Rose Smith

With 15 years’ experience advising employers, schools, teachers and academic professionals, Rose has an established practise supporting clients in employment and education matters. Having started her career working across a wide range of sectors, including education, creative industries, tech, insurance and financial services, she has focused her practice to primarily supporting those in the education sector, developing an in-depth knowledge and expertise in the sector.

She is known for her measured, empathetic and pragmatic approach, balancing the sensitive nature of workplace issues with strategic, clear advice that reflects clients’ practical realities. Her experience spans both contentious and non‑contentious work, and she works closely with HR teams, senior leaders, teachers, academics and regulators on complex, high‑risk matters.

Rose’s expertise includes advising on highly sensitive internal investigations, complex disciplinaries, safeguarding and regulatory issues, and grievance processes, often involving multiple stakeholders.

She supports her employer clients on the full range of HR matters, including litigation, safeguarding and regulatory obligations, redundancy processes, performance management, contract drafting, data privacy and confidentiality.

Rose also has a significant practice representing individuals in the education sector, particularly teachers and academics, in relation to disciplinary and conduct issues, referrals to regulators, contractual terms, grievances, tenure review processes, University statutes and exits.

Since the introduction of GDPR, data privacy has become a critical priority for senior leaders in Schools and Universities, as well as an important right for individuals to assert. Rose brings her specialist expertise from Doyle Clayton’s privacy team to this sector, offering clear and practical guidance. She has developed deep, sector‑specific knowledge and helps education leaders navigate their data protection obligations with confidence.