Part IIF1Further Education and Sixth Form Education: Wales
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F330 The Council.
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Main duties
F431 Education and training for persons aged 16 to 19.
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F432 Education and training for persons over 19.
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F433 Encouragement of education and training.
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F5The local curricula
33AFormation of local curricula for students aged 16 to 18
(1)
F6The Commission must form for the area of each local authority one or more local curricula for students who are above compulsory school age but have not attained the age of nineteen.
(2)
Each local curriculum must consist of courses of study each of which—
(a)
falls within a category in subsection (3) (the “learning domains”); and
(b)
is from time to time selected by F7the Commission to form part of that local curriculum.
(3)
The learning domains are—
(a)
mathematics, science and technology;
(b)
business, administration and law;
(c)
services for people;
(d)
arts, media, culture and languages;
(e)
humanities, social sciences and preparation for life and work.
(4)
For the purposes of this section, a course of study falls within a particular learning domain if a direction of the Welsh Ministers so provides.
F833BLocal curricula: Welsh language
F1033CAreas with more than one local curriculum
(1)
This section applies where F11the Commission forms more than one local curriculum for the area of a local authority under section 33A.
(2)
In relation to each local curriculum, F12the Commission must designate the maintained schools or institutions whose relevant students are to be entitled to elect under section 33E to follow courses of study included within the curriculum.
F1333DDetermination of a pupil's “relevant school or institution”
(1)
Where, during the F14fourth key stage F14relevant period, a registered pupil of a maintained school requests that the school's head teacher determines the pupil's relevant school or institution, the head teacher must comply with that request. But this is subject to regulations made under subsection (3).
F15(1A)
The relevant period, in relation to a registered pupil of a maintained school, is the period—
(a)
beginning at the same time as the school year in which the majority of pupils in the pupil’s class attain the age of 15, and
(b)
ending at the same time as the school year in which the majority of pupils in the pupil’s class cease to be of compulsory school age.
(2)
A pupil's relevant school or institution is the maintained school or institution whose governing body is, in the opinion of the head teacher, likely to be responsible for providing (or making arrangements for the provision of) the majority of the pupil's education once he or she has ceased to be of compulsory school age.
(3)
Regulations may make provision as to the making of requests and determinations under this section, including in particular provision as to the date or time by which a request or determination is to be made.
F16(3A)
The Welsh Ministers must consult the Commission before making regulations under subsection (3).
(4)
This section does not require any person to admit a pupil to a particular school or institution.
F1733EPupils' choices of local curriculum courses
(1)
A registered pupil of a maintained school has the right to elect to follow, during the period described in subsection (2) (“the entitlement period”), a course or courses of study included within the relevant local curriculum for that pupil. But this is subject to regulations made under subsection (3).
(2)
The entitlement period—
(a)
begins on the first day of the academic year subsequent to the pupil having ceased to be of compulsory school age; and
(b)
ends on the day on which he or she attains the age of nineteen.
(3)
Regulations may make provision as to the making of elections under this section, including in particular provision—
(a)
specifying the maximum number of courses of study of a particular type that a pupil has the right to elect to follow;
(b)
identifying points to be allotted to courses of study and preventing a pupil from having the right to elect to follow a combination of courses of study if their aggregate points exceed a specified amount;
(c)
as to the period during which elections are to be made.
F18(3A)
The Welsh Ministers must consult the Commission before making regulations under subsection (3).
(4)
For the purposes of this section the “relevant local curriculum”, in relation to a pupil, means—
(a)
where it has been determined under section 33D that a pupil's “relevant school or institution” is a school—
(i)
where F19the Commission has formed under section 33A a single local curriculum for the area of the local authority by which the school is maintained, that local curriculum; or
(ii)
where F19the Commission has formed under section 33A more than one local curriculum for the area of the local authority by which the school is maintained, the local curriculum in respect of which the school is designated under section 33C(2);
(b)
where it has been determined under section 33D that a pupil's “relevant school or institution” is an institution—
(i)
where F19the Commission has formed under section 33A a single local curriculum for the local authority area in which the institution is situated, that local curriculum; or
(ii)
where F19the Commission has formed under section 33A more than one local curriculum for the local authority area in which the institution is situated, the local curriculum in respect of which the institution is designated under section 33C(2).
F2033FStudents' local curriculum entitlements
(1)
During the entitlement period, a student who has made an election under section 33E(1) is entitled to follow the elected course of study unless—
(a)
the governing body of the student's relevant school or institution F21was not at the beginning of the entitlement period, or subsequently ceases to be, responsible for providing (or making arrangements for the provision of) the majority of the student's education; or
(b)
before the beginning of the entitlement period, the head teacher or principal of the student's relevant school or institution has decided under section 33G that the student is not entitled to follow the course of study.
(2)
Where a person is entitled to follow a course of study, it is for the head teacher or principal of the relevant school or institution to decide upon which date during the entitlement period the course is to begin.
F2233GHead teacher's or principal's decision as to entitlement
(1)
If the head teacher or principal of a student's relevant school or institution is satisfied that any of the grounds in subsection (2) apply, the head teacher or principal may decide that the student is not entitled to follow a course of study which the student has elected to follow under section 33E.
(2)
The grounds referred to in subsection (1) are that—
(a)
as a result of the student's level of educational attainment, the course of study is not suitable for him or her;
(b)
as a result of other elections made by the student under section 33E(1), it is not reasonably practicable for him or her to follow the course of study;
(c)
the amount of time likely to be spent travelling to the place at which the course is likely to be delivered would be detrimental to the student's education;
(d)
disproportionate expenditure would be incurred if the student were to follow the course of study;
(e)
the student's or another person's health or safety would be placed unacceptably at risk if the student were to follow the course of study.
(3)
Regulations may make provision connected with the making of decisions under subsection (1), including in particular provision—
(a)
as to the time or date by which decisions are to be made;
(b)
as to the procedure to be followed in connection with the making of decisions;
(c)
for appeals against decisions to be made to the school or institution's governing body or another person specified in the regulations;
(d)
as to the time or date by which appeals are to be determined;
(e)
as to the procedure to be followed in connection with the determination of an appeal.
(4)
A head teacher or principal and governing body or other person charged with determining appeals under regulations made under subsection (3) must have regard to any guidance given from time to time by the Welsh Ministers as to the exercise of their functions under this section.
(5)
The Welsh Ministers may by order—
(a)
amend or omit any paragraph of subsection (2);
(b)
add additional paragraphs to that subsection;
(c)
amend or omit such additional paragraphs.
F23(6)
The Welsh Ministers must consult the Commission before making regulations under subsection (3), giving guidance under subsection (4) or making an order under subsection (5).
F2433HDelivery of local curriculum entitlements
Where a student is entitled to follow a course of study under section 33F(1), the governing body of the student's relevant school or institution must ensure that during the entitlement period the course is made available to the student by or on behalf of the governing body.
F2533IHead teacher's or principal's decision to remove entitlement
(1)
If the head teacher or principal of a student's relevant school or institution is satisfied that any of the grounds in subsection (2) apply, the head teacher or principal may decide that a student is no longer entitled to follow a course of study that the student was entitled to follow under section 33F.
(2)
The grounds referred to in subsection (1) are that—
(a)
the student's or another person's health or safety would be placed unacceptably at risk if the pupil were to continue to follow the course of study;
(b)
disproportionate expenditure would be incurred if the pupil were to continue to follow the course of study.
(3)
Regulations may make provision connected with the making of decisions under subsection (1) including in particular provision—
(a)
as to the procedure to be followed in connection with the making of decisions;
(b)
for appeals against decisions to be made to the school or institution's governing body or another person specified in the regulations;
(c)
as to the effect of a decision pending determination of an appeal;
(d)
as to the procedure to be followed in connection with the determination of an appeal.
(4)
A head teacher or principal and governing body or other person charged with determining appeals under regulations made under subsection (3) must have regard to any guidance given from time to time by the Welsh Ministers as to the exercise of their functions under this section.
(5)
The Welsh Ministers may by order—
(a)
amend or omit any paragraph of subsection (2);
(b)
add additional paragraphs to that subsection;
(c)
amend or omit such additional paragraphs.
F26(6)
The Welsh Ministers must consult the Commission before making regulations under subsection (3), giving guidance under subsection (4) or making an order under subsection (5).
F2733JPlanning the local curriculum
(1)
The following persons must assist F28the Commission in planning the local curriculum or curricula for a local authority's area—
(a)
the local authority;
(b)
the governing body and head teacher of any maintained school maintained by the authority;
(c)
the governing body and principal of an institution in the authority's area.
(2)
In subsection (1), “ planning the local curriculum or curricula ” means the process by which F29the Commission decides under section 33A which courses of study to include in the local curriculum or curricula.
F30(3)
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F31(4)
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F3233KDelivery of local curriculum entitlements: joint-working
(1)
The objective of this section is to maximise the availability of courses of study included in a local curriculum formed under section 33A.
(2)
In relation to the local curriculum or curricula for a local authority, the persons mentioned in subsection (4) must take all reasonable steps in order to achieve the objective of this section.
(3)
The duty under subsection (2) includes, but is not limited to, a duty to seek to enter into cooperation arrangements where, having considered whether it would further the objective of this section to do so, the persons mentioned in subsection (4) have concluded that entering into such arrangements would further that objective.
(4)
The persons are—
(a)
the local authority;
(b)
the governing body of a secondary school maintained by the authority; and
(c)
the governing body of an institution within the further education sector which is situated within the area of the authority.
(5)
In this section and section 33L “co-operation arrangements” means—
(a)
arrangements under which any person provides, on behalf of the governing body of a maintained school, a course of study included within the relevant local curriculum for the school;
(b)
arrangements under which any person provides, on behalf of the governing body of an institution, a course of study included within the relevant local curriculum for the institution;
F33(ba)
arrangements made in exercise of the powers of collaboration described in section 4 of the Education (Wales) Measure 2011.
F34(c)
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F34(d)
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(6)
For the purposes of this section, “relevant local curriculum” means—
(a)
in relation to a maintained school—
(i)
where F35the Commission has formed a single local curriculum for the area of the local authority by which the school is maintained, that local curriculum; or
(ii)
where F35the Commission has formed more than one local curriculum for the area of the local authority by which the school is maintained, the local curriculum in respect of which the school is designated under section 33C(2);
(b)
in relation to an institution—
(i)
where F35the Commission has formed a single local curriculum for the local authority area in which the institution is situated, that curriculum; or
(ii)
where F35the Commission has formed more than one local curriculum for the local authority area in which the institution is situated, the local curriculum in respect of which the institution is designated under section 33C(2).
F3633LJoint-working: guidance and directions
(1)
A local authority, a governing body of a maintained school and the governing body of an institution must have regard to any guidance given from time to time by the Welsh Ministers as to the discharge of their duties under section 33K.
(2)
Guidance given under subsection (1) may relate to the contents of co- operation arrangements.
F37(2A)
The Welsh Ministers must consult the Commission before giving guidance under subsection (1).
(3)
F38A local authority and a governing body of a maintained school must comply with any direction given by the Welsh Ministers as to the entering into of co-operation arrangements.
(4)
A direction under subsection (3)—
(a)
may require persons to enter into specified arrangements;
(b)
may specify the terms upon which arrangements are to be entered into (whether generally or in respect of specified arrangements);
(c)
in the case of a direction to enter into specified arrangements with a person who is not mentioned in subsection (1), must not be given unless that person consents to the direction.
F3933MPower to amend learning domains
F40(1)
The Welsh Ministers may by order—
(a)
amend or omit any paragraph of subsection (3) of section 33A;
(b)
add additional paragraphs to that subsection;
(c)
amend or omit such additional paragraphs.
F41(2)
The Welsh Ministers must consult the Commission before making an order under subsection (1).
F4233NThe local curriculum: interpretation
(1)
In sections 33A to F4333M—
F44“academic year” means the period beginning on the fourth Monday of September in any year and ending on the first day of September in the following year;
F45“the Commission” means the Commission for Tertiary Education and Research;
F46“course of study” means a course of education or training that—
(a)
leads to a form of qualification or set of forms of qualification approved under Part 4 of the Qualifications Wales Act 2015 or designated under Part 5 of that Act, or
(b)
is designated by the Welsh Ministers under section 34(8) of that Act;
F47“fourth key stage” is to be construed in accordance with section 103 of the Education Act 2002;
“entitlement period” means the period described in section 33E(2);
“institution” means an institution within the further education sector in Wales unless the institution provides education wholly or mainly for persons with F48a learning difficulty (within the meaning of section 41); F48additional learning needs (within the meaning given by the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018);
“local curriculum” and “local curricula” are to be construed in accordance with section 33A;
“local authority” means a local authority in Wales;
“ maintained school ” means a community, foundation or voluntary school maintained by a local authority in Wales provided that it is also a secondary school;
“principal”, in relation to an institution, means the principal or other head of the institution;
“regulations” means regulations made by the Welsh Ministers;
“relevant school or institution”, in relation to a person, is to be construed in accordance with section 33D;
“relevant student”, in relation to a maintained school or institution, means a student for whom the school or institution is his or her relevant school or institution;
“student” means a person who has made an election under section 33E.
(2)
Unless the context otherwise requires, an expression used in sections 33A to 33N, 33P and 33Q and also the Education Act 1996 is to bear for the purposes of those sections the meaning given to it for the purposes of that Act.
F4933OLocal curriculum: directions
Any direction given by the Welsh Ministers under sections 33A(4) F50... and 33L(3) may be varied or revoked by a further direction.
F5133PApplication of local curriculum provisions to students who are registered pupils of special schools or who have F52learning difficultiesF52additional learning needs
(1)
Regulations F53made by the Welsh Ministers may apply the provisions of sections 33A to 33L, 33N and 33O and the provisions of any regulations made under section 46 of the Learning and Skills (Wales) Measure 2009 in respect of a person who falls, or is likely to fall, within subsection (3).
(2)
The regulations may apply those provisions with such modifications as appear to the Welsh Ministers to be necessary or expedient.
(3)
A person falls within this subsection if he or she—
(a)
is above compulsory school age; and
(b)
either—
(i)
a registered pupil of a community F54... special school which is maintained by a local authority in Wales and is not established in a hospital; or
F56(4)
The Welsh Ministers must consult the Commission for Tertiary Education and Research before making regulations under subsection (1).
F5733QApplication of local curriculum provisions to institutions within the higher education sector
(1)
Regulations F58made by the Welsh Ministers may apply the provisions of sections 33A to 33L, 33N and 33O and the provisions of regulations made under section 46 of the Learning and Skills (Wales) Measure 2009 in relation to an institution, or institutions, within the higher education sector in Wales as those provisions apply in relation to an institution within the further education sector in Wales.
(2)
The regulations may also apply those provisions in relation to the principal or governing body of an institution within the higher education sector in Wales (or to persons with functions that are similar to those of a principal or governing body) as they apply in relation to the principal or governing body of an institution within the further education sector in Wales.
(3)
The regulations may apply those provisions with such modifications as appear to the Welsh Ministers to be necessary or expedient.
F59(4)
The Welsh Ministers must consult the Commission for Tertiary Education and Research before making regulations under subsection (1).
Main powers
F6034 Provision of financial resources.
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F6035 Financial resources: conditions.
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F6036 Funding of school sixth-forms.
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F6037 Assessments and means tests.
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F6038 Qualifying accounts and arrangements.
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F6139 Further education: governors.
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Other functions
40 Research and information.
F62(1)
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F62(2)
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F62(3)
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F62(4)
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(5)
(6)
The F63Welsh Ministers may secure the provision of facilities for providing information, advice or guidance about education or training or connected matters (including employment).
F6641 Persons with F65learning difficultiesF65additional learning needs.
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F6742 Equality of opportunity.
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F6743 Plans.
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F6744 Strategy.
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F6745 Use of information by Council.
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F6746 Supplementary functions.
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Miscellaneous
F6747 Directions.
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F6748 Committees.
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F6749 Grants to Council.
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F6750 Annual report.
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F6751 Council’s financial year.
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