• Employment law, including reorganisations and employment transfers, redundancy and TUPE matters, dismissals, appeals and governing body hearings, compromise agreements and ACAS settlements, contract of employment issues and terms and conditions, and trade union relations and industrial action.

• Dealing with existing site occupiers, including options for termination/relocation to maximise the educational use of the site, and property law matters generally.

• Contractual issues and disputes, including matters arising out of the development of the site and responsibilities arising under grant agreements.

• Coping with neighbour disputes, trespassers, threatening or abusive persons, claims for damage and anti-social behaviour.

• Matters arising under inter-agency arrangements with the Police and Children’s Services for safeguarding children, including compliance with statutory responsibilities towards child protection, and clarification of the current law relating to both private and public law proceedings.

• Parental rights and responsibilities, contact (access) issues, change of name, requests for witness statements from school staff in private proceedings.

• Pupil records - content, who has access, disclosure and inspection.

• Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and the administration of medicines.

• Advice on charging and income generation.

• Advice on exclusions and other disciplinary sanctions – grounds for exclusion and help with decision letters and governing body reviews.

• Advice on law relating to governing bodies, their composition, and governor appointment/election procedures.

• Advice on pupil absence, taking a pupil off roll, and pupil admissions.

• Advice on school uniforms, equalities and human rights issues.

• Advice on handling complaints.

• Procurement issues, including the drafting and application of standing orders, and the retendering of catering services.

• Debt recovery for sums above the small claims limit, with support and guidance to staff in pursuing lower value claims in-house.

• Information compliance including Freedom of Information and Data Protection issues.

The size of HLS, and the fact that staff possess a wide range of expertise in many areas of public law, means that our services are valued not only by members and officers of the County Council, but by those in other public bodies.

As a large legal services practice, we are able to provide ‘strength in depth’ in most areas of law relevant to public bodies.

The wide experience of our staff is drawn from a mix of private and public sector bodies, and as such, is geared to producing pragmatic, solutions focused advice to match the needs of our clients.

It is through this experience that we have learned the importance of understanding the particular needs of each client, and how we can best utilise our skills and expertise to support them in achieving their business objectives.

We have been the solicitors to over 500 maintained schools in Hampshire for over 20 years. This has given key staff unrivalled in-depth knowledge and experience of the needs of schools for legal support across a wide range of areas, including education law, employment, civil litigation, property, contracts and safeguarding.

Advice and support is normally charged on an hourly rate.

Where appropriate, bulk service can be provided at discounted rates, and fixed fees applied.

Further details available on request.

Contact us to find out more about our services.

HLS has held Lexcel accreditation since 1999, successfully undergoing annual assessments.

Lexcel accreditation certifies that we have been judged by independent assessors as meeting the Law Society’s Practice Management Standards.

These set out best practice requirements for the management of solicitors’ practice.

Customer feedback is used to improve and develop this service, in line with the Quality Assurance Framework for Services for Schools.

Mechanisms for collecting the views of customers include the annual satisfaction survey and complaints, compliments and comments.