thank you for your professionalism
Simon Quantrill takes the lead in acting for headteachers and teachers who have been inappropriately accused of wrong doing. His experience covers both state and private fee paying schools’ internal proceedings and disciplinary cases brought by the Teaching Regulation Agency (and before 1 April 2018 by the National College of Teaching and Leadership). Clients benefit from Simon’s candid advice, steadfast persistence and reassuring calmness.
Teaching is a rewarding profession with real job satisfaction. At times, however, it can also be challenging and stressful - more so if you are unjustifiably facing disciplinary or capability allegations. This is why getting the best advice is so important.
Simon Quantrill | Managing Partner
How we advise and represent teachers
Second opinion
We can provide you with a professional second opinion about your position and how best to respond to the allegations or the situation.
Although you may be a member of a trade union the legal help and guidance on offer to most teachers is limited and can be less than reassuring. If you are unhappy with how your union is dealing with your case, in confidence, you can instruct us to review your situation, options and suggest the best tactics.
Proactive advice and representation
Too often, a lack of time, legal experience and resources can mean your union’s best advice is to “wait and see”. This approach can harm your case and unnecessarily prolong the disciplinary or capability proceedings to your detriment.
You don’t have to sit and wait for the chair of governor’s next letter. We can give you the knowledge and confidence to fight back and take proactive steps to look after your best interests.
Suspension
We can advise on the lawfulness and fairness of a suspension. Too often school governing bodies, local authorities or academy boards wrongly adopt a knee jerk reaction to an allegation and suspend. A decision to suspend ought to be taken carefully and must be objectively justified. A suspension should be no longer than absolutely necessary.
Concerns about a suspension are best raised quickly and robustly. We can help contest an unjustified suspension
Letters and statements
A well drafted letter, written response or statement or request for specific information, can all be invaluable contemporaneous documents in responding to unjustified criticisms or allegations. Invariably it is essential to ensure your responses and submissions are recorded in writing as the case against you proceeds. At a disciplinary hearing or employment tribunal, this greatly helps establish what you said and did during the formal proceedings, even if your employer later seeks to rewrite history!
Challenge the allegations
Too often we see vague and generalised allegations being made against our teacher clients. We can help you ask for each allegation to be clearly particularised so that you know exactly the case you have to answer; you should not be left guessing what you have allegedly done wrong.
On many occasions, schools take inappropriate or unreasonable action that compounds an already unfair situation. Mistakes by chair of governors invariably flow from their inexperience or poor advice from the school’s HR advisers. Policies and procedures are ignored as is best practice or Acas guidance. Simon Quantrill is no longer surprised by the number of examples he encounters of incompetence and lack of expertise in schools to tackle fairly and reasonably disciplinary and capability allegations.
Disciplinary investigations
Schools are notorious for their inadequate or incomplete disciplinary investigations. We can highlight errors and mistakes to you, and if appropriate to your employer if this will help protect your legal position.
Disciplinary hearings
Schools frequently struggle to hold fair, reasonable and well organised disciplinary hearings, even when they have a written procedure to follow! You may need help to challenge the date, time or venue of the disciplinary hearing or the disciplinary panel’s make up, for example because of a conflict of interest.
We can help draft your written statement to be used at the hearing. We can also help you with your submissions and questions for any witnesses so that at the disciplinary hearing you are as well prepared as possible.
Appeals
If you are unhappy about the outcome of a disciplinary or capability hearing we can help you draft and argue your grounds of appeal. In most cases you will need to appeal in order to protect your legal position.
Negotiated settlements
At the right time, we can explore the terms of a negotiated settlement for you. At Quantrills all the solicitors have years of negotiating experience.
Employment tribunal claims
When you have been unfairly dismissed or discriminated against we can act for you in the employment tribunals. We are immensely proud of our winning track record. Read more here.
Teaching Regulation Agency (previously National College of Teaching & Leadership)
If you have to defend yourself in front of the disciplinary panel of the Teaching Regulation Agency (a function before 1 April 2018 that was the responsibility of the now defunct National College of Teaching and Leadership) you are entitled to be legally represented. We have the expertise and experience to help you explain your actions and minimise the risk of being disqualified from teaching.
Police Enhanced Disclosure Requests
The rules provide that you can make representations to the Police before they publish their enhanced disclosure about you. We can help you raise your objections in cases where the Police are seeking to make unjustified or inappropriate comments about you.
Safeguarding Investigations
Local authority safeguarding procedures can be misused or badly managed to the detriment of teachers. We can help you challenge an inappropriate referral or a poorly managed or investigated case.
If your school has offered you a settlement agreement, Simon Quantrill can advise and represent you to ensure the terms of settlement are appropriate and fair.
As a teacher there are issues that deserve special attention such as your notice period, the wording of your employment reference or perhaps the date by when you have to leave school living accommodation.
How to become our client and receive our help and adviceShow
Becoming our client is a straightforward process. However, before choosing Quantrills as your employment law solicitors you and us will want to be completely sure we are the right people to help you achieve your objectives. Having looked at our web site, if you like our approach and would like to discuss how we can help you, getting started is easy.
Step 1
Get in touch
Tell us briefly about your problem and the help you are looking for.
Step 2
We’ll contact you
We’ll follow up with a free no obligation initial telephone call to discuss your case, how we can help and explain our fees. Read more...
Step 3
Invitation to become our client
If we can help you, we’ll invite you to become our client by sending you a Client Care letter confirming the work we’ll do for you, our terms of business, and fees.
Step 4
You instruct us
If you want to go ahead and instruct us, you confirm this by email or letter.
Step 5
We’ll start to act for you
Congratulations! You are now a client of Quantrills and we can start work on your instructions and give you our advice.
At Quantrills we are flexible in how we work with you and how we progress your case...
By Telephone
We welcome calls from our clients. Call us any time between 08.30AM to 5.30PM Monday to Friday to discuss your case. We will do our best to speak with you when you call, or if we can’t, you will get a call back as soon as possible.
01473 688 100
Or request a call backIn Person
If it’s more convenient for you do come and see us. We do an excellent coffee. Whilst many of our clients don’t visit us, our offices are easy to find being just off junction 56 on the A14. Client meetings are by appointment and there is free car parking in front of our reception.
Get DirectionsBy Email
We love emails; they help save time and avoid delays. Our case management system is set up to make the best use of them.
Email usOnline
Our web forms make it easy to give us the information we need from you. Our forms have a clever "save and return" feature so you can complete the form in more than one visit.
View Forms
Search our Employee Knowledge Bank for the information you want
To learn more about a specific employment law right or HR topic it’s easy to search our knowledge bank of employee focused briefing notes, checklists and case reports.