Summary
The Education Bill received Royal Assent on 15 November. Some provisions in the Act will take effect within the next two months; those relating to abolition of most of the arm's length bodies will take effect around the end of the financial year; with the remainder of the Act commencing at the start of the next school year.
The Education Act 2011 is an important step in implementing the Government's education reform programme and helping to create an education system that delivers ever higher standards for all children.
Key changes for local authorities
The Act:
- enables a new entitlement for disadvantaged two-year-olds to 15 hours' free early years education;
- replaces independent appeals panels for exclusions with independent review panels;
- removes the duty on local authorities to appoint a School Improvement Partner for every school;
- gives precedence to academy proposals, where a local authority identifies the need for a new school, and expands the academies programme to allow 16-19 and alternative provision academies;
- extends the Secretary of State's powers to intervene in underperforming schools;
- provides for the closure of the Local Government Ombudsman's school complaints service, and removes the duty to consider complaints about the curriculum from LAs. General complaints about schools will now be made to the Secretary of State;
- allows for pilots of direct payments for SEN education services;
- makes changes to LA powers over sixth form colleges; and
- provides for the abolition of five arm's length bodies (the TDA, the GTCE, the QCDA, the YPLA and the SSSNB).
The Act no longer makes changes to the section 10 Children Act duty to co-operate with the local authority to promote children's wellbeing.
You can find the full text of the Act and the explanatory notes on the Parliament website.
Details on when particular measures will come into force will be available in the Education Bill section of this website shortly.
Action required
To note.
