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be connected newsletter for education - March 2021

In this edition we provide you with the latest in legal updates, news and insight from the sector.

03 March 2021

In this edition we provide you with the latest in legal updates, news and insight from the sector.

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Legal updates

Advice for secondary schools on wearing face coverings

In preparation for the return to the classroom next week, the Department for Education has recommended that staff, pupils and students in year 7 and above should wear face coverings. In this article Hayley O’Sullivan details the key factors that schools should consider before deciding on the stance they wish to take.

Responding to supplier administrations

Given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the financial pressure that many companies are currently under may prove insurmountable. The financial support schemes cannot go on indefinitely and, when they are removed, it is likely that we will see the number of insolvencies increase. In this article Chloe Poskitt and Joe Price answer your key questions in relation to supplier administration and consider some of the lessons learned from the administration of Gaia and School Letting Solutions.

Delivering live remote learning to pupils – some data protection considerations

In recent months education providers have become more innovative with the delivery of lessons to ensure all students are able to actively participate. Delivery of lessons including live teaching sessions through video conferencing platforms such as Zoom and Teams have become commonplace while students learn from home. Whilst this is considered more useful and engaging than setting online work and it also enables teachers to actually see their pupils it does create a number of additional issues for settings.

In this article Daljit Kaur reviews some of the data protection-related factors that schools and academies should consider.

Advocacy in Action: School places during a national pandemic

In this, the second of our Advocacy in Action series, Barrister Andrew Cullen considers the issue of claims arising from school placements during COVID-19 lockdown.

Supporting students on their journey through higher education

Since 2020 schools and education authorities in England have had a duty to provide reasonable adjustments for disabled pupils, but what can these pupils expect as they continue their education journey into higher education?

In this article, our Head of HE, Bettina Rigg looks at what provisions are in place to enhance the disabled student experience.

Laptops and lifelines

Technology shortages have meant that many pupils have not had access to the laptops or equipment they need to engage in remote learning. Donations from the community are helping, and to manage them correctly schools need to get their gifts and donations policies polished up and fit for purpose in order to steward the offers of equipment received from generous donors. In this article, Laura Murphy sets out what schools need to be thinking about.

Webinars and online events

Rising to the challenge: digital transformation in schools

In this on-demand webinar, hear from our panel of digital pioneers about how they were developing their digital strategies to transform teaching and learning long before the pandemic really shone a light on the use of EdTech in schools and trusts.

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