- Latest available (Revised)
- Original (As enacted)
Education Act 2002
You are here:
What Version
Advanced Features
- Show Geographical Extent(e.g. England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland)
- Show Timeline of Changes
Opening Options
More Resources
Changes over time for: Section 79
Alternative versions:
Changes to legislation:
Education Act 2002, Section 79 is up to date with all changes known to be in force on or before 26 December 2024. There are changes that may be brought into force at a future date. Changes that have been made appear in the content and are referenced with annotations.
Changes to Legislation
Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. Changes and effects are recorded by our editorial team in lists which can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area. Where those effects have yet to be applied to the text of the legislation by the editorial team they are also listed alongside the legislation in the affected provisions. Use the ‘more’ link to open the changes and effects relevant to the provision you are viewing.
Changes and effects yet to be applied to Section 79:
- s. 27(1A) inserted by 2010 c. 26 s. 4(1)
- s. 29B inserted by 2008 c. 25 s. 157
- s. 85 85A substituted for s. 85 by 2006 c. 40 s. 74(1)
- s. 86(1) s. 86 renumbered as s. 86(1) by 2006 c. 40 s. 74(2)(c)
- s. 86(2) inserted by 2006 c. 40 s. 74(2)(c)
- s. 88(2)-(7) inserted by 2006 c. 40 s. 74(3)
- s. 210A inserted by 2008 c. 25 Sch. 1 para. 79
- specified provision(s) amendment to earlier commencing SI 2003/1667 Sch. para. 1 by S.I. 2004/571 Sch.
- specified provision(s) amendment to earlier commencing SI 2003/1667 Sch. para. 1A and 2 by S.I. 2005/2570 art. 2
Changes and effects yet to be applied to the whole Act associated Parts and Chapters:
Whole provisions yet to be inserted into this Act (including any effects on those provisions):
- s. 27(1A) inserted by 2010 c. 26 s. 4(1)
- s. 29B inserted by 2008 c. 25 s. 157
- s. 85 85A substituted for s. 85 by 2006 c. 40 s. 74(1)
- s. 86(1) s. 86 renumbered as s. 86(1) by 2006 c. 40 s. 74(2)(c)
- s. 86(2) inserted by 2006 c. 40 s. 74(2)(c)
- s. 88(2)-(7) inserted by 2006 c. 40 s. 74(3)
- s. 210A inserted by 2008 c. 25 Sch. 1 para. 79
79 Duty to implement general requirementsE+W
This section has no associated Explanatory Notes
[F1(1)The Secretary of State shall exercise his functions with a view to securing that the curriculum for every maintained school or maintained nursery school satisfies the requirements of section 78.
(2)Every [F2local authority] in England shall exercise their functions with a view to securing that the curriculum for every maintained school or maintained nursery school which they maintain satisfies the requirements of section 78.]
(3)The governing body and head teacher of every maintained school or maintained nursery school shall exercise their functions with a view to securing that the curriculum for the school satisfies the requirements of section 78.
(4)The functions referred to in subsections (1) to (3) include in particular—
(a)functions conferred by this Part in relation to the National Curriculum for England, and
(b)except in relation to maintained nursery schools F3..., functions relating to religious education and religious worship.
F4(5). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[F5(6)In exercising any function which may affect the provision of sex education in maintained schools (whether or not as part of the education required to be provided under section 80(1)(d)), every local authority in England must have regard to relevant guidance issued by the Secretary of State under section 80A of this Act or section 403(1A) of the Education Act 1996.]
(7)Except to the extent provided in subsection (6), nothing in this section shall be taken to impose duties on a [F2local authority] with regard to sex education.
Textual Amendments
F1S. 79(1)(2) substituted (1.9.2008) by Childcare Act 2006 (c. 21), s. 109(2), Sch. 1 para. 6(2); S.I. 2008/2261, art. 2 (with Sch. 1)
F2Words in Act substituted (5.5.2010) by The Local Education Authorities and Children’s Services Authorities (Integration of Functions) Order 2010 (S.I. 2010/1158), art. 1, Sch. 2 para. 11(2)
F3Words in s. 79(4)(b) repealed (1.9.2008) by Childcare Act 2006 (c. 21), s. 109(2), Sch. 1 para. 6(3), Sch. 3 Pt. 1; S.I. 2008/2261, art. 2 (with Sch. 1)
F4S. 79(5) repealed (1.9.2008) by Childcare Act 2006 (c. 21), s. 109(2), Sch. 1 para. 6(4), Sch. 3 Pt. 1; S.I. 2008/2261, art. 2 (with Sch. 1)
F5S. 79(6) substituted (1.9.2020) by The Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education and Health Education (England) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/924), reg. 1(2), Sch. para. 6
Options/Help
Print Options
PrintThe Whole Act
PrintThe Whole Part
PrintThe Whole Cross Heading
PrintThis Section only
You have chosen to open The Whole Act
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
You have chosen to open The Whole Act as a PDF
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download.
Would you like to continue?
You have chosen to open The Whole Act without Schedules
The Whole Act without Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
You have chosen to open The Whole Act without Schedules as a PDF
The Whole Act without Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download.
Would you like to continue?
You have chosen to open the Whole Act
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
You have chosen to open the Whole Act without Schedules
The Whole Act without Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
You have chosen to open Schedules only
The Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
Legislation is available in different versions:
Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.
Original (As Enacted or Made): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.
See additional information alongside the content
Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.
Opening Options
Different options to open legislation in order to view more content on screen at once
Explanatory Notes
Text created by the government department responsible for the subject matter of the Act to explain what the Act sets out to achieve and to make the Act accessible to readers who are not legally qualified. Explanatory Notes were introduced in 1999 and accompany all Public Acts except Appropriation, Consolidated Fund, Finance and Consolidation Acts.
More Resources
Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
- the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
- lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
- confers power and blanket amendment details
- all formats of all associated documents
- correction slips
- links to related legislation and further information resources
Timeline of Changes
This timeline shows the different points in time where a change occurred. The dates will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. The first date in the timeline will usually be the earliest date when the provision came into force. In some cases the first date is 01/02/1991 (or for Northern Ireland legislation 01/01/2006). This date is our basedate. No versions before this date are available. For further information see the Editorial Practice Guide and Glossary under Help.
More Resources
Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
- the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
- correction slips
Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including:
- lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
- confers power and blanket amendment details
- all formats of all associated documents
- links to related legislation and further information resources
All content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. This site additionally contains content derived from EUR-Lex, reused under the terms of the Commission Decision 2011/833/EU on the reuse of documents from the EU institutions. For more information see the EUR-Lex public statement on re-use.