling in schools
Since the pandemic, many schools and academy trusts have seen an exponential growth in parental complaints which can be complex and protracted in nature. In response to this, we present our Top 10...
View ArticleDeveloping School Land - new guidance from LocatED
Are you making the most of your school land? The Department for Education's property company, LocatED, recently published advice to bodies with responsibility for school land and buildings about...
View ArticleNew guidance for mobile phone use in schools
The DfE published guidance in February 2024 to help schools develop and implement policies to prohibit mobile phone use, along with other similar smart technologies, throughout the school day,...
View ArticleChanges to legal duties on schools regarding pupil registration and attendance
At the end of February, the DfE announced a number of changes to the law relating to pupil registration and attendance. The changes will come into effect on 19 August 2024 and are set out in three new...
View ArticleA recent Ombudsman case concerning a school admission appeal decision
The Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman recently published a decision finding fault with East Riding of Yorkshire Council as the 'admission authority' for a school responsible for appointing...
View ArticleMeet Jo Lake - a new legal director in our data protection team
Jo Lake joined VWV in May 2024, and in this feature we will be finding out a little more about her role and how she supports academies and schools.What is your role at VWV?I am a legal director in the...
View ArticleEducation Policy update
Schools will be aware of the rather late publication of KCSIE 2024 on 2 September 2024. Most of the changes are light touch, however Schools will still need to be mindful that some of the content...
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