|
Education and Inspections Act 2006
A Short Guide to the Education and Inspections Act 2006
Produced by the Department for Education and Skills to
inform the general reader about the provisions of the
Education and Inspection Act 2006.
Overview
The Education and Inspections Act represents a major step
forward in the Government’s aim to ensure that all
children in all schools get the education they need to
enable them to fulfil their potential.
Trust schools
Schools work best when they tailor their curriculum to
meet their pupils’ needs and take responsibility
for their own school improvement, working closely with
other schools and external partners. The Act will empower
schools by devolving as much decision-making to them as
possible, while giving local authorities an enhanced strategic
role as the champions of pupils and parents.
All schools will be able to become Trust schools by forming
links with external partners. If the school chooses, those
external partners will be able to appoint the majority
of the governing body. We expect that many schools will
acquire shared Trusts that can foster and deepen collaboration
and help to deliver improved children’s services
and a new offer for 14–19-year-olds.
Acquiring a Trust will give schools access to the freedoms
enjoyed by other foundation schools:
- • owning their own assets;
- • employing their own staff (subject to the
School Teachers Pay and Conditions Document)
- • setting their admission arrangements (subject
to the law and a newly strengthened School Admissions
Code).
Trusts will also be able to apply for additional
flexibilities which can be used by all the schools
with which they are associated.
There will be new safeguards around the acquisition
of Trusts to ensure that they operate in the best interests
of local children, contribute to raising standards
at the school and promote community cohesion.
All schools, including Trust schools, will be given
new duties to have regard to the views of parents and
to the local Children and Young People’s Plan.
Where Trusts appoint the majority of governors, they
will also have to set up a Parent Council.
Trust schools will be inspected by Ofsted in the same
way as other publicly funded schools.
Local Authorities
Local authorities will take on a new strategic role,
with duties to promote:
- choice;
- diversity;
- high standards
- the fulfillment of every child’s educational
potential.
They will respond to parental concerns about the quality
of local schools and, in doing so, they will have new
powers to intervene earlier where performance is poor.
The local authority, as the commissioner of school places,
will be able to propose expansions to all categories
of school, set the terms for school competitions and
take all decisions relating to school organisation.
Fair Access
The Act places a duty on local authorities in England
to promote fair access to educational opportunity and
tightens the admissions framework to ensure this.
As well as reaffirming the ban on new selection by ability,
the Act will:
- • outlaw interviewing;
- • create a new power for Admission Forums
to produce an annual report and to refer objections
to the Schools Adjudicator;
- • make the Adjudicator’s decisions binding
for three years;
- • strengthen the status of the School Admissions
Code.
The new Code will prohibit oversubscription criteria
that seek to select by stealth (such as the use of supplementary
application forms) and provide clear guidelines on uniform
and transport policies that might undermine a fair admission
system and disadvantage children from poorer families.
Fair access will also be supported by:
- • an extended duty on local authorities to
provide free transport for the most disadvantaged
families;
- • a new duty to provide advice and assistance
to parents in expressing a preference for a school
for their child.
Behaviour
Behaviour has long been a major concern for school staff
and parents alike. The Act will give effect to some
of the key recommendations of the recent Steer report.
It will create, for the first time, a clear statutory
right for school staff to discipline pupils, putting
an end to the “You can’t tell me what to
do” culture.
t will extend the scope of parenting orders and contracts
and will improve provision for excluded pupils, with
parents taking responsibility for excluded pupils in
the first five days of their exclusion.
Governing bodies and local authorities will be required
to provide full-time alternative provision from the sixth
day of an exclusion.
14–19 year-olds
The Act gives effect to the most important reforms of
curriculum and qualifications since the introduction
of the National Curriculum.
In the 14–19 White Paper, we set out our plans
to transform opportunity for young people through changes
to curriculum, qualifications and the organisation of
education and training. This is to enable every young
person to pursue a course of study that prepares them
for success in life.
Central to this is the introduction of 14 new specialised
Diplomas. The Act makes access to Diplomas an entitlement
for every young person everywhere.
In order to deliver the entitlement to young people aged
14–16, schools will need to work with each other
and with colleges and other providers. The Act also empowers
them to enter into formal collaboration with Further
Education colleges.
School Food
The Act will revolutionise the provision of school meals.
It establishes the power to create tough new nutritional
standards for food and drink served in maintained schools,
to ensure that all children have access throughout the
day to good quality food and drink.
Youth
The Act will give local authorities responsibility for
making sure young people have a range of exciting and
positive things to do in their spare time, as promised
in the recent Youth Green Paper, Youth Matters.
This will increase their access to new opportunities
and new experiences, and empower them to shape the services
they receive.
Inspectorate Reform
Finally, the Act will merge several existing inspectorates
to bring all learning issues within one body. It will
cover the full range of services for children and young
people, as well as for lifelong learning.
|
|
|
|
