Valid from 26/04/2013
Valid from 01/10/2013
Proposals made under this Part to establish a new school may relate to the establishment of the school as a federated school (within the meaning given by section 21(1) of the Education (Wales) Measure 2011).
No proposals may be made for the establishment of a school in England which is proposed to be maintained by a local authority in Wales.
(1)The governing body of a foundation or voluntary school may discontinue the school by giving the Welsh Ministers and the local authority that maintains the school two years' notice of its intention to do so.
(2)The Welsh Ministers' consent is required before giving a notice under this section if expenditure has been incurred on the school premises (otherwise than in connection with repairs)—
(a)by the Welsh Ministers, or
(b)by any local authority.
(3)The governing body must consult the Welsh Ministers before giving a notice under this section if discontinuing the school would affect the facilities for full-time education suitable to the requirements of persons over compulsory school age who have not attained the age of 19.
(4)If, while a notice under this section is in force, the governing body informs the local authority that it is unable or unwilling to carry on the school until the notice expires, the authority—
(a)may conduct the school for all or part of the unexpired period of the notice as if it were a community school, and
(b)is entitled to use the school premises free of charge for that purpose.
(5)While the school is being so conducted—
(a)the authority must keep the school premises in good repair, and
(b)any interest in the premises which is held for the purposes of the school is to be treated, for all purposes relating to the condition, occupation or use of the premises, or the making of alterations to them, as vested in the authority.
(6)Despite subsection (5) the governing body may use the premises, or any part of them, when not required for the purposes of the school to the same extent as if it had continued to carry on the school during the unexpired period of the notice.
(7)A notice under subsection (1) may not be withdrawn without the consent of the local authority.
(8)If a foundation or voluntary school is discontinued under this section, the duty of the local authority to maintain the school as a foundation or voluntary school ceases.
(9)Nothing in section 43 applies in relation to the discontinuance of a foundation or voluntary school under this section.
(10)Subsection (11) applies where—
(a)land occupied by the school is held by any trustees for the purposes of the school,
(b)the trustees (being entitled to do so) intend to give notice to the governing body of the school to terminate the school's occupation of that land, and
(c)the termination of the school's occupation of that land would have the result that it was not reasonably practicable for the school to continue to be conducted at its existing site.
(11)The notice given by the trustees to the governing body to terminate the school's occupation of the land must be at least two years; but if, during the first twelve months of that notice period, the governing body gives notice under subsection (1), the trustees' notice does not have the effect of terminating the school's occupation of the land until the expiry of the governing body's notice.
(12)A copy of the trustees' notice must also be given to the Welsh Ministers and the local authority at the time when the notice is given to the governing body.
(13)Where trustees give, at the same (or substantially the same) time, notices purporting to terminate a foundation or voluntary school's occupation of two or more pieces of land held by the trustees for the purposes of the school, then for the purpose of determining whether subsection (10)(c) applies in relation to any of those pieces of land, regard may be had to the combined effect of terminating the school's occupation of both or all of them.
(14)If a question arises as to whether the termination of a school's occupation of any land would have the result mentioned in subsection (10)(c) (including a question as to whether subsection (13) applies in any particular circumstances), it is to be determined by the Welsh Ministers.
(1)The Welsh Ministers may direct a local authority to discontinue a community special school maintained by it on a specified date, if they consider it expedient to do so in the interests of the health, safety or welfare of pupils at the school.
(2)A direction under subsection (1) may require the local authority to notify specified persons or a specified class of persons.
(3)Before giving a direction under subsection (1), the Welsh Ministers must consult—
(a)the local authority,
(b)any other local authority that would in their opinion be affected by the discontinuance of the school, and
(c)any other persons the Welsh Ministers consider appropriate.
(4)On giving a direction under subsection (1), the Welsh Ministers must give notice in writing of the direction to the governing body of the school and its head teacher.
(5)A local authority to which a direction is given under subsection (1) must discontinue the school in question on the date specified in the direction.
(6)Nothing in section 44 applies to the discontinuance of a school under this section.
(1)This section applies to proposals for a school to cease to be a single-sex school.
(2)The making of such proposals under section 59, 68 or 71 is to be treated as an application by the responsible body to the Welsh Ministers for a transitional exemption order under the 2010 Act, and the Welsh Ministers may make such an order accordingly.
(3)In this section—
“the 2010 Act” (“Deddf 2010”) means the Equality Act 2010;
“make” (“gwneud”), in relation to a transitional exemption order, includes vary or revoke;
“the responsible body” (“y corff sy’n gyfrifol”) has the same meaning as in section 85 of the 2010 Act;
“single-sex school” (“ysgol un rhyw”) has the same meaning as in paragraph 1 of Schedule 11 to the 2010 Act;
“transitional exemption order” (“gorchymyn esemptio trosiannol”) has the same meaning as in paragraph 3 of Schedule 11 to the 2010 Act.
(1)In this Part—
“powers to make proposals to establish, alter or discontinue schools” (“pwerau i wneud cynigion i sefydlu, newid neu derfynu ysgolion”) means all or any of the powers of a local authority to make proposals under section 41, 42, 43 or 44;
“powers to make proposals to alter its school” (“pwerau i wneud cynigion i newid ei ysgol”), in relation to the governing body of a foundation or voluntary school, means its powers to make proposals under section 42(2).
(2)A reference in this Part to a school's category means one of the categories set out in section 20(1) of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 (and references to a change of category are to be read accordingly).
(3)A reference in this Part to the discontinuance of a maintained school is a reference to the local authority ceasing to maintain it.