Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009

4 After section 60 insert—

“60A Teachers’ pay and conditions warning notice

(1) A maintained school is by virtue of this section eligible for intervention if—

(a) the local education authority have given the governing body a warning notice in accordance with subsection (2),

(b) the period beginning with the day on which the warning notice is given and ending with the fifteenth working day following that day (“the initial period”) has expired,

(c) either the governing body made no representations under subsection (7) to the local education authority against the warning notice during the initial period or the local education authority have confirmed the warning notice under subsection (8),

(d) the governing body have failed to comply, or secure compliance, with the notice to the authority's satisfaction by the end of the compliance period (as defined by subsection (10)), and

(e) the authority have given reasonable notice in writing to the governing body that they propose to exercise their powers under any one or more of sections 64 to 66.

(2) A local education authority may give a warning notice to the governing body of a maintained school where the authority are satisfied that—

(a) the governing body have failed to comply with a provision of an order under section 122 of EA 2002 (teachers’ pay and conditions) that applies to a teacher at the school, or

(b) the governing body have failed to secure that the head teacher of the school complies with such a provision.

(3) In subsection (2) references to an order under section 122 of EA 2002 include a document by reference to which provision is made in such an order.

(4) For the purposes of this section a “warning notice” is a notice in writing by the local education authority setting out—

(a) the matters on which the conclusion mentioned in subsection (2) is based,

(b) the action which they require the governing body to take in order to remedy those matters,

(c) the initial period applying under subsection (1)(b), and

(d) the action which the local education authority are minded to take (under one or more of sections 64 to 66 or otherwise) if the governing body fail to take the required action.

(5) The warning notice must also inform the governing body of their right to make representations under subsection (7) during the initial period.

(6) The local education authority must, at the same time as giving the governing body the warning notice, give a copy of the notice to each of the following persons—

(a) the head teacher of the school,

(b) in the case of a Church of England school or a Roman Catholic Church school, the appropriate diocesan authority, and

(c) in the case of a foundation or voluntary school, the person who appoints the foundation governors.

(7) Before the end of the initial period, the governing body may make representations in writing to the local education authority against the warning notice.

(8) The local education authority must consider any representations made to them under subsection (7) and may, if they think fit, confirm the warning notice.

(9) The local education authority must give notice in writing of their decision whether or not to confirm the warning notice to the governing body and such other persons as the Secretary of State may require.

(10) In this section “the compliance period”, in relation to a warning notice, means—

(a) in a case where the governing body does not make representations under subsection (7), the initial period mentioned in subsection (1)(b), and

(b) in a case where the local education authority confirm the warning notice under subsection (8), the period beginning with the day on which they do so and ending with the fifteenth working day following that day.”