PART I continued CHAPTER II continued
(3) In the case of proposals published by a local education authority, any of the following may, before the end of the period of two months beginning with the date of publication of the proposals, submit objections to the proposals to that authority—
(a) any ten or more local government electors for the area of that authority;
(b) the governing body of any school affected by the proposals; and
(c) any other local education authority concerned.
(4) A local education authority by whom any such proposals are published shall within one month after the end of the period allowed for objections under subsection (3) above transmit to the Secretary of State copies of all objections made (and not withdrawn in writing) in that period, together with their observations on the objections.
(5) In the case of proposals made by the governing body of a school, any of the following may, before the end of the period of two months beginning with the date of publication of the proposals, submit objections to the proposals to the Secretary of State—
(a) any ten or more local government electors for the area of the local education authority by whom the school is maintained;
(b) the governing body of any school affected by the proposals; and
(c) any local education authority concerned.
(6) Subject to subsection (7) below, where an application is made to the Secretary of State under this section for an order reducing any standard number applying to a school for any age group in any year, the Secretary of State may—
(a) refuse to make such an order;
(b) make an order reducing the standard number to the number proposed; or
(c) after consultation with both the local education authority and the governing body of the school, make an order reducing the standard number to such number (greater than the number proposed) as he thinks desirable.
(7) The Secretary of State shall not make an order reducing any standard number applying to a school for any age group in any year unless he is satisfied that the reduction is necessary, having regard to any reduction in the school’s capacity to accommodate pupils as compared with its capacity at the beginning of the school year to which the current standard number first applied in relation to that age group (whether in accordance with section 27 of this Act or section 15 of the 1980 Act).
(8) A local education authority shall not make an application under this section for an order reducing any standard number applying to a school without first consulting the governing body of the school; and the governing body of a school shall not make such an application without first consulting the local education authority.
(1) In the case of a primary school to which section 27(1) of this Act applies, the number applicable in relation to the school and in relation to any age group there mentioned is—
(a) if the 1980 standard number for that age group is a number determined under subsection (5) of section 15 of the 1980 Act by reference to the number of pupils in that age group admitted to the school in the school year beginning in 1979, the recalculated 1979 admission number;
(b) if the 1980 standard number for that age group is a number determined under subsection (6) of section 15 by reference to the number of pupils in that age group admitted to the school in any school year beginning after 1979 (and not varied by the Secretary of State under that subsection), the recalculated post-1979 admission number; and
(c) if the 1980 standard number for that age group is a number applicable by virtue of subsection (7) of section 15 (number stated in proposals under section 12 of that Act as proposed admission number) which has not been varied by the Secretary of State, the aggregate of the number so applicable and the additional admission number.
(2) In subsection (1)(a) above, “the recalculated 1979 admission number” means, in relation to any school and age group, the number of pupils admitted to the school in that age group in the school year beginning in 1979, determined in accordance with subsection (5) below.
(3) In subsection (1)(b) above, “the recalculated post-1979 admission number” means, in relation to any school and age group, the number of pupils admitted to the school in that age group in the school year by reference to which the 1980 standard number for that school and age group was determined, determined in accordance with subsection (5) below.
(4) In subsection (1)(c) above, “the additional admission number” means, in relation to any school and age group, the aggregate of—
(a) the number of pupils admitted to the school in that age group in the first school year in relation to which the proposals in question had been wholly implemented who—
(i) were admitted otherwise than for nursery education; and
(ii) had not attained the age of four years and six months on the date of their admission; and
(b) the number of pupils already admitted to the school for nursery education transferred in that year to a reception class at the school.
(5) For the purposes of—
(a) the application in relation to any school of subsection (2) or (3) above; and
(b) the aplication in relation to a primary school of any other provision of this Chapter (other than subsection (1) or (4) above) referring to the number of pupils admitted or intended to be admitted to a school in any school year;
children admitted to the school for nursery education shall be disregarded and children so admitted who are subsequently transferred to a reception class at the school shall be treated as admitted to the school on their transfer.
(6) Subsection (5) above applies also for the purpose of determining for the purposes of any provision of this Chapter what is a relevant age group in relation to a primary school.
(7) For the purposes of this section “the 1980 standard number” means, in relation to any school and age group, the standard number applying to the school under section 15 of the 1980 Act in relation to that age group in the school year immediately preceding the commencement year.
(1) Section 6 of the 1980 Act shall be amended as follows.
(2) In subsection (3)(b) (which excludes the duty to comply with a parent’s preference for an aided or special agreement school if compliance with the preference would be incompatible with arrangements between the governors and the local education authority), for the words “in respect of the admission of pupils to the school” there shall be substituted the words “made under subsection (6) below”.
(3) After subsection (5) there shall be inserted the following subsection—
“(6) A local education authority shall, if so requested by the governors of an aided or special agreement school maintained by the authority, make arrangements with the governors in respect of the admission of pupils to the school for preserving the character of the school; and the terms of any such arrangements shall, in default of agreement between the authority and the governors, be determined by the Secretary of State.”
(1) Section 15 of the 1980 Act (which is superseded by the preceding provisions of this Chapter) shall cease to have effect, and in section 16 of that Act—
(a) in subsection (1), for “15” there shall be substituted “14”;
(b) in subsection (3), for “sections 12 and 15” there shall be substituted “section 12”; and
(c) in subsection (3A) (inserted in that section by paragraph 81 of Schedule 12 to this Act), for “13 or 15” there shall be substituted “or 13”.
(2) In section 8(3) of that Act (particulars of admission arrangements required to be published under that section)—
(a) for paragraph (a) there shall be substituted the following paragraph—
“(a) in the case of each school to which the arrangements relate, the admission number applicable in each school year in relation to the age group in which pupils are normally admitted or, if there is more than one such group, the admission number so applicable in relation to each such group;”; and
(b) at the end there shall be added the following—
“In paragraph (a) above, “admission number” means, in relation to any school year and age group, the standard number applying under section 27 of the Education Reform Act 1988 to the school in question in relation to that year and age group or the number fixed in accordance with section 26 of that Act as the number of pupils in that age group it is intended to admit to the school in that school year, whichever is the greater.”
(3) In section 9 of that Act (provisions of sections 6, 7 and 8 of that Act, which relate to parental preferences and admission arrangements, excluded from applying in relation to nursery or special schools, etc.)—
(a) in subsection (1), at the beginning there shall be inserted the words “Subject to subsection (1A) below”, and the words from “except” to the end shall be omitted; and
(b) after that subsection there shall be inserted the following subsection—
“(1A) Where the arrangements for the admission of pupils to a school maintained by a local education authority provide for the admission to the school of children who will not have attained the age of five years at the time of their proposed admission—
(a) those sections shall have effect in relation to the admission of such pupils to the school otherwise than for nursery education; and
(b) the transfer to a reception class at the school of children previously admitted to the school for nursery education shall be treated for the purposes of those sections as the admission of pupils to the school.”
(4) In section 12 of that Act (establishment, discontinuance and alteration of schools by local education authorities)—
(a) in subsection (2) the words from “excluding” to the end shall be omitted; and
(b) after that subsection there shall be inserted the following subsection—
“(2A) For the purposes of subsection (2) above—
(a) pupils intended to be admitted to the school for nursery education shall be disregarded; and
(b) pupils already so admitted intended to be transferred to a reception class at the school shall be treated as intended to be admitted to the school on their transfer.”
(5) In section 13 of that Act (establishment and alteration of voluntary schools)—
(a) for the words “Subsection (2)” there shall be substituted the words “Subsections (2) and (2A)”;
(b) for the words “it applies” there shall be substituted the words “they apply”; and
(c) after the word “reference” there shall be inserted the words “in subsection (2)”.
(6) In section 38 of that Act, after subsection (5) there shall be inserted the following subsection—
“(5A) For the purposes of this Act—
(a) children are to be regarded as admitted to a school for nursery education if they are or are to be placed on admission in a nursery class; and
(b) “reception class” means a class in which education is provided which is suitable to the requirements of pupils aged five and any pupils under or over that age whom it is expedient to educate together with pupils of that age.”
(1) For the purposes of this Chapter, a school’s capacity to accommodate pupils is changed if—
(a) as a result of changes in the availability or use of accommodation at the school, there is any change in the amount of accommodation available for use by pupils at the school; or
(b) as a result of changes in the requirements applicable to the school under regulations made under section 10 of the 1944 Act (requirements as to school premises), there is any change in the number of pupils for whom accommodation may lawfully be provided at the school;
and a school’s capacity to accommodate pupils is reduced if the result of the changes is, in a case within paragraph (a) above, less accommodation or, in a case within paragraph (b) above, a reduction in the number there mentioned.
(2) Any reference in this Chapter to a relevant age group, in relation to a school, is a reference to an age group in which pupils are normally admitted to the school.
(3) In this Chapter “the commencement year” has the meaning given by section 27(2).
(4) If by virtue of any orders made under section 236 of this Act subsection (1) of section 26 of this Act comes into force on different dates in relation to schools of different categories, the reference to the coming into force of that subsection—
(a) in subsection (2) of that section; and
(b) in subsection (2) of section 27 of this Act;
shall be read, for the purposes of the application of those sections in relation to schools of any category, as a reference to its coming into force in relation to schools of that category.
(1) It shall be the duty of every local education authority to prepare a scheme in accordance with this Chapter and submit it for the approval of the Secretary of State in accordance with section 34 of this Act.
(2) The scheme shall provide for—
(a) the determination in respect of each financial year of the authority, for each school required to be covered by the scheme in that year, of the share to be appropriated for that school in that year of the part of the general schools budget of the authority for that year which is available for allocation to individual schools under the scheme (referred to below in this Chapter, in relation to such a school, as the school’s budget share); and
(b) the delegation by the authority of the management of a school’s budget share for any year to the governing body of the school where such delegation is required or permitted by or under the scheme.
(3) For the purposes of this Chapter, a school is required to be covered in any financial year by a scheme made under this section by a local education authority if either—
(a) immediately before the beginning of that year it is a county or voluntary school maintained by that authority; or
(b) at any time during that year it becomes a county or voluntary school so maintained (whether by virtue of being established as a new school of that description or by virtue of becoming a county or voluntary school where it was not, immediately before it became so, a school of either description).
(4) For the purposes of this Chapter—
(a) references, in relation to any local education authority, to the general schools budget of the authority for any financial year, are references to the amount appropriated by the authority for meeting expenditure in that year in respect of all schools required to be covered in that year by any scheme made under this section by that authority; and
(b) the part of the general schools budget of any such authority for any financial year which is available for allocation to individual schools under a scheme under this section (referred to below in this Chapter, in relation to any such authority, as the authority’s aggregated budget for the year) is the amount remaining after deducting from the amount of the general schools budget of the authority for that year—
(i) the amount of any expenditure of the authority in that year on heads or items of expenditure which fall in accordance with section 38 of this Act to be left out of account in determining the authority’s aggregated budget for the year (referred to below in this Chapter as excepted heads or items of expenditure); and
(ii) any other amounts which fall in accordance with the scheme to be deducted in determining the authority’s aggregated budget for the year.
(5) In relation to any scheme under this section, any reference in subsection (4) above to an amount is a reference to an amount determined (and from time to time revised) in accordance with the scheme; and a scheme under this section must provide for all amounts relevant to the determination of a school’s budget share under the scheme for any financial year to be determined initially before the beginning of that year.
(6) In this Chapter—
(a) references to a school in respect of which financial delegation is required for any financial year under a scheme under this section are references to a school conducted by a governing body to whom the local education authority concerned are for the time being required by or under the scheme to delegate the management of the school’s budget share for that year (and the governing body of such a school are said to have a right to a delegated budget for the year);
(b) references to a school which has a delegated budget are references to a school conducted by a governing body to whom a local education authority have for the time being delegated the management of the school’s budget share for any financial year in pursuance of such a scheme (whether that delegation is required by the scheme or not); and
(c) references, in relation to any scheme under this section, to excluded expenditure under the scheme are references to the aggregate of any amounts which fall in the case of that scheme to be deducted by virtue of subsection (4)(b)(ii) above in determining the aggregated budget of the authority concerned for any financial year.
(1) A scheme prepared by a local education authority under section 33 of this Act shall be submitted to the Secretary of State on or before such date as the Secretary of State may by order direct, either generally or in relation to any local education authority, or any class or description of such authorities, specified in the order.
(2) In preparing a scheme under that section a local education authority shall take into account any guidance given by the Secretary of State (whether generally or in relation to that authority or to any class or description of local education authorities to which that authority belongs) as to the provisions he regards as appropriate for inclusion in the scheme.
(3) The Secretary of State shall publish any guidance given by him for the purposes of this section in such manner as he thinks fit.
(4) Before preparing such a scheme a local education authority shall consult the governing body and the head teacher of every county or voluntary school maintained by the authority.
(5) Such a scheme shall not come into force until it has been approved by the Secretary of State or until such date as the Secretary of State may, in giving his approval, specify; and the Secretary of State may approve such a scheme—
(a) either without modifications or with such modifications as he thinks fit after consulting the authority concerned; and
(b) subject to such conditions as he may specify in giving his approval.
(6) If in the case of any local education authority either—
(a) the authority fail to submit a scheme as required by subsection (1) above; or
(b) it appears to the Secretary of State that a scheme submitted by the authority as required by that subsection does not accord with any guidance given by him for the purposes of this section and cannot be made to do so merely by modifying it;
he may, after consulting the authority and such other persons as he thinks fit, impose a scheme making such provision of a description required to be made by a scheme under section 33 of this Act in relation to the financing by the authority of county and voluntary schools as he considers appropriate.
(7) A scheme imposed by the Secretary of State by virtue of subsection (6) above—
(a) shall be treated as if made under section 33 by the local education authority concerned; and
(b) shall come into force on such date as may be specified in the scheme.
(1) Subject to the following provisions of this section, a scheme may be replaced or varied by a subsequent scheme made under section 33 of this Act by the local education authority concerned.
(2) Section 33 shall apply for the purposes of a scheme replacing or varying a previous scheme with the omission of subsection (1); and subsection (1) of section 34 of this Act shall not apply in relation to such a scheme.
(3) A scheme prepared by a local education authority under section 33 which—
(a) replaces a previous scheme; or
(b) makes any significant variation of a previous scheme;
shall be submitted to the Secretary of State for his approval.
(4) A scheme under section 33 varying a previous scheme which is not required by subsection (3)(b) above to be submitted to the Secretary of State for his approval is referred to below in this section as a “minor variation scheme”.
(5) Subsections (4) and (5) of section 34 shall not apply in relation to a minor variation scheme.
(6) The Secretary of State may by order specify what descriptions of variation are to be regarded as significant for the purposes of subsection (3)(b) above.
(7) Where a local education authority propose to make a scheme under section 33 which in their opinion is a minor variation scheme, the authority shall notify the Secretary of State in writing of their proposal, giving brief particulars of the nature of the variations proposed to be made by the scheme.
(8) In any such case the authority shall, if so required by the Secretary of State before the end of the period of two months beginning with the date on which he receives notification under subsection (7) above of the authority’s proposal, send to him a copy of their proposed scheme; and it shall be for the Secretary of State to determine whether or not any variation proposed to be made by the scheme falls within any description of variation specified in an order under subsection (6) above.
(9) A scheme made under section 33 may also be varied by a direction given by the Secretary of State, as from such date as may be specified in the direction.
(10) Before giving such a direction the Secretary of State shall consult the local education authority concerned and such other persons as he thinks fit.
(1) This section applies where in the case of any local education authority the authority’s financial provision for county and voluntary schools is subject to regulation by a scheme.
(2) Subject to section 37(4) of this Act, in the case of any county or voluntary school maintained by the authority in respect of which financial delegation is required for any financial year under the scheme, it shall be the duty of the authority to put at the disposal of the governing body of the school in respect of that year a sum equal to the school’s budget share for that year to be spent for the purposes of the school.
(3) The times at which, and the manner in which, any such sum is put at the disposal of the governing body shall be such as may be provided by or under the scheme.
(4) Subject to section 49(1) of this Act, the authority may not delegate to the governing body of any school required to be covered by the scheme in any financial year the power to spend any sum appropriated by the authority for the purposes of the school in that year otherwise than as required or permitted under the scheme.
(5) The governing body of any school which has a delegated budget—
(a) shall be entitled, subject to any provision made by or under the scheme, to spend any sum made available to them in respect of the school’s budget share for any financial year as they think fit for the purposes of the school; and
(b) may delegate to the head teacher, to such extent as may be permitted by or under the scheme, their power under paragraph (a) above in relation to any part of that sum.
(6) The governors of a school shall not incur any personal liability in respect of anything done in good faith in the exercise or purported exercise of their power under subsection (5) above.
(1) Where it appears to a local education authority, in the case of any school in respect of which financial delegation is required for the current financial year under a scheme, that the governing body of the school—
(a) have been guilty of a substantial or persistent failure to comply with any requirements applicable under the scheme; or
(b) are not managing the appropriation or expenditure of the sum put at their disposal for the purposes of the school in a satisfactory manner;
the authority may suspend the governing body’s right to a delegated budget by giving the governing body (subject to subsection (3) below) not less than one month’s notice of suspension.
(2) Any such notice shall specify the grounds for the proposed suspension, giving particulars of any failure alleged on the part of the governing body to comply with any requirements applicable under the scheme and of any alleged mismanagement on their part; and a copy of the notice shall be given to the head teacher of the school at the same time as the notice is given to the governing body.
(3) A local education authority may suspend the right to a delegated budget of any governing body to whom they have given notice under subsection (1) above before the expiry of the period of notice if it appears to them to be necessary to do so by reason of gross incompetence or mismanagement on the part of that governing body or other emergency; but in such a case the authority shall immediately give to the Secretary of State written notification of their action and the reasons for it.
(4) During any period when a governing body’s right to a delegated budget is suspended under this section the duty of the local education authority concerned under section 36(2) of this Act shall not apply in relation to that governing body.
(5) It shall be the duty of the authority concerned—
(a) to review before the beginning of every financial year any suspension under this section which is for the time being in force;
(b) for the purposes of that review, to afford the governing body concerned and the head teacher of the school an opportunity of making representations with respect to the suspension and to have regard to any representations made by that body or the head teacher; and
(c) to revoke any such suspension where they consider it appropriate to do so.
(6) The authority shall give the governing body concerned and the head teacher written notification of their decision on any such review.
(7) The revocation of any such suspension shall take effect as from the beginning of the next following financial year.
(8) A governing body shall be entitled to appeal to the Secretary of State against—
(a) the imposition of any suspension under this section; and
(b) any refusal of a local education authority to revoke any such suspension on any review required under this section.
(9) On any such appeal the Secretary of State—
(a) may allow or reject the appeal; and
(b) shall have regard, in making his determination, to the gravity of the default on the part of the governing body and the likelihood of its continuance or recurrence.
(1) The provision to be included in a scheme for determining the budget share for any financial year of each school required to be covered by the scheme in that year shall require that share to be determined (and from time to time revised) by the application of a formula laid down by the scheme for the purpose of dividing among all such schools the aggregated budget for that year of the local education authority concerned.
(2) In this section “formula” includes methods, principles and rules of any description, however expressed; and references in this Chapter, in relation to a scheme, to the allocation formula under the scheme, are references to the formula laid down by the scheme in accordance with subsection (1) above.
(3) The allocation formula under a scheme—
(a) shall include provision for taking into account, in the case of each school required to be covered by the scheme in any financial year, the number and ages of registered pupils at that school on such date or dates as may be determined by or under the scheme in relation to that year; and
(b) may include provision for taking into account any other factors affecting the needs of individual schools which are subject to variation from school to school (including, in particular, the number of registered pupils at a school who have special educational needs and the nature of the special educational provision required to be made for them).
(4) In the case of any scheme, the following heads or items of expenditure, so far as taken into account in determining the general schools budget of the local education authority concerned for any financial year, shall be left out of account in determining the authority’s aggregated budget for that year—
(a) all expenditure of a capital nature;
(b) all expenditure in respect of the repayment of the principal of, the payment of interest on and the discharge of any other financial obligation in connection with any loan raised to meet expenditure of a capital nature;
(c) expenditure falling to be taken into account in determining central government grants of any prescribed description; and
(d) such other items of expenditure as may be prescribed.
(1) A scheme shall include provision for requiring, in the case of each secondary school required to be covered by the scheme in any financial year, the delegation by the local education authority concerned to the governing body of the school of the management of the school’s budget share for that year.
(2) A scheme shall include provision for requiring, in the case of each primary school required to be covered by the scheme in any financial year which—
(a) satisfies the qualifying condition on a qualifying date in relation to that year which falls before the beginning of that year; or
(b) falls in accordance with the scheme to be regarded as qualifying for delegation in respect of that year on the assumption that, if a forecast made in accordance with the scheme of the number of registered pupils it will have on a qualifying date in relation to that year which falls within that year proves to be correct, it will satisfy the qualifying condition on that date;
the delegation by the local education authority concerned to the governing body of the school of the management of the school’s budget share for that year.
(3) For the purposes of this section—
(a) a primary school is to be treated as satisfying the qualifying condition at any time when it has two hundred or more registered pupils; and
(b) “qualifying date” means, in relation to any financial year, any date which is a qualifying date in accordance with any provision made by or under the scheme in question.
(4) References in this Chapter to the delegation requirement under any scheme are references—
(a) in relation to a secondary school required to be covered by the scheme in any financial year, to any provision included in the scheme by virtue of subsection (1) above; and
(b) in relation to a primary school required to be covered by the scheme in any financial year, to any provision included in the scheme by virtue of subsection (2) above.
(5) The application of the delegation requirement under a scheme in relation to any school is subject to section 40 of this Act in the case of any school to which that section applies.
(6) Subject to subsections (7) and (8) below, once the delegation requirement under a scheme applies in relation to a primary school in respect of any financial year it shall continue to apply in respect of each succeeding financial year.
(7) Subject to subsection (8) below, the delegation requirement under a scheme shall cease to apply in relation to a primary school to which that requirement for the time being applies if the number of registered pupils at the school—
(a) falls below the number for the time being required under subsection (3)(a) above for such a school to be treated as satisfying the qualifying condition or, in the case of a school to which that requirement applies by virtue of any provision made under subsection (2)(b) above, either fails to reach or falls below that number; and
(b) remains below that number for such period as may be specified in the scheme.
(8) Where subsection (7) above applies in the case of any primary school the delegation requirement under the scheme in question shall cease to apply in relation to the school as from the beginning of the financial year beginning next after the period mentioned in paragraph (b) of that subsection comes to an end in the case of that school.
(9) The application of subsections (7) and (8) above in relation to any school is without prejudice to the subsequent application of the delegation requirement under the scheme in question in relation to that school in respect of any financial year subsequent to that mentioned in subsection (8).
(10) A scheme may provide for the delegation by the local education authority concerned to the governing body of any school to which the delegation requirement under the scheme does not apply in any financial year of the management of the school’s budget share for that year.
(11) Any delegation by a local education authority under a scheme to the governing body of any school of the management of the school’s budget share shall be subject to such conditions as may be imposed by or under the scheme.
(12) Conditions so imposed may in particular relate to—
(a) the arrangements to be made for management of the expenditure of any sum made available to the governing body of any school in accordance with the scheme (and in particular for authorising expenditure, or transactions involving commitments to expenditure, to be met from any such sum);
(b) the keeping and audit of accounts and records with respect to such expenditure, and the keeping of records with respect to such transactions; and
(c) the provision to the local education authority concerned by the governing body of—
(i) copies of accounts and records required to be kept by virtue of any condition imposed under paragraph (b) above; and
(ii) such other documents and information relating to the application of any such sum as the authority may from time to time require.