Education

For more than 50 years, HCR has had a significant presence in the education sector, gaining a national reputation as a key player in the field of education law. Covering the full spectrum of legal advice and support for educational institutions, we’re trusted to help solve their problems while achieving their strategic aims and objectives.

Key contact

Kristine Scott

Education is such an important part of everyday life and I use my expertise to focus on issues relating to staff, pupils and parents to allow schools to keep teaching and learning as a priority. I am trusted to support educational establishments of all types, from independent schools and grammar schools to colleges with sensitive issues such as child protection, pupil exclusions and parental complaints.

Our experience in the education sector

Our dedicated team of legal experts are all passionate about education. As a firm, we have extensive, collective experience in the sector; we understand the interplay of education law and best practice, and we’re familiar with how schools and educational institutions operate and are regulated.

Working collaboratively with governors, heads, bursars, COOs and senior leadership teams, we offer practical solutions across the breadth and depth of all relevant legal issues. These include governance issues, safeguarding, parent and pupil advice, parental complaints, mergers and acquisitions, dispute resolution, property, international and employment law advice.

Our clients in educational institutions

We’re trusted by over 300 educational establishments from nurseries to higher and further education colleges and universities. In addition, we act in an advisory capacity to the highest level of education associations.

Our expertise in shaping guidance and policies led to us developing a national Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy for the ISBA.

Legal updates and thought leadership

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Hear what our clients say about us

Rachel Parkin and Oliver Daniels are recognised for their expertise in employment law and teachers’ strike guidance.

The Legal 500 2025 Education

Kristine Scott leads the practice, advising on a range of specialist education matters, in safeguarding, including sensitive dismissals, pupil exclusions and parental complaints.

The Legal 500 2025 Education

Highly regarded for representing various independent schools in a wide range of matters, including Teachers’ Pension Scheme withdrawal, sensitive safeguarding issues and the issue of national strike action, HCR Law’s education department is adept in transactions, trustee advice, data protection, employment and specialist education sector legal and regulatory counsel.

The Legal 500 2025 Education

Rebecca’s HE expertise has been invaluable, as has the expertise of her colleagues in other legal specialisms. We appreciate the commercial approach of ‘our’ UniFlex team – their ability to see things from our perspective rather than from a purely legal standpoint has been very important.

I also appreciate the flexibility and responsiveness of the service. Our arrangement is for a set number of hours a week, but they aren’t on a particular day. It means we can reach out at short notice and there are no bottlenecks in turning matters around.

Alison Sear University Solicitor and Clerk to the Governing Body

HCR are the ‘go to’ experts for all education, employment, contract, commercial and international advice. Having engaged several different firms over many years, we are now firmly committed to working exclusively with the team from HCR. They are highly responsive, pragmatic, appreciate the nuances of complex cases and provide us with excellence advice. They are an impressive team who go out of their way to understand the needs of the client whilst providing impartial and objective advice. The Head of the Education Team, Kristine Scott is phenomenal, but she has also built an impressive team who we trust implicitly.

Education team testimonial

Thank you so much for all of your support with our transaction. Our Chair of the Building Committee and myself are so grateful for both your professionalism and for the personal commitments that you both made to support the School.

The matter required a quick resolution to ensure that the school was able to secure the facility promptly, as otherwise there was a risk they would lose their existing use of the site altogether. However thanks to the work of Morgan and James, as well as assistance from the wider team of Paul Watkins, Steve Thomas and Oliver Daniels the school was able to secure the site and the assets of the outgoing operator in a timely manner.

Bromsgrove School Sport centre acquisition

The relationship with us goes back a long way, and the service HCR provides in the more ‘traditional’ areas such as employment and education remains first-rate. But what has been especially pleasing is the way that, as our ambitions and vision have broadened, so too has HCR’s ability to support us on our journey. Of course I’m thinking in particular about our international plans and discussions – it’s no exaggeration to say that we couldn’t have come as far as we have without your tremendous support, expertise and sage advice. Thanks.

 

Client An Independent School

HCR’s management of the conversion of three schools in one year has been flawless and without error. The Education team drive the process at pace with a range of stakeholders and especially with stakeholders who are challenging to work with!

Conversion of three schools in one year

HCR were appointed to act as our advisors in what appeared to be a straightforward transaction. Having asked around, their name kept coming up as real experts in the education market, a particularly lively place just now.

They found a solution to enable us to do the right thing by the school. It wasn’t just an excellent technical solution. What really impressed me was that they have all the bases covered, and they developed a nose for how we work and fitted in perfectly. The governors didn’t get everything right first time, but thanks to HCR, we did finish up in the right place. Invaluable.

Client Independent Girls School

Yesterday’s training was excellent and really useful. Thank you very much for organising such a worthwhile day.” The day is one of our most popular events and gives delegates an update on topics such as employment law, safeguarding and data protection law.

Client Independent School

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