The Education (Information About Children in Alternative Provision) (Wales) Regulations 2009

Title and commencement

1.  The title of these Regulations is the Education (Information About Children in Alternative Provision) (Wales) Regulations 2009 and they come into force on 12 January 2010.

Interpretation

2.  In these Regulations—

• “the 1996 Act” (“Deddf 1996”) means the Education Act 1996;

• “approved external qualification” (“cymhwyster allanol a gymeradwywyd”) is a qualification within the meaning of sections 96(5) and 97(5) of the Learning and Skills Act 2000 that, at the relevant time, is approved under section 99 of the Learning and Skills Act 2000(1) for the purposes of sections 96 and 97 of the Learning and Skills Act 2000;

• “funded independent school education” (“addysg ysgol annibynnol a ariennir”) has the meaning given to it by regulation 3(b);

• “funded provision” (“darpariaeth a ariennir”) has the meaning given to it by regulation 3;

• “individual information” (“gwybodaeth am unigolion”) means, in relation to funded independent school education and pupil referral units, individual pupil information, and in relation to funded education, individual child information;

• “attendance record” (“cofnod presenoldeb”) means the record of a pupil’s school attendance contained in the register kept in accordance with section 434 of the 1996 Act and the Education (Pupil Registration) Regulations 1995(2);

• “relevant local authority” (“awdurdod lleol perthnasol”) means the local education authority in Wales that funds or will fund the funded provision;

• “result” (“canlyniad”) in relation to any teacher assessment means the result of the assessment as determined and recorded by a teacher;

• “special educational needs” (“anghenion addysgol arbennig”) has the meaning given to it by section 312 of the 1996 Act(3);

• “teacher assessment” (“asesiad athrawon”) means an assessment by a teacher of a child’s subject level of attainment in the subjects and activities forming part of the curriculum that child has been taught;

• “unique pupil number” (“Rhif unigryw disgybl”) means a combination of numbers which together with a letter or letters are allocated to a pupil and are unique to him or her, by use of a formula determined by the Welsh Ministers; and

• “unit or credit” (“uned neu gredyd”), in relation to a qualification, means a module or part of a course leading to that qualification which, when successfully completed, can be counted together with other modules or parts towards obtaining that qualification.

Application

3.  These Regulations apply in relation to—

(a) funded education provided under arrangements made by a relevant local authority;

(b) education provided at an independent school arranged and funded by a local education authority in Wales pursuant to section 19 of the 1996 Act (in these Regulations referred to as “funded independent school education”); and

(c) education provided in a pupil referral unit funded by a relevant local authority,

and in these Regulations a reference to funded provision is a reference to such funded education, such funded independent school education and such education in a pupil referral unit.

Requirement to provide individual information to Welsh Ministers

4.  Within 14 days of receiving a request in writing from the Welsh Ministers a person who provides funded provision must provide to the Welsh Ministers, such of the individual information referred to in Schedule 1 as is requested.

Requirement to provide individual information to relevant local authority

5.—(1) For the purposes of sections 537A(2)(b) and 537B(2)(b), the relevant local authority is a prescribed person.

(2) Within 14 days of receiving a request in writing from the relevant local authority a person who provides funded provision must provide to the authority such of the individual information referred to in paragraphs 1 to 6 of Schedule 1 as is requested.

Other persons to whom individual information supplied may be passed in addition to the relevant local authority

6.  For the purposes of sections 537A(3)(b) and 537(3)(b) of the 1996 Act a prescribed person is the Careers Wales companies established to provide careers services in Wales under sections 2, 8 and 10 of the Employment and Training Act 1973(4).

Additional persons to whom Welsh Ministers may provide individual information

7.—(1) For the purposes of sections 537A(4)(b) and 537B(4)(b) of the 1996 Act a prescribed person is any of the following—

(a) the relevant local authority;

(b) Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education and Training in Wales or Prif Arolygydd Ei Mawrhydi dros Addysg a Hyfforddiant yng Nghymru; and

(c) the Careers Wales companies established to provide careers services in Wales under sections 2, 8 and 10 of the Employment and Training Act 1973.

(2) A prescribed category for the purposes of sections 537A(4)(c) and 537B(4)(c) of the 1996 Act is that of persons who are conducting research into the educational achievements of children and who require individual information for that purpose.

Additional persons to whom information collators may provide individual information

8.—(1) For the purposes of sections 537A(5)(b)(i) and 537B(5)(b)(i) of the 1996 Act a prescribed person is—

(a) the relevant local authority;

(b) Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education and Training in Wales or Prif Arolygydd Ei Mawrhydi dros Addysg a Hyfforddiant yng Nghymru.

(2) A prescribed category for the purposes of sections 537A(5)(b)(ii) and 537B(5)(b)(ii) of the 1996 Act is that of persons who are conducting research into the educational achievements of children and who require individual information for that purpose.

Report to parents

9.—(1) The teacher in charge of a pupil referral unit and the proprietor of an independent school must make available to the parent of each child of compulsory school age to whom it provides funded provision, each school year, a report in writing containing the individual information specified in Schedule 2.

(2) The parent of each child of compulsory school age to whom the teacher in charge of a pupil referral unit or the proprietor of an independent school provides funded provision, is a prescribed person for the purposes of section 537A(2)(b) of the 1996 Act.

(3) Nothing in this regulation prevents the individual information specified in Schedule 2 being contained in more than one report provided that, subject to paragraph (5), the provider of the funded provision must each school year send such information by post or otherwise before the end of the summer term.

(4) The period to which a report containing the individual information in Schedule 2 relates must in all cases begin with the later of–

(a) the date on which the person providing funded provision began providing such education to the child; or

(b) the end of the period to which the last report on such matters made pursuant to these Regulations related.

(5) Where any of the particulars necessary to provide the information specified in paragraphs 6, 7 or 8 of Schedule 2 are not received by the provider of the funded provision until after the end of the summer term, he or she must make available such information as soon as practicable and in any event not later than the following 30 September.

Leighton Andrews

Minister for Children, Education, and Lifelong Learning, one of the Welsh Ministers

17 December 2009