Education

We believe in education as a force for good in society.

Education is vital for everyone; it’s a force for social change. That’s why we work with you in partnership, investing in your values and moral purpose – the reason you educate. We aim to make a positive impact in society and we’re as immersed in the policy context as we are in the law.

We rank in the Legal 500’s top tier for schools, and we have more than 30 years’ experience in education.  We work with nurseries, schools and multi-academy trusts, as well as institutions in further, higher and adult education. Beyond that, we’ve worked with regulators, local authorities and awarding bodies.

How we help

We’re a full-service firm, so we can offer every legal service you could need. We can help establish, merge, federate, transfer, restructure or convert an institution. We help with governance and constitutions.

We deal with everything from inspections, disciplinary procedures to FOI requests. We’ll also protect your intellectual property as well as dealing with visas and immigration. We help prevent and resolve disputes, from governance and other organisational issues with shareholders, to disputes with suppliers and other third parties.

 

 

We also have the specialist expertise to help you thrive in the fast-growing EdTech sector. We’ve advised EdTech clients on everything from commercial contracts to intellectual property.

Whatever you need, we’ll be there to support and advise you.

Recent work examples include:

  • Advising a well-established French higher education group on entering the UK market and registering with the Office for Students.
  • Providing restructuring advice to an independent schools group.
  • Advising a large further education provider, which is also a registered charity, on its governance review and on the impact of ONS reclassification of statutory further education colleges into the public sector.
Explore

Briefing for Charities & Social Enterprises | 8 July

Our weekly round up of news and updates from across the sector. To help you navigate this week’s content, the links below will take you straight to content by topic. Charity Commission The Charity Commission has concluded its compliance case into Nottingham Islam Information Point. The case was opened in 2023, following concerns about a …
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Briefing for Charities & Social Enterprises | 2 July

Our weekly round up of news and updates from across the sector. To help you navigate this week’s content, the links below will take you straight to content by topic. Charity Commission Risk management guidance Civil Society has reported that the Charity Commission is planning to update its guidance on charities and risk management (CC26). …
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Briefing for Charities & Social Enterprises | 24 June

Our weekly round up of news and updates from across the sector. To help you navigate this week’s content, the links below will take you straight to content by topic. Charity Commission The latest edition of Charity Connection focuses on celebrating small charities and covers World Whistleblower Day, mentioning various whistleblowing resources for charities. See …
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Keys with conditions: What you need to know about service occupancies

Service occupancies are a common but often misunderstood arrangement, especially for organisations like charities, schools, care providers and religious institutions that offer housing to employees as part of their job. While convenient in many ways, service occupancies carry significant legal complexity, particularly if the employment relationship ends or changes over time. What is a service …
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Bates Wells discusses Charitable Funds with Independent Schools Management Magazine

Laura Soley and Alice Faure Walker have published an article in the Independent Schools Management Magazine, April 2025 edition. Their article, “Unlock your funds” gives top tips for independent schools on unlocking charitable restricted and endowment funds for broader use, including changing purposes of funds and accessing capital of endowments.This article should be timely, as we’ve …
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“We work with a range of solicitors at Bates Wells and all of them are knowledgeable and work together as a team to provide specific, tailored advice.”

Education, Chambers 2024

‘The Team immediately understood the organisation and brief, even before we met for the first time. Different members of the team were able to assist with different aspects of our requirement, and it felt like each individual was very knowledgeable on our organisation.’

Education, Legal 500 2024
Meet our team