Ellie Crowther

Ellie is a solicitor in our Education team.

Ellie worked under the head of our Education Law team, Karen May, from March 2023 to March 2025, assisting with a wide range of cases including:

• Public law challenges
• Appeals to the SEND tribunal
• Discrimination cases under the Equality Act 2010
• Permanent exclusion cases
• Admission appeals
• Cases concerning breaches under the Human Rights Act 1998
• Disputes with independent schools

Ellie has assisted with judicial review cases in the High Court and Court of Appeal, including R on the application of ARN v the Council of the Isles of Scilly (2025) in which the Council had acted unlawfully by not publishing a transport policy statement for the 2024/2025 academic year and limiting grant funding for post-16 transport and accommodation.

Ellie has worked on cases in the Court of Protection involving issues relating to care, residence, contact, access to the internet/social media and deprivation of liberty. She has assisted with cases where instructions are taken from family members, professional litigation friends and the Official Solicitor.

Ellie has assisted with community care matters concerning vulnerable children, care leavers and young adults seeking to challenge the decisions of public bodies.

From March 2025, Ellie spent six months in our Family Law team, working on a range of private law children, divorce/finance and public law children cases. She also assisted with cross-border children disputes, including child abduction proceedings pursuant to the 1980 Hague Convention and wardship proceedings.

Ellie’s training in the Family team and her experience of working on cases involving vulnerable children and parents who have experienced domestic abuse has provided her with an understanding of the intersection between family law and education law, particularly in relation to safeguarding.