Education Act 1996

342 Approval of special schools

(1) The Secretary of State may approve under this section any school which is specially organised to make special educational provision for pupils with special educational needs (and which is not a maintained or grant-maintained school), and may give his approval before or after the school is established.

(2) Regulations may make provision as to the requirements which are to be complied with as a condition of approval under subsection (1) above.

(3) Any school which—

(a) is established in pursuance of proposals approved under section 340 (or section 184 of the [1993 c. 35.] Education Act 1993), or

(b) was a special school immediately before 1st April 1994 (the date when section 184 of that Act came into force),

shall be treated, subject to subsection (4) below, as approved under this section.

(4) Regulations may make provision as to—

(a) the requirements which are to be complied with by a school while approved under this section, and

(b) the withdrawal of approval from a school (including approval treated as given under subsection (3)) at the request of the proprietor or on the ground that there has been a failure to comply with any prescribed requirement.

(5) Without prejudice to the generality of subsections (2) and (4), the requirements which may be imposed by the regulations include requirements—

(a) which call for arrangements to be approved by the Secretary of State, or

(b) as to the organisation of any special school as a primary school or as a secondary school.

(6) Regulations shall make provision for securing that, so far as practicable, every pupil attending a special school—

(a) receives religious education and attends religious worship, or

(b) is withdrawn from receiving such education or from attendance at such worship in accordance with the wishes of his parent.

(7) Where approval is withdrawn from a maintained special school or grant-maintained special school, the local education authority or, as the case may be, the governing body shall serve under section 339 notice of their proposals to discontinue the school.

(8) For the purposes of proposals made under subsection (7)—

(a) section 339 shall have effect as if the school had not ceased to be a special school on the withdrawal of the approval, and

(b) section 340 shall have effect as if subsections (1) to (3), and the reference in subsection (4) to the rejection of proposals, were omitted.