Centre for Education & Finance Management

Costs awarded in favour of school after unreasonable conduct in Employment Tribunal proceedings.

https://cefm.co.uk/2026/06/15/costs-awarded/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=Facebook_news_2026.06.15&utm_id=20260615f

Available now: CEFMinform (June 2026) – our regular bulletin written by our in-house solicitors, accountants and education experts.

This month we cover:
• New data protection complaints procedure requirement
• Protected conversations.
• Serious failings in the investigation process.
• Topical issues covered in two new education updates.
• Two new do you knows? – answering your questions.

In addition, 42 documents on CEFMi, our school information website, have been reviewed and updated where necessary as part of our monthly quality assurance reviews.

To read the full document or sign up for a free three-month trial, visit https://cefmi.cefm.co.uk/Module/944/Document/7349?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=Facebook_CEFMinform_Jun2026&utm_id=20260612f

In our first Education Update for June 2026 we cover:

• Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 - We summarise the main reforms contained in the Act, their timing, initial likely impact and some of the key amendments as the Bill progressed through its long period of scrutiny.

• Education for All Bill - We outline the proposals in the Bill.

• Digital literacy A recent AQA report entitled ‘Digitally native or digitally naïve?’ explores levels of digital literacy among young people. We give the main findings from the report and the AQA recommendations.

Members can access the update at https://cefmi.cefm.co.uk/Module/943/Document/7348?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=Facebook_EU_Jun2026i&utm_id=20260610f

The topic covered in the second education update for June will be:

• Youth Justice White Paper.
• Immunisation.
• Replacing the PE and sport premium.

Sign up for a free trial at https://cefm.co.uk/trial to get the latest updates and access to all of our content and resources - everything your school needs in one place.

When does a “protected conversation” stop being protected?

A recent EAT decision is a timely reminder that how conversations are handled matters just as much as what is said.

Protected conversations - Centre for Education & Finance Management A recent employment appeal tribunal (EAT) judgment serves as a useful reminder of the care that needs to be taken when conducting ‘protected conversations’. As most employers are aware, s111A of the Employment Rights Act 1996 introduced a mechanism by which employers could approach employees and...

Findings of direct religion or belief discrimination at a catholic diocese remitted for reconsideration, but the dismissal process found to be appalling, biased, rushed, and far outside the range of reasonable responses.

Serious failings in the investigation process - Centre for Education & Finance Management In the case of Clifton Diocese v Miss Janet Parker, Miss Parker was employed by the Diocese as Head of Finance. The role was not a ‘reserved’ role requiring the post holder to be of the Catholic faith. Flexible working request During a period of adoption leave, Miss Parker requested to return to...

In our second May Education Update we cover:

Falling pupil numbers - In April, the NAO published a report which examines the DfE’s approach to supporting the school system in England in responding to falling numbers, seen in primary schools since 2018/19. We give a summary of the report.

Ofsted support for children in care - In March, Ofsted published a research report exploring how mainstream schools and colleges support the academic progress and personal development of children in the care of local authorities (LAs). We give the main points from the report and Ofsted's recommendations.

Members can access the update at https://cefmi.cefm.co.uk/Module/943/Document/7303?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=Facebook_EU_May2026ii&utm_id=20260519f

Sign up for a free trial at https://cefm.co.uk/trial to get the latest updates and access to all of our content and resources - everything your school needs in one place.

Available now: CEFMinform (May 2026) – our regular bulletin written by our in-house solicitors, accountants and education experts.

This month we cover:

• Can an employer withdraw a job offer?
• School caretaker was unfairly dismissed as his employer failed to investigate his mental disabilities when considering his misconduct.
• Topical issues covered in two new education updates.
• Two new do you knows? – answering your questions.

In addition, 101 documents on CEFMi, our school information website, have been reviewed and updated where necessary as part of our monthly quality assurance reviews.

To read the full document or sign up for a free three-month trial, visit https://cefmi.cefm.co.uk/Module/944/Document/7300?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=Facebook_CEFMinform_May2026&utm_id=20260514f

In our first Education Update for May 2026 we cover:

• Food standards consultation - As part of the government’s 10-year health plan for England, it has launched a consultation entitled: ‘School food standards: updating the legislative framework’, which runs until 12 June. We outline the main changes and proposed updates.

• Pupil premium - New guidance issued on 31 March 2026 lays out the conditions and rates of the pupil premium (PP) grant for the 2026 to 2027 financial year.

• Statutory mobile phone ban - The DfE is now set to make its new tougher mobile phone ban guidance a statutory document, in order to give ‘legal force to what schools are already doing’. We outline the current situation.

Members can access the update at https://cefmi.cefm.co.uk/Module/943/Document/7296?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=Facebook_EU_May2026i&utm_id=20260505f

The topic covered in the second education update for May will be:
• Falling pupil numbers
• Ofsted support for children in care

Sign up for a free trial at https://cefm.co.uk/trial to get the latest updates and access to all of our content and resources - everything your school needs in one place.

Can an employer withdraw a job offer?

The employment appeal tribunal (EAT) has recently considered when a job offer becomes legally binding and what happens if an employer withdraws it.

Can an employer withdraw a job offer? - Centre for Education & Finance Management The case of Kankanalapalli v Loesche Energy Systems Ltd is an important employment law decision from the employment appeal tribunal (EAT) that considers when a job offer becomes legally binding and what happens if an employer withdraws it. Job offer subject to certain conditions Mr Kankanalapalli wa...

In our second April Education Update we cover:

Working together to safeguard children - An updated version of the DfE statutory guidance entitled ‘Working together to safeguard children’ was published on 18 March 2026. We summarise the main thrust of each chapter, with special emphasis on those aspects that directly affect educational settings.

Sustainable school leadership - The University of Nottingham has published its final report from a three-year UK wide study, which explores the training, supply, retention and wider sustainability of senior school leadership. We summarise the key themes and conclusions from this study.

Members can access the update at https://cefmi.cefm.co.uk/Module/943/Document/7276?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=Facebook_EU_Apr2026ii&utm_id=20260424f

Sign up for a free trial at https://cefm.co.uk/trial to get the latest updates and access to all of our content and resources - everything your school needs in one place.