Maintaining the Highest Standards
Swalcliffe Park School is a non-maintained special school, based outside Banbury, Oxfordshire that provides residential care for boys with emotional or behavioural difficulties. The school gives the extra help and attention they require; help and attention that is beyond the resources of 'mainstream' educational establishments.
As with any school, it is important that both its Employment Law and Health & Safety policies are meticulously maintained. "Because of the needs of our pupils, we need to ensure that extra precautions are in place," said Gareth Lewis, Deputy Principal of Swalcliffe Park School. "There are training and other issues that are specific to the school. It is incumbent upon us to ensure that all our staff are aware of their responsibilities and have the resources they need to shoulder them. Where young, 'vulnerable' people are involved, those responsibilities can become particularly challenging."
In the past, the school instructed a local solicitor to advise on legal issues such as its Health & Safety and Employment Law policies. However, it was obvious that such a costly solution could not realistically be maintained.
"We're a small independent school with roughly 100 members of staff who have to constantly monitor costs. It wasn’t proving cost-effective for us to employ a full-time solicitor when we weren't using their services all the time."
It was while Mr Lewis was looking for an alternative that he discovered Bibby Consulting & Support who explained that they deliver both the service and legal knowledge that 'conventional' solicitors provide for clients, but on a much more flexible basis. With Bibby Consulting & Support as a strategic partner, Mr Lewis could be secure in the knowledge that if the school's Health & Safety policy ever needed amending, or if he required input on the matter of a member of staff's employment rights, advice would be just a phone call away at any time of the day or week. The costs incurred by the service would be spread over the term of an agreement, putting an end to unexpected, and therefore unbudgeted expenditure.
"At the core of our service is flexibility for all types of organisations, while at the same time providing them with the latest legal advice," said Bibby Consulting & Support's Managing Director Michael Slade.
"We have an experienced and extensive team of legal professionals that are on hand all day, everyday; ready to offer supportive advice and to help ease any legal problems that clients may face. One of the attractions of our service, and one which I think clients like Swalcliffe Park value, is that our advice does come with indemnity cover. In short, by following the advice given, clients don't incur any unforeseen costs."
"There was absolutely no hesitation when the subject of renewal came up after our three year contract with Bibby Consulting & Support expired," Mr Lewis acknowledged. "Having Bibby Consulting & Support here at our side to advise on legal problems, as and when they arise, helps us to focus on our main objectives, namely creating a better future for our pupils, by encouraging them to realise their potential, both academically and personally, in an environment that is conducive to their progress."
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