The Education (Assisted Places) (Scotland) Amendment (No.2) Regulations 1997

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Education (Assisted Places) (Scotland) Regulations 1995 in light of provisions introduced by the Education (Schools) Act 1997 to phase out the Assisted Places Scheme. Under these new provisions, no pupils will be admitted to the Scheme after the start of the school session 1997/98. The amendment made by these Regulations enables the Secretary of State to authorise a replacement school to provide an assisted place for an existing assisted pupil whose school merges with another school, closes or no longer wishes to participate in the Scheme.

Transitional provision is made for cases of school merger–

(a) allowing the authorisation to be granted up to 3 months after the original school ceased to provide the assisted place, and for the pupil to be deemed to hold an assisted place at the merged school meantime; and

(b) allowing the Secretary of State, where a pupil is to transfer to a school other than the merged school, to permit the pupil to transfer at a date no later than the beginning of the first term in the following school year, where he considers that appropriate, and providing for the pupil to be treated as holding an assisted place at the merged school meantime.