Laura Berman

Practice Areas

Laura has practised in education law for almost 30 years. She is a Partner in Stone King’s Education Team advising state schools on a wide range of pupil-focused operational issues.

These include:

Admissions, admission appeals and objections to the OSA;

Pupil behaviour and exclusions;

Special Educational Needs, in particular in relation to schools’ responsibilities to make provision for pupils with and without an EHCP, SEN Funding, SEN related behavioural issues, responding to EHCP consultations;

Disability and other Equality Act matters; Laura regularly defends disability discrimination claims in the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal;

School policies;

Parental complaints;

Safeguarding.

Laura regularly delivers training on the above matters, in particular on exclusions and complaints.

Laura’s depth of experience enables her to help clients with contentious and non-contentious issues. She regularly defends judicial review challenges. Laura has specialist expertise in advising faith schools and also has significant experience assisting individuals with education law issues.

In addition, Laura manages and develops our Legal Support Retainer Service and oversees our retainer clients in London and the South East.

Professional Memberships

Laura is a member of the Education Law Association.

Publications

Laura has written a number of articles for the Education Law Journal.

Personal

Outside of her legal practice, Laura delivers workshops and training. She is Chair of Governors at two primary schools.

Work Highlights

Laura acted for a Multi-Academy Trust in connection with judicial review proceedings. The proceedings challenged the decision of an independent review panel that had upheld a permanent exclusion of a pupil. The proceedings were brought on multiple grounds but by the time of the court hearing, the argument centred around Article 4 ECHR (prohibition of slavery) and Child Criminal Exploitation and the duty on schools to consider these issues when reviewing exclusion decisions. The proceedings were strenuously defended and with the assistance of Counsel the judicial review claim was dismissed. Permission to appeal was refused. The claimants then made an application to the Court of Appeal for permission which again was opposed and refused.