Members of Monckton Chambers’ Education Law Group advise and represent clients in a wide range of education-related cases. Our clients include:

• Children, parents and adult learners
• Maintained and independent schools
• Universities and other FE and HE Institutions
• Local authorities
• Ofsted and other education regulators
• The Department for Education

Members act in public law disputes, including judicial review challenges, appeals concerning children’s special educational needs, claims of disability discrimination and admissions and exclusions appeals.

Spearheading the Education Law Group is Ian Wise QC, recognised as a leading silk in Education Law for a number of years, who combines his expertise in this area with his considerable experience in children’s law generally. Monckton’s education clients also draw on members’ expertise across Monckton Chambers’ core strengths in public law (including judicial review, human rights and local government), discrimination law, competition law, contract law and EU relations law. Our clients benefit from the experience which many members of the Group have gained through acting regularly for both Claimants and Defendants.

A particular area of expertise in chambers is cases concerning the right to education (Article 2 Protocol 1 of the ECHR), including damages actions for failure to provide an individual with education, members having acted successfully in a number of such cases in the Court of Appeal and the High Court.

Other areas of Monckton’s education law expertise include:

• Judicial reviews concerning special educational needs
• Appeals against EHC Plans in the First Tier Tribunal
• Disability discrimination in education
• School exclusions
• Failure to educate (Education Act 1996 s 19)
• Challenges to regulatory decisions including Ofsted reports
• Contractual disputes involving education eg. provision of education

There are several ways to instruct members of the Group. Many of our education law JRs are brought using legal aid. A number of members are direct access qualified, meaning they are available to be instructed by members of the public without instructing a solicitor, which can be more cost effective. Those members can also advise on whether a client’s legal issue means they would in fact benefit from instructing a solicitor.

Many members of the Group are instructed by DfE, Ofsted and other education regulators via being on the Attorney General’s Panels of Counsel.

Between 2020 and 2023, the Education Law Team published an Education Law blog which covered important developments across the field of education law.

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