Dan is a Director of the firm and leads the education and community care department.  He is an education and public law specialist with two decades of experience advising on children’s rights.

His work spans all areas of education law, and often involves using judicial review to protect his client’s interests by challenging public authorities’ decisions, actions, or lack of action.  He has extensive experience in exclusions, admissions, special educational needs as well as education related judicial reviews.  He regularly represents parents in the independent school sector, and is also familiar with using the Equality Act to assist his clients in a range of situations.

Along with his education work, Dan has practised social care law throughout his career.  His community care work focusses on protecting the interests of disabled children and their families, as well as acting for young people in or leaving care.

Dan joined the firm as a director in September 2025 from Simpson Millar LLP, where he had been a partner in the Public Law team since 2014, leading the education team there for much of that time.

He obtained a degree in Social and Political Sciences from Cambridge University before converting to law, qualifying as a Solicitor in 2004 following a training contract in the City.   He spent several years in-house at a large London local authority earlier in his career, which has given him a valuable alternative perspective.

He was named ‘Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year’ in 2018 in the Children’s Rights category.

SUMMARY

Cases Include

SEN

• R (AA & CC) v Gloucestershire County Council[2019] – challenge to a local authority’s policy/practice on the quantification of special educational provision in EHCPs.
• R (KE) v Bristol City Council [2018] EWHC 2103 (Admin) – successful judicial review of Council’s decision to cut its special education needs budget.
• R (Y) v Croydon LBC [2015] EWHC 3033 (Admin); Successful challenge to Croydon’s failure to provide suitable education for a child with autism for whom it was not reasonably practicable to attend the school at which he was enrolled.

Exclusions

• R(AA) v St Olaves [2017] – Challenge to highly selective grammar school ejecting pupils half way through their A levels. Positive result led to wider scrutiny of previously widespread practice.
• Successful First Tier Tribunal disability discrimination claim for a permanently excluded boy in inner London Academy with ADHD.
• Successful Governing Body reps in relation to permanently excluded year 11 boy with ADHD following an argument over a football.
• Overturned at Independent Review Panel the permanent exclusion of a year 7 child of Irish Traveller heritage who had pushed past a teacher in his second week in secondary school.

Admissions

• Successful in-year appeal for child with ADHD to obtain a place at faith school of parental preference
• Successful appeal for child with difficult family background to obtain place at school attended by half-siblings.
• Successful objection to the Office of the Schools Adjudicator against LB Waltham Forest’s oversubscription criteria for community and VC primary schools on the basis of race and age discrimination.

Independent Schools

• Prevented exclusion of child at well-known boarding school following malicious accusations from another pupil
• Preserved school place of child with ADHD on verge of expulsion from a London day school.
• Has dealt with numerous situations involving drugs, alcohol and social media use, as well as issues arising from the Israel/Gaza conflict and ‘Everyone’s Invited’.
• Settled successful disability discrimination claim against independent school not offering places to neurodivergent children, leading to a change in its policy.

Behavioural policies

• Engaged in pre-action correspondence with Secretary of State for Education leading to improvements in behavioural guidance for schools.
• Forced an academy to review racial impact of behaviour policy and practice following disclosure of data of disproportionate detention rates for black children.
• R (EBB & Ors) v The Gorse Academies Trust [2025] EWHC 1983 (Admin): Challenge to isolation sanctions.

Religion and Belief

• R(CKT and DGT) v Twyford Church of England Academies Trust, and the Office of the Schools Adjudicator [2025] EWHC 2396 (Admin); Challenge to admissions criteria of Church of England school.
• R(TTT) v Michaela Community Schools Trust [2024] EWHC 843 (Admin) : Challenge to ban on Muslim prayer at a school
• R (Bowen) v Kent [ 2023] EWHC 1261 (Admin) : Successful challenge to Kent’s refusal to allow a humanist to be a member of Group A of their Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education.
• R (Fox and others) v Secretary of State for Education [2015] EWHC 3404 (Admin): Successful challenge to GCSE subject content for religious studies.

Race

• R (AA) v Metropolitan Police (2019) – challenge to the deployment of police officers in schools without proper consideration of the equalities implications – this led to a commitment to undertake proper monitoring
• Ruby Williams v The Urswick School – Damages claim in relation to treatment of a child’s Afro-style hair. Obtained financial settlement for client in case with high media profile.
• Obtained damages for reception aged child of Indian heritage who had ears taped up and was prevented from going into playground as ear studs breached uniform policy.

Social care

• JG & Anor v Kent County Council & Ors [2016] EWHC 1102 (Admin) – Successful challenge to Kent’s failure to accommodate a child with very high needs under section 20 Children Act 1989.
• R (A) v Croydon JR/3436/2014 – Successful challenge to local authority age assessment of trafficking victim.
• Regularly successfully acts for care leavers and homeless young people challenging decisions that local authorities do not owe them duties under section 20 CA 1989 or the care leaving provisions of the Children Act 1989.

Dan also regularly is invited to speak on topics related to his area of practice, and has been quoted in the media on multiple occasions in relation to education and social care legal issues.  He contributed the chapter on education law to “Square Pegs, Inclusivity, compassion and fitting in – a guide for schools” [Crown House Publishing; 2023]

Recommendations

Chambers and Partners 2025 – Dan is ranked as Band 1 for Education law for Individuals.

“Dan Rosenberg is one of the top claimant education lawyers.  He knows education law inside out and really works hard to get the best result for the client”

“Dan Rosenberg is the best solicitor in the country for urgent judicial review cases involving children out of school”

“Dan Rosenberg is superb.  The best in the field”

Legal 500 2025- Dan is recognised as a leading partner in the field.

“Dan Rosenberg is the best school exclusions solicitor in the country”