Information Commissioner reprimands school for how it implemented facial recognition technology for canteen payments

Posted in: Quarterly Education Law Updates on 22/08/2024 In this Education Law Update, Paul Upson from Napier Solicitors considers a recent reprimand issued by the Information Commissioner to a school in relation to how it implemented facial recognition technology for canteen payments. Background Many people regularly pay for goods and services via their...

New Guidance for Schools on Parental Responsibility

Posted in: Quarterly Education Law Updates on 20/04/2023 In this Quarterly Education Law Update, Paul Upson from Napier Solicitors considers updated guidance for schools from the Department of Education about who has parental responsibility for a child and what rights such individuals acquire as a result. Background On 13 February 2023, the Department of...

Calculating Holiday Entitlement for Term-Time Workers: Supreme Court Judgement

Posted in: Quarterly Education Law Updates on 05/09/2022 Background Mrs Brazel was a music teacher who worked at a school run by the Harpur Trust. She was employed under a permanent contract but did not have fixed hours and only worked during term time. Each year Mrs Brazel received three payments for holiday pay at the end of each term. On each o...

Teacher’s unfair dismissal compensation reduced to zero because of her conduct towards pupil

Posted in: Quarterly Education Law Updates on 05/04/2022 Introduction On 2 February 2022, the EAT handed down its decision in the case of Lewis v The Governing Body of Tai’rgwaith Primary School[1]. The case involved a teacher who was dismissed by the school following an incident in which a pupil was pulled to the floor. Industrial Tribunals in Northern ...

Freedom of Information and Exam Grades

Posted in: Quarterly Education Law Updates on 25/10/2021 Introduction This Quarterly Education Law Update looks at the decision of the First-tier Tribunal in Martin Ogazi v Information Commissioner [2021]. Background As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, GCSE grades issued in the summer of 2020 were assessed by schools, rather than by external examinatio...

Bullying in schools - New Law comes into force from September 2021

Posted in: Quarterly Education Law Updates on 16/06/2021 Paul Upson is an Associate Director at education law specialists, Napier Solicitors. In this Quarterly Education Law Update, he looks at new statutory provisions in relation to bullying in schools. Introduction The Addressing Bullying in Schools Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 (“the Act”)[1] comes in...

High Court Decides School’s Admission Criteria Were Balanced And Reasonable

Posted in: Quarterly Education Law Updates on 03/03/2021 Paul Upson is an Associate Director at education law specialists, Napier Solicitors. In this Quarterly Education Law Update, he looks at a recent decision of the Northern Ireland High Court in relation to post-primary admissions criteria. Introduction The covid-19 pandemic has had a profound impact...

New ICO Guidance on Subject Access Requests and Education Data

Posted in: Quarterly Education Law Updates on 26/11/2020 Paul Upson is an Associate Director at education law specialists, Napier Solicitors. In this Quarterly Education Law Update, he looks at recent guidance issued by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in relation to subject access requests. Introduction Under the Data Protection Act 2018 (DP...

Flexible Working Applications In Schools

Posted in: Quarterly Education Law Updates on 19/08/2020 Paul Upson is an Associate Director at education law specialists, Napier Solicitors. In this Quarterly Education Law Update, he sets out some of the issues to be considered when a teacher makes an application for flexible working. Introduction Like all employees, provided they meet the relevant qua...

Guidance on Planning for Wider Opening of Schools

Posted in: Quarterly Education Law Updates on 14/05/2020 Paul Upson is an Associate Director at education law specialists, Napier Solicitors. In this Quarterly Education Law Update, he considers some of the issues that education establishments are likely to have to deal with as they begin the process of reopening for wider groups of pupils. Backgroun...