Standard view

Royal arms

Education Reform Act 1988

1988 CHAPTER 40

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

Go to Preamble

  1. Part I

    Schools

    1. Chapter I

      The Curriculum

      1. Preliminary

        1. 1. Duties with respect to the curriculum.

      2. Principal provisions

        1. 2. The National Curriculum.

        2. 3. Foundation subjects and key stages.

        3. 4. Duty to establish the National Curriculum by order.

        4. 5. Courses leading to external qualifications.

      3. Religious education

        1. 6. Collective worship.

        2. 7. Special provisions as to collective worship in county schools.

        3. 8. Religious education required in the basic curriculum: further provisions.

        4. 9. Exceptions, special arrangements and supplementary and consequential provisions.

      4. Duties with respect to certain requirements

        1. 10. Duties with respect to certain requirements.

      5. Standing advisory councils on religious education

        1. 11. Standing advisory councils on religious education.

        2. 12. Determination by advisory councils of the cases in which the requirement for Christian collective worship is not to apply.

        3. 13. Advisory councils: supplementary provisions.

      6. Curriculum and Assessment Councils

        1. 14. Establishment of Councils.

        2. 15. Transfers of property and staff to Councils.

      7. Special cases

        1. 16. Development work and experiments.

        2. 17. Exceptions by regulations.

        3. 18. Pupils with statements of special educational needs.

        4. 19. Temporary exceptions for individual pupils.

      8. Supplementary

        1. 20. Procedure for making certain orders: England.

        2. 21. Procedure for making certain orders: Wales.

        3. 22. Provision of information.

        4. 23. Complaints and enforcement.

        5. 24. Extension of certain provisions.

        6. 25. Interpretation of Chapter I.

    2. Chapter II

      Admission of Pupils to County and Voluntary Schools.

      1. 26. Admissions to county and voluntary schools.

      2. 27. Standard numbers for admissions.

      3. 28. Procedure for reduction of standard number.

      4. 29. Special provisions in relation to admissions to primary schools.

      5. 30. Special arrangements in respect of admissions to aided or special agreement schools.

      6. 31. Consequential provisions.

      7. 32. Interpretation of Chapter II.

    3. Chapter III

      Finance and Staff

      1. Financing of schools maintained by local education authorities

        1. 33. Schemes for financing county and voluntary schools.

        2. 34. Preparation and imposition of schemes.

        3. 35. Replacement and variation of schemes.

        4. 36. Delegation to governing body of management of school’s budget share.

        5. 37. Withdrawal of delegation.

        6. 38. Schemes: determination of budget shares.

        7. 39. Schemes: provision for financial delegation.

        8. 40. Initial implementation of delegation requirements under schemes.

        9. 41. Extension of delegation requirements under schemes in the case of primary schools.

        10. 42. Publication of schemes and financial statements, etc.

        11. 43. Application of schemes to special schools.

      2. Financial delegation: appointment and dismissal of staff

        1. 44. Staff employed by the local education authority.

        2. 45. Staff at aided schools.

        3. 46. Staff: further provisions.

        4. 47. Community schools.

      3. Miscellaneous and supplementary

        1. 48. New schools.

        2. 49. Required financial delegation apart from schemes.

        3. 50. Financial statements in respect of schools not covered by statements under section 42.

        4. 51. Interpretation of Chapter III and supplementary and consequential provisions.

    4. Chapter IV

      Grant-Maintained Schools

      1. Duty of Secretary of State to maintain certain schools

        1. 52. Duty of Secretary of State to maintain certain schools.

      2. Government, powers and conduct

        1. 53. Constitution of the governing body of a grant-maintained school.

        2. 54. Appointment of parent governors by the governing body.

        3. 55. Proceedings of the governing body and allowances to members.

        4. 56. Governors' tenure of office.

        5. 57. Powers of the governing body.

        6. 58. Articles of government.

        7. 59. Instrument and articles of government: procedure.

      3. Procedure for acquisition of grant-maintained status

        1. 60. Initiation of procedure for acquisition of grant-maintained status.

        2. 61. Ballot of parents.

        3. 62. Proposals for acquisition of grant-maintained status.

        4. 63. Publication of proposals and notice with respect to proposals.

        5. 64. Constitution of the initial governing body of a grant-maintained school.

        6. 65. Terms of office of initial governors.

        7. 66. Determination of the initial governors.

        8. 67. Provisions supplementary to section 66.

        9. 68. Modification of proposed membership of initial governing body before incorporation.

        10. 69. Provisions supplementary to section 68.

        11. 70. Elections required for determining initial governors: supplementary provisions.

        12. 71. Eligible governors for the purposes of Chapter IV.

        13. 72. Initial government and conduct: further provisions.

      4. Proposals under section 12 or 13 of the 1980 Act in respect of schools eligible for grant-maintained status

        1. 73. Proposals for alteration, etc., of schools eligible for grant-maintained status.

      5. Transfer of property and staff, etc.

        1. 74. Transfer of property, etc., to governing body of grant-maintained school.

        2. 75. Transfer of staff to grant-maintained school.

        3. 76. Effect of pending procedure for acquisition of grant-maintained status on property disposals.

        4. 77. Wrongful disposals and contracts.

        5. 78. Effect of pending procedure for acquisition of grant-maintained status on appointment, etc., of staff.

      6. Finance

        1. 79. Maintenance grants, special purpose grants and capital grants.

        2. 80. Grants: further provisions.

        3. 81. Recovery from local funds of sums in respect of maintenance grant.

        4. 82. Provisions consequential on section 81.

      7. Admissions

        1. 83. Admissions.

      8. Religious education

        1. 84. Religious education in former county schools.

        2. 85. Religious education in former controlled schools.

        3. 86. Religious education in former aided or special agreement schools.

        4. 87. Changes in religious education.

        5. 88. Religious education: supplementary.

      9. Control over alteration and change of site

        1. 89. Change of character or enlargement of grant-maintained school.

        2. 90. Approval of school premises on change of character or enlargement.

        3. 91. Change of site.

      10. Discontinuance of grant-maintained schools

        1. 92. Discontinuance by governing body.

        2. 93. Withdrawal of grant by Secretary of State.

      11. Winding up and disposal of property.

        1. 94. Winding up.

        2. 95. Disposal of school property.

        3. 96. Surplus money and investments.

        4. 97. Discharge, transfer and termination of liabilities, etc.

        5. 98. Capital expenditure: former voluntary schools.

        6. 99. Capital expenditure: former county schools.

      12. Miscellaneous and supplementary

        1. 100. Provision of benefits and services for pupils by local education authorities.

        2. 101. Application of proceeds of disposal of premises.

        3. 102. Variation of trust deeds relating to grant-maintained schools, etc.

        4. 103. Publication of information and reports and returns by governing bodies of grant-maintained schools.

        5. 104. Interpretation of Chapter IV.

    5. Chapter V

      Miscellaneous

      1. City colleges

        1. 105. Agreements for establishment, etc. of city technology colleges and city colleges for the technology of the arts.

      2. Charges in maintained schools

        1. 106. Prohibition of charges, etc., in maintained schools.

        2. 107. Provision for cases where education is provided partly during and partly outside school hours.

        3. 108. Recovery of wasted examination fees.

        4. 109. Permitted charges.

        5. 110. Charges and remissions policies.

        6. 111. Charges for board and lodging at boarding schools.

      3. Miscellaneous

        1. 112. Extension of powers as to trusts for religious education.

        2. 113. Schemes under the Endowed Schools Acts.

        3. 114. Extension of power to require local education authority to defray expenses of establishing controlled school.

        4. 115. Power to determine times of school sessions, etc.

        5. 116. Provision for delegation of functions by governing bodies of county, voluntary and maintained special schools.

      4. Chapter V: general and supplementary provisions

        1. 117. Obligation to enter pupils for prescribed public examinations.

        2. 118. General and supplementary provisions relating to charges.

      5. Interpretation of Part I

        1. 119. Interpretation of Part I.

  2. Part II

    Higher and Further Education

    1. Chapter I

      Local Education Authority Functions with Respect to Higher and Further Education

      1. 120. Functions of local education authorities with respect to higher and further education.

    2. Chapter II

      Reorganisation of Provision and Funding of Higher Education

      1. The higher education corporations

        1. 121. Initial incorporation of higher education institutions maintained by local education authorities.

        2. 122. Orders incorporating higher education institutions maintained by local education authorities.

        3. 123. Provisions supplementary to sections 121 and 122.

        4. 124. Powers of a higher education corporation.

        5. 125. Articles of government.

        6. 126. Transfer of property, etc., to higher education corporations.

        7. 127. Transfer of staff to higher education corporations.

        8. 128. Dissolution of higher education corporations.

      2. Designation of certain institutions for funding by the Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council, etc.

        1. 129. Designation of institutions.

        2. 130. Transfer of property, etc., to certain designated institutions.

      3. New arrangements for funding higher education

        1. 131. Universities Funding Council.

        2. 132. Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council.

        3. 133. Payments by Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council in respect of persons employed in the provision of higher or further education.

        4. 134. The Funding Councils: supplementary provisions.

      4. Supplementary

        1. 135. Inspection of accounts.

        2. 136. Transfer to Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council of property and staff of NAB.

        3. 137. Control of disposals of land.

        4. 138. Construction of references to land held for the purposes of an institution.

    3. Chapter III

      Finance and Government of Locally Funded Further and Higher Education

      1. Further and higher education funding schemes

        1. 139. Schemes for financing locally funded further and higher education.

        2. 140. Preparation and imposition of further and higher education funding schemes.

        3. 141. Replacement and variation of further and higher education funding schemes.

        4. 142. Delegation to governing body of management of institution’s budget shares.

        5. 143. Further and higher education funding schemes: determination of budget share.

        6. 144. Further and higher education funding schemes: provision for financial delegation.

        7. 145. Initial implementation of further and higher education funding schemes.

        8. 146. Extension of further and higher education funding schemes.

        9. 147. Publication of further and higher education funding schemes and annual information as to their operation.

      2. Appointment and dismissal of staff during financial delegation

        1. 148. Delegation of powers as to appointment and dismissal of staff.

        2. 149. Costs of dismissal, premature retirement or voluntary severance.

      3. Withdrawal of delegated powers

        1. 150. Withdrawal of delegated powers for mismanagement, etc.

      4. Government and conduct of maintained further and higher education institutions

        1. 151. Instrument and articles of government required for maintained further and higher education institutions.

        2. 152. Provision required in instrument and articles of government.

      5. Government of designated assisted institutions

        1. 153. Government of designated assisted institutions.

      6. Miscellaneous and supplementary

        1. 154. New further and higher education institutions.

        2. 155. Interpretation of Chapter III and supplementary provisions.

    4. Chapter IV

      Miscellaneous and Supplementary

      1. 156. Government and conduct of certain further and higher education institutions.

      2. 157. Variation of trust deeds, etc.

      3. 158. Reports and returns to Secretary of State.

      4. 159. Information with respect to educational provision in institutions providing further or higher education.

      5. 160. Adjustments of block grant in respect of expenditure on advanced further education.

      6. 161. Interpretation of Part II.

  3. Part III

    Education in Inner London

    1. Reorganisation of provision of education in inner London

      1. 162. Abolition of ILEA.

      2. 163. New local education authorities for areas in inner London.

      3. 164. Extension of functions of London Residuary Body.

    2. Disposal of functions and property of ILEA

      1. 165. Development plans for education.

      2. 166. Responsibility for schools.

      3. 167. Removal of certain governors.

      4. 168. Transfers of property, rights and liabilities.

      5. 169. Approval of management structure and senior appointments in initial period.

    3. Staff

      1. 170. Establishment and functions of staff commission.

      2. 171. Remuneration of employees.

      3. 172. Power to transfer staff.

      4. 173. Compensation for loss of employment or loss or diminution of emoluments.

      5. 174. Continuity of employment in certain cases of voluntary transfer.

      6. 175. Offers of employment by inner London councils.

    4. Functions of London Residuary Body

      1. 176. Provision of services and facilities by London Residuary Body.

      2. 177. Repayment by London Residuary Body of loans to ILEA.

      3. 178. Liability of London Residuary Body for redundancy and compensation payments.

      4. 179. Payment of pensions and pensions increase by London Residuary Body.

      5. 180. Custody of residuary property, etc.

      6. 181. Power of London Residuary Body to pay compensation.

      7. 182. Preparation of ILEA’s final accounts.

      8. 183. Directions of Secretary of State.

    5. Financial provisions and winding up of London Residuary Body

      1. 184. Preparatory expenditure of inner London councils.

      2. 185. London Residuary Body: financial provisions.

      3. 186. Transitional functions of London Residuary Body in respect of block grant.

      4. 187. Winding up of London Residuary Body.

    6. Control of ILEA’s contracts and disposals

      1. 188. Control of contracts.

      2. 189. Control of disposals.

      3. 190. Wrongful contracts or disposals.

      4. 191. Penalties for contravention of section 188 or 189.

    7. Miscellaneous and supplementary

      1. 192. Charities.

      2. 193. Information and access to documents.

      3. 194. Concurrent employment.

      4. 195. Continuity of exercise of functions.

      5. 196. Interpretation of Part III.

  4. Part IV

    Miscellaneous and General

    1. Establishment and functions of Education Assets Board

      1. 197. Education Assets Board.

      2. 198. Transfers under Parts I and II.

      3. 199. Loan liabilities excepted from transfer under Part II.

      4. 200. Grant-maintained schools: school property.

      5. 201. Wrongful disposals.

    2. Academic tenure

      1. 202. The University Commissioners.

      2. 203. Duty of Commissioners.

      3. 204. Powers of Commissioners.

      4. 205. Procedure for exercise of Commissioners' powers.

      5. 206. Exclusion of visitor’s jurisdiction.

      6. 207. Power to make incidental, etc., provisions by Order in Council.

      7. 208. Corresponding provision for Northern Ireland.

    3. Grants

      1. 209. Grants in respect of mandatory awards.

      2. 210. Grants for the education of travellers and displaced persons.

      3. 211. Grants in respect of special provision for immigrants.

      4. 212. Grants relating to aided or special agreement schools.

      5. 213. Grants: miscellaneous.

    4. Unrecognised degrees

      1. 214. Unrecognised degrees.

      2. 215. Unrecognised degrees: enforcement.

      3. 216. Identification of bodies granting or providing courses for recognised awards.

      4. 217. Unrecognised degrees: Northern Ireland and Channel Islands.

    5. Miscellaneous provisions

      1. 218. School and further and higher education regulations.

      2. 219. Powers of Secretary of State in relation to certain educational institutions.

      3. 220. Extension of functions of Audit Commission.

      4. 221. Avoidance of certain contractual terms.

      5. 222. Application of employment law during financial delegation.

      6. 223. Temporary exclusion of section 5 of Data Protection Act 1984 in relation to data transferred to new bodies.

      7. 224. Superannuation for staff of Further Education Unit.

      8. 225. Recoupment as between local education authorities.

      9. 226. Services for schools in other member States providing education for British children.

    6. Wales

      1. 227. Application to Wales.

      2. 228. Transfer of property to grant-aided institutions in Wales.

      3. 229. Power to make different provision for Wales in regulations under the 1944 and 1967 Acts.

    7. Supplementary

      1. 230. Stamp duty.

      2. 231. Power to make incidental, consequential, transitional and supplementary provisions.

      3. 232. Orders and regulations.

      4. 233. Expenses.

      5. 234. Meaning of “assisted” for the purposes of the 1944 Act and Acts construed as one with it.

      6. 235. General interpretation.

      7. 236. Commencement.

      8. 237. Amendments and repeals.

      9. 238. Citation, extent, etc.

  5. Schedules:

    1. Schedule 1

      Consequential amendments relating to religious education.

    2. Schedule 2

      The Curriculum and Assessment Councils.

    3. Schedule 3

      Appointment and dismissal of school staff, etc., during financial delegation.

    4. Schedule 4

      New schools.

    5. Schedule 5

      Transition to grant-maintained status.

    6. Schedule 6

      Courses of higher education.

    7. Schedule 7

      The higher education corporations.

    8. Schedule 8

      The Funding Councils and the Assets Board.

    9. Schedule 9

      Determination of full-time equivalent enrolment numbers.

    10. Schedule 10

      Supplementary provisions with respect to transfers.

    11. Schedule 11

      The University Commissioners.

    12. Schedule 12

      Minor and consequential amendments.

      1. Part I

        Amendments relating to grant-maintained schools.

      2. Part II

        Amendments consequential on abolition of ILEA.

      3. Part III

        Other amendments.

    13. Schedule 13

      Repeals.

      1. Part I

        Repeals coming into force on abolition of ILEA.

      2. Part II

        Other repeals.

An Act to amend the law relating to education.

[29th July 1988]

Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—

Part I Schools

Chapter I The Curriculum

Preliminary

1 Duties with respect to the curriculum

(1) It shall be the duty—

(a) of the Secretary of State as respects every maintained school;

(b) of every local education authority as respects every school maintained by them; and

(c) of every governing body or head teacher of a maintained school as respects that school;

to exercise their functions (including, in particular, the functions conferred on them by this Chapter with respect to religious education, religious worship and the National Curriculum) with a view to securing that the curriculum for the school satisfies the requirements of this section.

(2) The curriculum for a maintained school satisfies the requirements of this section if it is a balanced and broadly based curriculum which—

(a) promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at the school and of society; and

(b) prepares such pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of adult life.

Principal provisions

2 The National Curriculum

(1) The curriculum for every maintained school shall comprise a basic curriculum which includes—

(a) provision for religious education for all registered pupils at the school; and

(b) a curriculum for all registered pupils at the school of compulsory school age (to be known as “the National Curriculum”) which meets the requirements of subsection (2) below.

(2) The curriculum referred to in subsection (1)(b) above shall comprise the core and other foundation subjects and specify in relation to each of them—

(a) the knowledge, skills and understanding which pupils of different abilities and maturities are expected to have by the end of each key stage (in this Chapter referred to as “attainment targets”);

(b) the matters, skills and processes which are required to be taught to pupils of different abilities and maturities during each key stage (in this Chapter referred to as “programmes of study”); and

(c) the arrangements for assessing pupils at or near the end of each key stage for the purpose of ascertaining what they have achieved in relation to the attainment targets for that stage (in this Chapter referred to as “assessment arrangements”).

(3) Subsection (1)(a) above shall not apply in the case of a maintained special school.

3 Foundation subjects and key stages

(1) Subject to subsection (4) below, the core subjects are—

(a) mathematics, English and science; and

(b) in relation to schools in Wales which are Welsh-speaking schools, Welsh.

(2) Subject to subsection (4) below, the other foundation subjects are—

(a) history, geography, technology, music, art and physical education;

(b) in relation to the third and fourth key stages, a modern foreign language specified in an order of the Secretary of State; and

(c) in relation to schools in Wales which are not Welsh-speaking schools, Welsh.

(3) Subject to subsections (4) and (5) below, the key stages in relation to a pupil are as follows—

(a) the period beginning with his becoming of compulsory school age and ending at the same time as the school year in which the majority of pupils in his class attain the age of seven;

(b) the period beginning at the same time as the school year in which the majority of pupils in his class attain the age of eight and ending at the same time as the school year in which the majority of pupils in his class attain the age of eleven;

(c) the period beginning at the same time as the school year in which the majority of pupils in his class attain the age of twelve and ending at the same time as the school year in which the majority of pupils in his class attain the age of fourteen;

(d) the period beginning at the same time as the school year in which the majority of pupils in his class attain the age of fifteen and ending with the majority of pupils in his class ceasing to be of compulsory school age.

(4) The Secretary of State may by order—

(a) amend the foregoing provisions of this section; or

(b) provide that, in relation to any subject specified in the order, subsection (3) above shall have effect as if for the ages of seven and eight there mentioned there were substituted such other ages, less than eleven and twelve respectively, as may be so specified.

(5) The head teacher of a school may elect, in relation to a particular pupil and a particular subject, that subsection (3) above shall have effect as if any reference to the school year in which the majority of pupils in that pupil’s class attained a particular age were a reference to the school year in which that pupil attained that age.

(6) In this section—

(7) For the purposes of this section a school in Wales is a Welsh-speaking school if more than one half of the following subjects, namely—

(a) religious education; and

(b) the subjects other than English and Welsh which are foundation subjects in relation to pupils at the school;

are taught (wholly or partly) in Welsh.

4 Duty to establish the National Curriculum by order

(1) It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State so to exercise the powers conferred by subsection (2) below as—

(a) to establish a complete National Curriculum as soon as is reasonably practicable (taking first the core subjects and then the other foundation subjects); and

(b) to revise that Curriculum whenever he considers it necessary or expedient to do so.

(2) The Secretary of State may by order specify in relation to each of the foundation subjects—

(a) such attainment targets;

(b) such programmes of study; and

(c) such assessment arrangements;

as he considers appropriate for that subject.

(3) An order made under subsection (2) above may not require—

(a) that any particular period or periods of time should be allocated during any key stage to the teaching of any programme of study or any matter, skill or process forming part of it; or

(b) that provision of any particular kind should be made in school timetables for the periods to be allocated to such teaching during any such stage.

(4) An order under subsection (2) above may, instead of containing the provisions to be made, refer to provisions in a document published by Her Majesty’s Stationery Office and direct that those provisions shall have effect or, as the case may be, have effect as amended by the order.

(5) An order under subsection (2)(c) above may authorise the making of such provisions giving full effect to or otherwise supplementing the provisions made by the order as appear to the Secretary of State to be expedient; and any provisions made under such an order shall, on being published by Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, have effect for the purposes of this Chapter as if made by the order.

5 Courses leading to external qualifications

(1) No course of study leading to a qualification authenticated by an outside person shall be provided for pupils of compulsory school age by or on behalf of any maintained school unless the qualification is for the time being approved by the Secretary of State or by a designated body and either—

(a) a syllabus provided by the outside person for the purposes of the course is for the time being approved by such a body; or

(b) criteria so provided for determining a syllabus for those purposes are for the time being so approved.

(2) An approval under this section may be given either generally or in relation to particular cases.

(3) In this section—

Religious education

6 Collective worship

(1) Subject to section 9 of this Act, all pupils in attendance at a maintained school shall on each school day take part in an act of collective worship.

(2) The arrangements for the collective worship in a school required by this section may, in respect of each school day, provide for a single act of worship for all pupils or for separate acts of worship for pupils in different age groups or in different school groups.

(3) The arrangements for the collective worship in a county or voluntary school required by this section shall be made—

(a) in the case of a county school, by the head teacher after consultation with the governing body; and

(b) in the case of a voluntary school, by the governing body after consultation with the head teacher.

(4) Subject to subsection (5) below, the collective worship in every maintained school required by this section shall take place on the school premises.

(5) If the governing body of—

(a) an aided or special agreement school; or

(b) a grant-maintained school;

are of opinion that it is desirable that any act of collective worship in the school required by this section should, on a special occasion, take place elsewhere than on the school premises, they may make such arrangements for that purpose as they think appropriate.

(6) The powers of a governing body under subsection (5) above shall not be so exercised as to derogate from the rule that, in every such school as is there mentioned, the collective worship required by this section must normally take place on the school premises.

(7) For the purposes of this section—

7 Special provisions as to collective worship in county schools

(1) Subject to the following provisions of this section, in the case of a county school the collective worship required in the school by section 6 of this Act shall be wholly or mainly of a broadly Christian character.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) above, collective worship is of a broadly Christian character if it reflects the broad traditions of Christian belief without being distinctive of any particular Christian denomination.

(3) Every act of collective worship required by section 6 of this Act in the case of a county school need not comply with subsection (1) above provided that, taking any school term as a whole, most such acts which take place in the school do comply with that subsection.

(4) Subject to subsections (1) and (3) above—

(a) the extent to which (if at all) any acts of collective worship required by section 6 of this Act which do not comply with subsection (1) above take place in a county school;

(b) the extent to which any act of collective worship in a county school which complies with subsection (1) above reflects the broad traditions of Christian belief; and