The Education (National Curriculum) (Attainment Targets and Programmes of Study in Welsh) (Amendment) Order 1992

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

Section 10(3) of the Rducation Reform Act 1988 imposes on local education authorities, governing bodies and head teachers of schools the duty to teach the subjects comprising the National Curriculum including Welsh for a reasonable time during each of the key stages defined in the Act. This duty is replaced by the provisions of the attainment targets and programmes of study in a subject in the National Cirriculum when these come into force by order of the Secretary of State. In respect of Welsh, the attainment targets and programmes of study come into force over a period of time by virtue of the provisions of the Education (National Cirriculum) (Attainment Targets and Programmes of Study in Welsh) Order 1990 (S.I. 1990/1082) (“the principal Order”).

Regulations have already been made (The Education (National Curriculum) (Exceptions) (Wales) Regulations 1990 (S.I. 1990/2187)) which disapply the provisions of section 10()3) of the 1988 Act with regard to the teaching of Welsh in a key stage in a school where Welsh has not been taught to more than half of the total number of pupils in the school year in that year in either the school year 1987/88 or the school year 1988/89.

Among other provisions the Education (National Curriculum) (Attainment Targets and Programmes of Study in Welsh) (Amendment) Order 1991 (“the amendment Order”) amended the operation of the principal Order in relation to the schools listed in Schedule 3-6 set out in the Appendix to the amendment Order (which became Schedules with the same numbers to the principal Order). As regards these schools, the coming into force of the provisions of the principal Order was postponed as respects each year and key stage referred to in the Schedules to the dates referred to opposite each year and key stage.

This further amendment Order makes minor amendments to Schedules 3 and 4 to the principal Order. Sir Thomas Picton School in the County of Dyfed is moved from the provisions of Part I to Part II of Schedule 3 so as to postpone the coming into force of the provisions of the principal Order in relation to the third key stage for the school by a further two years. The coming into force of the principal Order as regards pupils in the third year of the third key stage in Chepstow Secondary School and Monmouth Secondary School in the County of Gwent is postponed to 1st August 1995 and 1st August 1996 respectively.