Announcements

Academy Documents

Kindly access the Students' Policies & Forms by clicking on the button below. The following documents, among others, can be found there: Student Handbook, Student Code of Conduct, Students' Privacy Notice, Deferral, Suspension, and Cancellation Policy, Assignment Extension Policy, Re-Sit Policy, Complaints Procedure Policy, Equality Policy, and Student Disciplinary Policy.

Students' Policies & Forms

Online Sessions Link

To join the online sessions for this module, please click on the button below. If you are not already signed in to your Zoom account, you will be prompted to register your attendance. You will also need to enter the password provided below.

Join Session

Meeting ID: 892 2656 8183
Passcode: 264996

Please ensure that your name and surname appear as registered for the study programme, as this is essential for recording your attendance.

Lecture Schedule & Notes

Lecture notes will be available during the week following the respective lecture. Schedule dates are indicative and may change. All changes, if any, may be communicated via email, SMS or telephone calls.

LectureDateTimePresentationNotes (If Any)Session Recording
Lecture 017 October 202517:30 to 20:30hrsPresentation 01Request
Lecture 0214 October 202517:30 to 20:30hrsPresentation 02Request
Lecture 0321 October 202517:30 to 20:30hrsPresentation 03Request
Lecture 0428 October 202517:30 to 20:30hrsPresentation 04Request
Lecture 054 November 202517:30 to 20:30hrsPresentation 05Request
Lecture 0611 November 202517:30 to 20:00hrsPresentation 06Request
Lecture 0718 November 202517:30 to 20:00hrsPresentation 07Request
Self-Assessment 228 November 202517:30 to 18:30hrs

Lecturer/s  

Mr Angelito Sciberras

Dr Steve Zammit

 

Lecture Summaries & Suggested Reading 

Lecture 1 - The Acts Regulating Education in Malta Part I

During the this and the following session the student will be introduced to

  • History of Maltese Education
  • Legislation: What is Care and Custody, Article 57, Data Protection, Age and School Leaving
    Absenteeism, Child Abuse, Criminal Law vs Civil Law, Negligence, and the Loco Parentis Doctrine,
  • The Civil Code
  • Some of the Laws relating to Education Law

Core Reading List

Supplementary Reading List

  • Bonnici, U.M. (2013) An introduction to the law of Education. Msida M: Malta Univ. Press.

 

Lecture 2 - The Acts Regulating Education in Malta Part II

During this session and the previous one, the student will be introduced to

  • Why Legislate
  • History of Maltese Law
  • Primary and Subsidiary Laws
  • The Maltese Courts System
  • Components of Acts of Parliament
  • The Concept of a Person
  • Educational Law Legislation
  • Chapter 605
  • Article 4 – Obligations of the State, Article 6 – Obligations of the Parent, Article 7 – Rights of the Parent, Article 9 – Duties of Schools, Article 14 - Right to Information, Article 21/ 22 – Licenses to establish school, Article 26, Article 30 – Appeals, Article 43 – Good Behaviour and Discipline in School, Article 45 – Teach of the Catholic Religion, and Article 47 – Authorisation to Home Education.
  • Criminal Code CAP 9, CAP606 and CAP 607

Core Reading List

Supplementary Reading List

  • Bonnici, U.M. (2013) An introduction to the law of Education. Msida M: Malta Univ. Press.

 

Lecture 3 - Roles and Responsibilities of the Teacher

  • The three roles of the Teachers
  • The San Frangisk D’Assisi school case
  • Case of pulizija vs John Vella
  • Discipline, Child Abuse and Neglect
  • Education and Inspection Act
  • Legal responsibilities of Teachers
  • Negligence

Core Reading List

  • S.L.327.02 - Teachers (Code of Ethics and Practice) Regulations L.N. 414/2012
  • Adams, N. (1984) Law and teachers today. London: Hutchinson.
  • Gates, N. (2003) Teachers' professional duties and teachers' legal liabilities and responsibilities. Hatfield: University of Hertforshire

Supplementary Reading List

  • Sultana, R.G. (1992) Education and national development: Historical and critical perspectives on vocational schooling in Malta. Msida, Malta: Mireva Publications.
  • Partington, J.A. (1984) Law and the new teacher. London: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

 

Lecture 4 - The Academic Freedom and other Freedoms, Liabilities and Standard of Care

  • The Academic Freedom
  • Individual Academic Freedom and Institutional Academic Freedom
  • What are the main threats to academic freedom
  • Freedom of Expression
  • Freedom of Association
  • Privacy Rights
  • Personal Appearance

Core Reading List

  • McCarthy, M.M., Cambron-McCabe, N.H. and Eckes, S. (2014) Public school law: Teachers' and students' rights. Boston: Pearson.

Supplementary Reading List

  • Mangion, J.Z. (1992) Education in Malta. Valletta, Malta: Studia Editions.

 

Lecture 5 - Teachers Employment, Contracts and Collective Bargaining

  • Teachers Employment
  • Three Key aspects of Contracts
  • Items one should check before signing an agreement
  • Chapter 606 - Teaching and allied Professions Act and Article 34
  • Timeframes, Features and Considerations
  • Teaching Employment Contracts
  • Employment Contracts for Teachers
  • Collective Bargaining Agreements for Teachers
  • Teachers’ Contractual Duties and Responsibilities

Core Reading List

  • Adams, N. (1984) Law and teachers today. London: Hutchinson.•
  • Ford J. Hughes, M. May, K. Shaughnessy, M. Gill and Morrison, J. (2016) Education Law and Practice. 4th Edition London Jordan Publishing

Supplementary Reading List

  • Sultana, R.G. (1992) Education and national development: Historical and critical perspectives on vocational schooling in Malta. Msida, Malta: Mireva Publications.

 

Lecture 6 - Data Privacy and Education Implications Part I

Following this session students will understand the following in the context of the Maltese Education Sector:

  • The Principles of data processing
  • The Power of Data
  • The main provisions in the GDPR and the Maltese Data Protection Act
  • How to protect the data being processed and to limit the processing to what is necessary
  • To identify whether acting as a Controller or Processor
  • The Data Subject Rights.

Core Reading List

Supplementary Reading List

  • Kolah, A., 2018. The GDPR Handbook: A Guide to Implementing the EU General Data Protection Regulation. 1st ed. London: Kogan Page.

 

Lecture 7 - Data Privacy and Education Implications Part II

Following this session students will understand the following in the context of the Maltese Education Sector:

  • The main provisions in SL 586.07 Processing of Personal Data (Education Sector) Regulations
  • Extent of Monitoring Employees and Students
  • Conducting a Data Privacy Impact Assessment
  • Investigating a Potential Data Breach
  • Responding to a Subject Access Request

Core Reading List

Supplementary Reading List

  • Kolah, A., 2018. The GDPR Handbook: A Guide to Implementing the EU General Data Protection Regulation. 1st ed. London: Kogan Page.

 

Methods of Assessment

Self Assessment 20% of final score, covering the data privacy part of the module only - Students will be expected to sit for a multiple-choice test during the module's sixth lecture on November 11, 2025. Students will be handed out the test sheet and their answers on November 28, 2025, and they will be asked to correct their own submission.

1 Assignment 80% of final score

 

Assignment

You are required to choose one of the three questions available in the Assignment Submission Form made available by clicking the button below. The assignment must be submitted no later than Thursday, 22 January 2026, along with the Assignment Submission Form. Please ensure that you indicate the question you have addressed on the Assignment Submission Form.

Assignment Submission Form

For guidance on how to plan, draft, and submit your assignment, please refer to the 21 Academy presentation on Writing and Submitting Your Assignment by clicking the button below.

Writing and Submitting Your Assignment

We are also providing the 21 Academy's Assignments Rubric for your reference. This rubric is a performance-based assessment tool that tutors will use for grading, and it will help you understand the requirements of the assignment and how it will be assessed.

Assignments Rubric

For referencing purposes, please use the OSCOLA Referencing Guide available by clicking the button below.

OSCOLA Referencing Guide

Submitting Assignment - Turnitin

The Academy will notify you via email when the assignment questions become available. Shortly after, you will receive another email from Turnitin, likely on the same day, confirming your enrolment in a "class" where you can upload your assignment(s).

Please ensure that your assignments are submitted no later than 23:59 on the assignment submission deadline, as indicated on the Assignment Submission form or in the Turnitin "class."

At 21 Academy, you have the option to submit multiple drafts before the final submission deadline. The version uploaded at the deadline will be treated as your final submission for assessment. Please note that Turnitin evaluates the same assignment twice within a 24-hour period, so any additional submissions during this time will not be reviewed until the 24-hour period has passed. Ensure that your final submission does not exceed 20% similarity, particularly when using direct quotations.

Follow this very short video to understand how to submit your assignment through Turnitin

Submitting a Paper

To understand the similarity report generated by Turnitin follow this 1 minute video

Understanding the Similarity Report

 

Referencing Style

Law students should use the OSCOLA referencing style as it is the standard citation system for legal writing in Malta. It ensures consistency, accuracy, and clarity when referencing legal sources, which is essential for academic and professional work. The video below provides detailed guidance on how to reference using OSCOLA. Please also refer to the OSCOLA Referencing Guide by clicking the button below

OSCOLA Referencing Guide