Mark Blois

Browne Jacobson

Academic institutions tend not to have the deepest pockets so it is an exciting time for an education lawyer when two cases go all the way to trial. Mark Blois and his Browne Jacobson team had that experience in 2021, winning for Yew Tree Primary School in its fight against being forced to become an academy – the first such case that the Department for Education (DfE) has lost – and for Tapton School Academy Trust in a case relating to the wearing of face masks in schools. The latter case was satisfying for Blois because it helped take the pressure off headteachers facing increasingly hostile interactions with anti-mask parents, the message from the judgment being that it is not appropriate for heads to end up being the victims of high-level government policy decisions.

The Covid-19 caseload will undoubtedly continue throughout 2022. The type of individuals who brought the Tapton case will continue making heads’ lives difficult, and there will also be issues arising from the learning deficit and educational inequalities in society that have been exacerbated during the pandemic. Meanwhile, a forthcoming DfE white paper will likely attempt to push the Government’s Academy project to its conclusion, meaning more Yew Tree-like litigation.

Blois has been appointed a National Leader of Governance by the DfE and charged to provide targeted support to education institutions with governance challenges. And as if that was not enough, he is stepping outside his comfort zone to become a more visible disability role model.