Education Reform Act 1988

45 Staff at aided schools. E+W

(1) This section applies to an aided school at any time when it has a delegated budget.

(2) None of the following shall have effect in relation to a school to which this section for the time being applies—

(a) section 22(4) of the 1944 Act (power of local education authority to give directions to governors of aided school as to number and conditions of service of school maintenance staff); and

(b) any provision of the articles of government conferring any functions on a local education authority with respect to the number of teachers or other staff to be employed at the school or the appointment or dismissal of such teachers or other staff (including any such provision required by section 24(2) of that Act).

(3) Subject to any provision of the articles of government of any such school other than any provision for the time being excluded by subsection (2) above from applying to the school, the governing body of the school shall have (if they would not otherwise do so apart from any provision of the articles so excluded) power to appoint, suspend and dismiss staff as they think fit.

(4) Subsection (6) below applies if in the case of any such school—

(a) the governing body of the school agree with the local education authority to accord advisory rights to the chief education officer of the authority in relation to the appointment or dismissal of teachers at the school; or

(b) in default of such agreement the Secretary of State determines that it would be appropriate in the case of the school that such rights should be accorded to the chief education officer of the authority.

(5) Advisory rights accorded by an agreement or determination under subsection (4) above in the case of any school may relate to the appointment or dismissal, or both to the appointment and the dismissal, either of head teachers and deputy head teachers alone or of all teachers at the school.

(6) During any period while an agreement or determination under subsection (4) above is effective in the case of any school, the chief education officer of the authority, or an officer of the authority nominated by him, shall be entitled to attend all proceedings of the governing body relating to any action to which the advisory rights accorded to him extend (including interviews) for the purpose of giving advice to the governing body.

(7) The agreement of a governing body for the purposes of subsection (4)(a) above shall be given in writing and may only be withdrawn by notice in writing to the local education authority.

(8) A determination by the Secretary of State for the purposes of subsection (4)(b) above may be withdrawn at any time (without prejudice to a further determination for those purposes).

(9) The governing body of a school to which this section for the time being applies shall, on dismissing any member of the staff of the school employed by them, notify the local education authority in writing of the reasons for the dismissal.

(10) Where any member of the staff at any such school is employed by the local education authority, paragraphs 8 to 10 of Schedule 3 to this Act shall have effect in relation to his dismissal or withdrawal from the school as they have effect in relation to the dismissal or withdrawal from a school to which section 44 of this Act applies of a person employed to work at the school.

(11) Within the period of five years beginning with the date on which the financial year begins in which any aided school first has a delegated budget under a scheme, it shall be the duty of the local education authority concerned to amend the articles of government of the school so as to include a statement indicating that provisions of the articles of a kind mentioned in subsection (2)(b) above (specifying those provisions) are superseded by this section during any period when the school has a delegated budget.