The Education Reform(Northern Ireland) Order 1989

Miscellaneous amendments to the principal Order

Repeal of provisions relating to direct grant voluntary intermediate schools

154.  The following provisions of the principal Order shall cease to have effect, namely—

(a) Article 20;

(b) Article 118;

(c) Schedule 10.

Definition of “child” for purposes of special education

155.  In Article 33 of the principal Order after paragraph (3) there shall be inserted—

“(3A) For the purposes of paragraph (3) a person who attains the age of 19 at any time during a school term at any school shall be deemed not to have attained that age until the day after the end of that school term.”.

Compulsory school age

156.  For Article 46 of the principal Order there shall be substituted the following Articles—

“Compulsory school age

46.— (1) Subject to the following provisions of this Article, in the Education Orders the expression “compulsory school age” means any age between four years and sixteen years and accordingly a person shall be of compulsory school age if he has attained the age of four years and has not attained the age of sixteen years.

(2) Where a person attains the age of four years—

(a) on any date occurring in the period beginning on (and including) 1st September in any year and ending on (and including) 1st July in the following year, he shall be deemed not to have attained the lower limit of compulsory school age until 1st August in that following year;

(b) on any date occurring in the period beginning on (and including) 2nd July in any year and ending on (and including) 31st August in the same year, he shall be deemed not to have attained the lower limit of compulsory school age until 1st August in the following year.

(3) Where a person attains the age of sixteen years—

(a) on any date occurring in the period beginning on (and including) 1st September in any year and ending on (and including) 1st July in the following year, he shall be deemed not to have attained the upper limit of compulsory school age until, or as the case may be, deemed to have attained that upper limit on 30th June in that following year or such other date as the Department may, by order subject to affirmative resolution, prescribe;

(b) on any date occurring in the period beginning on (and including) 2nd July in any year and ending on (and including) 31st August in the same year, he shall be deemed not to have attained the upper limit of compulsory school age until 30th June in the following year or such other date as the Department may, by order subject to affirmative resolution, prescribe.

Commencement of secondary education

46A.   Unless the Department otherwise directs in a particular case, a child shall commence secondary education—

(a) where he attains the age of eleven years on a date occurring in the period beginning on (and including) 1st September in any year and ending on (and including) 1st July in the following year, on 1st August in that following year;

(b) where he attains that age on a date occurring in the period beginning on (and including) 2nd July in any year and ending on (and including) 31st August in the same year, on 1st August in the following year.”.

Payment of medical expenses incurred by teachers

157.  In Article 70 of the principal Order after paragraph (2) there shall be inserted the following paragraph—

“(2A) Regulations under paragraph (1) may provide for the payment by the Department of any reasonable expenses incurred by a teacher in connection with any medical examination undergone by that teacher in pursuance of a requirement imposed by the Department under those regulations.”.

Power of Department to give directions

158.  For Article 101 of the principal Order there shall be substituted the following Article—

“Power of Department to give directions

101.— (1) The Department may give directions to any relevant authority as to the exercise by that authority of any power conferred, or the performance of any duty imposed, on that authority by or under any provision of the Education Orders; but the Department shall consult with a relevant authority before giving any directions to the authority under this paragraph.

(2) In particular, but without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (1), directions given under that paragraph may—

(a) require a specified power—

(i) to be exercised;

(ii) to be exercised in a specified manner;

(iii) not to be exercised;

(iv) not to be exercised in a specified manner;

(b) require a specified duty—

(i) to be performed;

(ii) to be performed in a specified manner;

(iii) not to be performed in a specified manner;

and in this paragraph “specified” means specified in directions.

(3) In this Article “relevant authority” means any of the following, namely—

(a) a board;

(b) the Board of Governors or trustees of a grant-aided school;

(c) a person approved by the Department under Article 11(8);

(d) the governing body of an institution of further education;

(e) the managers or trustees of a college of education;

(f) the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools;

(g) the Northern Ireland Curriculum Council;

(h) the Northern Ireland Schools Examinations and Assessment Council.

(4) If, on a complaint made to it by any person or body, the Department is satisfied that a relevant authority has acted or is proposing to act unreasonably with respect to the exercise of any power conferred or the performance of any duty imposed by or under any provision of the Education Orders, the Department shall give such directions under paragraph (1) as to the exercise of the power or the performance of the duty as appear to the Department to be expedient to remedy that complaint.

(5) Directions may be given to a relevant authority under paragraph (1) notwithstanding any provision of the Education Orders rendering the exercise of the power or the performance of the duty contingent upon the opinion of that authority.

(6) It shall be the duty of a relevant authority to comply with any directions given to the authority under paragraph (1) and any such directions may be enforced by mandamus.

(7) Where the Department is satisfied that a relevant authority has failed to comply with any directions given to the authority under paragraph (1), the Department may make an order appointing a person or persons to discharge, in the name of the relevant authority, all the functions of the authority or such functions as may be specified in the order and the order may render valid any act, thing or payment which would otherwise be invalid by reason of any default by the authority.

(8) So long as an order under paragraph (7) remains in force the functions of the relevant authority or such functions as are specified in the order shall be performed by the person or persons appointed by the order and shall not be performed by the authority.

(9) The remuneration and expenses of a person or persons appointed by an order made under paragraph (7) shall be determined by the Department and shall together with any other sums expended by the Department in consequence of the order be defrayed as part of the expenses of the relevant authority under the Education Orders.

(10) The Statutory Rules (Northern Ireland) Order 1979(1) shall not apply to any order made under paragraph (7).”.

Grants for provision of educational or library services, etc.

159.  For Article 115 of the principal Order there shall be substituted the following Article—

“Grants for educational or library services, etc.

115.— (1) Subject to paragraph (3), the Department may, in accordance with regulations made with the approval of the Department of Finance and Personnel, pay grants to persons in respect of expenditure incurred or to be incurred by them—

(a) for the purposes of, or in connection with, the provision (or proposed provision) of—

(i) educational or library services; or

(ii) recreational, social, cultural, physical or youth service activities or services ancillary to education;

(b) for the purposes of research relevant to the functions of the Department or of boards under the Education Orders.

(2) Regulations under paragraph (1) may prescribe the rates of grants which may be paid under that paragraph.

(3) The Department shall not pay grants under this Article to—

(a) a board; or

(b) the trustees or managers of—

(i) a voluntary school; or

(ii) a grant-maintained integrated school.

(4) Paragraph (5) applies where—

(a) the Department has, after the coming into operation of Article 159 of the 1989 Order, paid a grant under this Article to a person in respect of expenditure incurred or to be incurred by him for the provision or alteration of premises; and

(b) those premises cease to be used for approved purposes.

(5) Where this paragraph applies there shall be payable to the Department by the person to whom the grant was paid or his successor in title such sum as the Department considers equitable but not exceeding such proportion of the value of the premises as the proportion that the amount of the grant was of the approved cost of the provision or alteration of the premises together with interest on that sum from the date on which the premises ceased to be used for approved purposes until the date of payment to the Department.

(6) For the purposes of paragraph (5) the value of premises shall be taken to be the amount which the premises might be expected to realise if sold in the open market on the date on which the premises ceased to be used for approved purposes and where the Department certifies that it is not possible to reach agreement as to such value, the dispute as to such value may be referred to and determined by the Lands Tribunal for Northern Ireland.

(7) For the purposes of paragraph (5) interest shall be at such rate as may from time to time be determined by the Department of Finance and Personnel under paragraph 18(2) of Schedule 6 to the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972(2).

(8) Any sum payable or repayable to the Department under this Article may be recovered as a debt due to the Department.”.

Filling of certain casual vacancies in boards

160.  In paragraph 2 of Schedule 2 to the principal Order after sub-paragraph (3) there shall be added—

“(4) As soon as possible after the date on which a vacancy occurs among the members of a board appointed under paragraph 1(2)(a) and in any event within two months of that date, the appropriate council shall select a member of that council to be nominated by it to the board to fill that vacancy and shall send to the Head of the Department the name and address of the person so nominated.

(5) If the appropriate council fails to nominate a member to a board in accordance with sub-paragraph (4), the Head of the Department may, on behalf of that council, nominate a person who is a member of that council and that nomination shall be deemed for all purposes to be a nomination by that council.

(6) Sub-paragraphs (4) and (5) do not apply where the Head of the Department fills the vacancy in question by re-appointing a person under paragraph 6(5) and notifies the appropriate council of that re-appointment.

(7) In sub-paragraphs (4) to (6) “the appropriate council” in relation to a vacancy means the council by which the member being replaced was nominated.”.

Loans to officers of Staff Commission for purchase of motor cars

161.  In paragraph 7 of Schedule 15 to the principal Order after the word “Articles” there shall be inserted “84,”.

(1)

1954 c. 33 (N.I.)

(2)

SR 1978 No. 217