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(3) Subject to subsection (4) below, references in this section to giving corporal punishment are references to doing anything for the purposes of punishing the pupil concerned (whether or not there are other reasons for doing it) which, apart from any justification, would constitute physical assault upon that pupil.
(4) Corporal punishment shall not be taken to be given to a pupil by virtue of anything done for reasons which include averting—
(a) an immediate danger of personal injury to; or
(b) an immediate danger to the property of,
any person (including the pupil concerned).
(5) In subsection (1) above, “member of staff”, in relation to the pupil concerned, means—
(a) any person who works as a teacher at the school or other place at which education is provided for the pupil; or
(b) any other person who (whether in connection with the provision of education for the pupil or otherwise)—
(i) works at that school or place; or
(ii) otherwise provides services there (whether or not for payment), and has lawful control or charge of the pupil.
(6) Section 48A of the 1980 Act (which makes provision with regard to corporal punishment in schools etc.) is repealed.
(1) The Scottish Ministers may by order provide that, on such date as may be specified in the order, a self-governing school so specified shall cease to be under the management of its board of management and that it shall, in consequence, cease to be a school which is a self-governing school; and the board shall, on that date, cease to exist.
(2) On and after that date, the education authority in whose area the school is situated shall manage the school.
(3) On that date—
(a) all—
(i) land and other property (including corporeal and incorporeal moveable property); and
(ii) rights and obligations,
which immediately before that date were vested in that board shall transfer to and vest in that authority; and
(b) all persons in the employment of that board shall transfer to the employment of that authority.
(4) The vesting of property, rights and obligations under this section shall have effect notwithstanding any rule of law, any obligation or any provision made in or under any enactment (other than this Act or an enactment made under this Act).
(1) Where an order has been made under section 17 of this Act as respects a school the Scottish Ministers may, after consultation with the education authority which is to manage the school, by order under this section make incidental, supplementary, transitional or ancillary provision as respects the change in status of the school.
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) above, an order under this section may—
(a) stipulate a timetable for any steps that may be specified in the order as necessary or expedient in relation to that change in status;
(b) provide for the payment of the expenses attributable to that change in status;
(c) confer such additional powers and impose such additional duties on the board of management of the school as appear to the Scottish Ministers to be appropriate in relation to that change in status;
(d) provide for the ingathering of any land or moveable property owned by—
(i) the board; or
(ii) trustees for the purposes of the school; or
(e) require the board to comply with any directions given by the Scottish Ministers in relation to that change in status.
(3) Where land or moveable property purchased, or as the case may be refurbished, for the school out of (or partly out of) funds provided by way of a capital grant—
(a) is transferred to the education authority by virtue of section 17 of this Act; and
(b) subsequently is sold by that authority to a third party,
the Scottish Ministers may, after consultation with the education authority, require that authority to pay them the amount of the funds so provided (or if the amount received by the authority in respect of the sale was less than the amount of those funds, to pay them the amount so received).
(4) Without prejudice to subsection (2)(b) above, the Scottish Ministers may make grants to the board of management for the purpose of enabling the board to defray such expenses incurred by the board as are attributable to that change in status.
(5) The Scottish Ministers may make the payment of a grant in pursuance of subsection (4) above subject to such conditions and requirements (including a requirement that the whole or any part of a grant be repaid) as they think fit.
(1) This subsection and subsections (2) to (4) below apply to any person who, immediately before the date specified in an order under section 17 of this Act as respects a self-governing school, is employed by the board of management of the school.
(2) The contract of employment between the person and the board shall have effect from that date as if originally made between the person and the education authority which is to manage the school.
(3) Without prejudice to subsection (2) above—
(a) all the board’s rights, powers, duties and liabilities under or in connection with the contract shall by virtue of this paragraph transfer to the authority on that date; and
(b) anything done before that date by or in relation to the board in respect of that contract or of the employee shall be deemed as from that date to have been done by or in relation to the authority.
(4) Subsections (2) and (3) above are without prejudice to any right of the person to terminate the contract of employment if the terms and conditions of employment are changed substantially to the detriment of the person; but such change shall not be taken to have occurred by reason only of the fact that the employer is changed by virtue of section 17(3)(b) of this Act.
(5) Where a person—
(a) has, prior to the date so specified, entered into a contract of employment with the board of management of the school and that contract is to come into effect on or after that date; and
(b) would, if the contract had come into effect before that date, have been a person to whom subsections (1) to (4) above apply,
the person shall be treated as one to whom those subsections do apply.
Where the Scottish Ministers have made an order under section 17 of this Act as respects a school, the board of management of the school shall—
(a) on or before the date specified in the order, provide the education authority which is to manage the school with all the information held by the board in respect of the school including, without prejudice to that generality, information in respect of—
(i) the administration and finances of the school;
(ii) the fabric of the school;
(iii) the staff transferred to the employment of the authority by virtue of section 17(3)(b) of this Act; and
(iv) the pupils in attendance at the school; and
(b) provide the Scottish Ministers, without undue delay, with such information and documents as they may require from the board for the purposes of their determining what supplementary provision to make by order under section 18 of this Act.
Where, immediately before the date specified in an order under section 17 of this Act in relation to a school, an educational endowment (within the meaning of Part VI of the 1980 Act) is, solely for the purposes of the school, to any extent vested in the board of management, the endowment shall, on that date and to that extent, transfer to and vest for the same purposes in the education authority which are to manage the school.
Where, in the case of any school, proposals for the acquisition of self-governing status have been published under section 16 of the Self-Governing Schools etc. (Scotland) Act 1989 (c. 30) by the School Board and approved by the Secretary of State, or as the case may be the Scottish Ministers, but as at the coming into force of this section responsibility for the conduct of the school has not transferred to a board of management, the school’s transition to self-governing status shall be treated as never having commenced.
(1) The board of management of a self-governing school shall obtain the consent of the Scottish Ministers to any transfer of moveable property owned by the board which is intended to take place on or after the date on which this section comes into force; and any purported transfer of such property on or after that date is void if such consent has not first been obtained.
(2) The Scottish Ministers shall give consent under subsection (1) above only after they have consulted in the matter the education authority which are to manage the school.
(1) In section 98 of the 1980 Act—
(a) in subsection (1) (which provides for there being kept a register of independent schools), after paragraph (i) of the proviso there shall be inserted—
“(ia) no independent school shall be registered if the Registrar has been given notice by the Scottish Ministers that they are satisfied, on such grounds as they shall specify in the notice, that the proprietor is not a proper person to be the proprietor of any school, that a teacher to be employed in the school is not a proper person to be a teacher in any school or that the school premises, or any parts of those premises, are unsuitable for a school;”; and
(b) subsection (2A) (which provides that at any time within an independent school’s first month a person will not be guilty of the offence of conducting it as an independent school while it is not registered, or is not provisionally registered, if in that month an application for registration is duly made) is repealed.
(2) After that section there shall be inserted—
(1) When, such notice as is mentioned in paragraph (ia) of the proviso to section 98(1) of this Act having been given, registration of a school is refused, the Registrar shall so notify the proprietor (and, if the notice related to a teacher, the teacher also) setting out the grounds which were specified by the Scottish Ministers.
(2) Every notification given under subsection (1) above shall limit the time, not being less than one month after it is so given, within which the refusal of registration may be referred to an Independent Schools Tribunal constituted as is mentioned in section 100 of this Act; and the proprietor or teacher in question may within that time, in such manner as is mentioned in that section, so refer the refusal.
(3) Upon a refusal being so referred the tribunal shall, after affording to all parties concerned an opportunity of being heard, and after considering such evidence as may be tendered by those parties or on their behalf, have power—
(a) to uphold the refusal; or
(b) without prejudice to paragraph (ii) of the proviso mentioned in subsection (1) above, to order the Registrar to register the school.
(4) If the tribunal uphold the refusal then (according to what the grounds were which were specified by the Scottish Ministers) the tribunal may disqualify the proprietor from being the proprietor of any independent school, disqualify the teacher from being a teacher in any school or disqualify the premises, or parts of premises, from being used as a school or as part of a school.”.
In section 99 of the 1980 Act (which sets out grounds on which a complaint may be served upon the proprietor of an independent school), after paragraph (a) there shall be inserted—
“(aa) that the welfare of a pupil attending the school is not adequately safeguarded and promoted there;”.
In section 1(2) of the 1988 Act (which assigns functions to a School Board established in accordance with that Act), at the end there shall be added “and they shall exercise those functions with a view to raising standards of education in the school and shall support the endeavours of those managing the school to secure improvement in the quality of education which the school provides.”.
In section 2A of the 1988 Act (which makes provision as respects elections for members of School Boards), after subsection (3) there shall be inserted—
“(3A) In the case of a school which, by virtue of section 17 of the Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc. Act 2000 (asp 6), ceases to be a school which is a self-governing school, the first election for members of the School Board shall be held as soon as practicable after pupils first attend the school following that change in status of the school.”.
(1) In the event of a vacancy arising for a parent member of a School Board—
(a) a by-election shall not be held to fill the place unless, within two months after the vacancy occurs, the education authority receive a request in writing for such a by-election from whichever is the lesser of—
(i) thirty parents of pupils in attendance at the school; or
(ii) a number of such parents equal to at least a quarter of those who were entitled to vote at the most recently held regular election of parent members; and
(b) the education authority shall, as soon as practicable, take such steps as appear to the authority to be reasonable to inform the parents of the pupils in attendance at the school—
(i) that the vacancy has arisen; and
(ii) of what paragraph (a) above provides.
(2) In the event of a lesser number of parent members being elected than is necessary to make up the number for the time being prescribed for the purposes of section 2(1)(a) of the 1988 Act (which relates to the composition of a School Board), a by-election shall not be held to fill the place.
(3) Schedule 1 to this Act (which contains amendments to that Act consequential on subsections (1) and (2) above) shall have effect.
(1) For subsection (2) of section 5 of the 1988 Act (which prevents councillors from being members of certain School Boards) there shall be substituted—
“(2) A councillor for an electoral ward which falls wholly or partly within the catchment area of a school shall be entitled to attend, and to speak at, any meeting of a School Board for the time being established for that school; but no councillor shall be a member of a School Board for the time being established for a school situated within the area of the council.”.
(2) The amendment made by subsection (1) above shall have no effect as respects a councillor whose election was held before this section came into force.
In Schedule 2 to the 1988 Act (which relates to the appointment of headteachers, deputy headteachers and assistant headteachers), for paragraphs 9 to 13 (and their headings) there shall be substituted—
9 Subject to paragraph 10 below, the authority shall prepare the short leet and send it to the appointment committee; and the committee shall consider it and make their recommendation under paragraph 16 below.
10 The authority shall prepare the short leet in consultation with, and taking account of the views of—
(a) the School Board, if the post to which the short leet relates is that of headteacher of a school for which such a Board is established; and
(b) the headteacher, if the post is that of deputy headteacher or assistant headteacher.”.
In Schedule 3 to the 1988 Act, paragraphs 2 to 13 (which relate to the delegation of an education authority’s functions to a School Board on the Board’s initiative) are repealed.
(1) Section 1 of the 1980 Act (which imposes a duty on education authorities to secure the provision of education) shall be amended in accordance with this section.
(2) In subsection (1), for the word “(2)” there shall be substituted “(1A)”.
(3) After subsection (1) there shall be inserted—
“(1A) The duty imposed on education authorities by subsection (1) above shall, in relation to children who are under school age, be exercisable only as respects children of such description or descriptions as may be prescribed by order.
(1B) Where an order is made under subsection (1A) above, the amount of school education with which children of a description prescribed in that order are to be provided shall also be prescribed in the order.
(1C) An education authority shall have power in relation to pre-school children to secure for their area the provision of such school education, other than that which they are required by subsection (1) above to secure, as they think fit.”.
(4) Subsection (2) is repealed.
(5) After subsection (4) there shall be inserted—
“(4A) The power to make an order under this section shall be exercisable by statutory instrument subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of the Scottish Parliament.
(4B) In this section “pre-school children” means—
(a) children who are under school age and have not commenced attendance at a primary school (other than a nursery class in such a school); and
(b) children who have attained school age but have not commenced attendance at such a school.”.
(1) School education provided by virtue of subsections (1) and (1A) of section 1 of the 1980 Act shall be provided without payment of fees.
(2) An education authority may charge fees for school education provided by virtue of subsection (1C) of that section.
(3) For the purposes of subsections (1) and (2) above, the school education may be provided—
(a) in a nursery school;
(b) in a nursery class in a school; or
(c) in pursuance of arrangements entered into under section 35 of this Act, in some other establishment.
(4) In section 3 of the 1980 Act (which relates to the charging of fees, in certain cases, for the provision of school education etc.), after subsection (6) there shall be added—
“(7) This section does not apply as respects the provision of school education by virtue of subsections (1) and (1A), or as the case may be subsection (1C), of section 1 of this Act.”.
The Scottish Ministers may from time to time give guidance to education authorities as respects the discharge by authorities of—
(a) their functions under the 1980 Act in relation to the provision of school education for pre-school children;
(b) in so far as relating to the functions mentioned in paragraph (a) above, any other functions of education authorities under that Act; and
(c) the power conferred by section 33(2) of this Act;
and education authorities shall, in discharging those functions and exercising that power, have regard to any such guidance.
An education authority may, for the purposes of—
(a) fulfilling the duty imposed on them by subsections (1) and (1A) of section 1 of the 1980 Act; or
(b) exercising the power conferred on them by subsection (1C) of that section,
enter into arrangements with any person for the provision by that person of school education for children who are under school age or, as the case may be, for pre-school children.
In section 66 of the 1980 Act (which makes provision for the inspection of educational establishments), for subsection (1A) there shall be substituted—
“(1A) Without prejudice to subsection (1) above, the Scottish Ministers shall have power to cause inspection to be made at any establishment in which school education is provided in pursuance of arrangements entered into under section 35 of the Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc. Act 2000 (asp 6); and such inspections shall be made by Her Majesty’s Inspectors or any person appointed by the Scottish Ministers for the purposes of this section (or Her Majesty’s Inspectors and any such person).”.
(1) Where, by virtue of subsections (1) and (1A), or as the case may be subsection (1C), of section 1 of the 1980 Act, children are attending—
(a) a nursery school;
(b) a nursery class in a school; or
(c) any establishment which, though not a school, provides school education in pursuance of arrangements made under section 35 of this Act,
an education authority may make such arrangements in relation to those children as the authority think fit for the provision of any of the facilities mentioned in subsection (2) below; and any such arrangements may, in respect of any child, make provision for more than one of those facilities.
(2) The facilities are—
(a) the conveyance of children without charge for the whole or part of the journey between their homes and the schools or other establishments which they are attending;
(b) the making available (on such terms as may be agreed) of bicycles or other suitable means of transport to parents of children for the purpose of conveying the children between their homes and the schools or other establishments which they are attending, or, instead, the payment of money allowances;
(c) the payment of the whole or any part, as the authority think fit, of the reasonable travelling expenses of children.
(3) In section 51 of the 1980 Act (which relates to the provision of transport and other facilities by education authorities), after subsection (3) there shall be added—
“(4) In this section “school” does not include a nursery school or a nursery class in a school.”.
(1) Where a parent of a child who is under school age requests the education authority for the area in which the parent is ordinarily resident to admit the child to a class, other than a nursery class, in a primary school under the management of that authority, the authority shall, if the school education normally provided in such a class is suited to the ability and aptitude of the child, admit the child to such a class.
(2) Subsection (1) above is without prejudice to any other power or duty of the education authority.
Part II of the Education (Scotland) Act 1996 (c. 43) (which makes provision as respects the funding of education for children who are under school age etc.) is repealed.
For section 14 of the 1980 Act there shall be substituted—
(1) If an education authority are satisfied that, by reason of—
(a) any extraordinary circumstances (not being circumstances mentioned in paragraph (b), or subsection (2) or (3), below)—
(i) a pupil is unable; or
(ii) it would be unreasonable to expect a pupil,
to attend a suitable educational establishment for the purpose of receiving education, they may;
(b) a pupil’s prolonged ill-health—
(i) the pupil is unable; or
(ii) it would be unreasonable to expect the pupil,
to attend such an establishment for that purpose, they shall, without undue delay after those circumstances become apparent to them, make special arrangements for the pupil to receive education elsewhere than at an educational establishment.
(2) If an education authority have, under section 34(1) of this Act, granted a pupil exemption from the obligation to attend school, the exemption being to enable the pupil to give assistance at home in circumstances arising out of the illness or infirmity of a member of the pupil’s family, they shall in so far as is practicable and without undue delay make such special arrangements as are mentioned in subsection (1) above.
(3) If a pupil withdraws, excluded by the education authority (or with the consent of the authority in circumstances where he would have been so excluded but for his withdrawal), from a public school in their area they shall, without undue delay—
(a) provide school education for him in a school managed by them;
(b) make arrangements for him to receive such education in any other school the managers of which are willing to receive him; or
(c) make such special arrangements as are mentioned in subsection (1) above.”.
A pupil with legal capacity in terms of subsections (4A) and (4B) of section 2 of the Age of Legal Capacity (Scotland) Act 1991 (c. 50) shall have the same rights of appeal under section 28H of the 1980 Act as—
(a) the parent of the pupil; or
(b) the pupil, where the pupil is a young person.
(1) The Scottish Ministers may make grants to persons who, to any extent, undertake, or engage in, activities relating to school education (or propose to undertake or engage in such activities).
(2) The Scottish Ministers may make the payment of a grant in pursuance of subsection (1) above subject to such conditions and requirements (including a requirement that the whole or any part of a grant be repaid) as they think fit.
(1) The 1980 Act shall be amended in accordance with this section.
(2) In section 28A(1) (which relates to the duty to comply with a placing request), after “school”, where it secondly occurs, there shall be inserted “(other than a nursery school or a nursery class in a school)”.
(3) In section 28C (which relates to the reference to an appeal committee of a refusal of a placing request), subsection (2) is repealed.
(4) Subsection (2) above does not apply in relation to the said section 28A as substituted, in relation to a recorded child, by Schedule A2 to the 1980 Act.
(1) Section 28A of the 1980 Act shall be further amended in accordance with this section.
(2) In subsection (1), after the words “parent of a child” there shall be inserted “of school age”.
(3) After subsection (1) there shall be inserted—
“(1A) The education authorities shall—
(a) in carrying out the duty imposed on them by subsection (1) above; and
(b) in deciding when that duty does not apply,
have regard to such guidance as the Scottish Ministers may give in that respect.”.
(4) In subsection (3)(a) (which sets out certain exceptions to the duty of an education authority to accede to a parent’s request that a child be placed in a specified school under their management), after sub-paragraph (v) there shall be added—
“(vi) assuming that pupil numbers remain constant, make it necessary, at the commencement of a future stage of the child’s primary education, for the authority to elect either to create an additional class (or an additional composite class) in the specified school or to take an additional teacher into employment at that school; or
(vii) though neither of the tests set out in sub-paragraphs (i) and (ii) above is satisfied, have the consequence that the capacity of the school would be exceeded in terms of pupil numbers;”.
(5) In subsection (3A), the words “Subject to subsection (3B) below,” are repealed.
(6) Subsections (3B) and (3E) (which restrict an education authority’s entitlement, where they would be prevented from retaining reserved places at a specified school, to refuse a placing request) are repealed.
(7) Subsections (3) to (6) above apply also in relation to the said section 28A substituted as is mentioned in subsection (4) of section 43 of this Act; and in subsection (1) of section 28A as so substituted, after paragraph (b) there shall be inserted “; or
(c) a school at which education is provided—
(i) by a person to whom any payment is made under section 23 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1996 (c. 43); or
(ii) in pursuance of arrangements entered into under section 35 of the Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc. Act 2000 (asp 6),”.
(1) In section 1 of the 1965 Act (which makes provision for the establishment of the General Teaching Council for Scotland)—
(a) after subsection (2) there shall be inserted—
Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc Act 2000