Section 52: Power of Assembly to make regulations about looked after children
242.This section inserts a new section 97D into the 1998 Act and amends section 89 of that Act.
243.Subsection (1) inserts section 97D. This provides the National Assembly for Wales with a power to make regulations about the admission of children looked after by local authorities in Wales to maintained schools in Wales. Those regulations may require admission authorities to include provisions relating to looked after children in their admission arrangements with a view to securing that these children are to be offered admission in preference to other children. The regulations can also prescribe the circumstances in which an admission authority must admit a looked after child and can disapply or modify any of the provisions of Chapter 1 of Part 3 of the 1998 Act insofar as they relate to looked after children.
244.Subsection (2) makes a consequential amendment to section 89(1A) of the 1998 Act so that its provisions will in future apply only in relation to maintained schools in England and children looked after by local authorities in England.