Education Act 1993

194 Specification of schools in notices under section 193(2)

(1) Subject to subsection (3) below, a local education authority shall not, if it appears to them that subsection (2) below applies in relation to any school, specify the school in a notice under section 193(2) of this Act unless they are responsible for determining the arrangements for the admission of pupils to the school.

(2) This subsection applies where, if the child concerned were admitted to the school in accordance with a school attendance order resulting from the notice, the number of pupils at the school in the child’s age group would exceed the number fixed—

(a) in the case of a maintained school, in accordance with section 26 of the [1988 c. 40.] Education Reform Act 1988 (admissions to county and voluntary schools), and

(b) in the case of a grant-maintained school, in accordance with sections 149 to 151 of this Act,

as the number of pupils in that age group which it is intended to admit to the school in the school year in which he would be admitted.

(3) Subsection (1) above does not prevent a local education authority specifying in a notice under section 193(2) of this Act any maintained or grant-maintained school if there is no maintained or grant-maintained school in their area—

(a) which subsection (1) above does not (apart from this subsection) prevent them from specifying, and

(b) which is, in their opinion, a reasonable distance from the home of the child concerned,

and, in the opinion of the authority, the school is a reasonable distance from the home of the child concerned.

(4) A local education authority shall not specify in a notice under section 193(2) of this Act a school from which the child concerned is permanently excluded.

(5) Before deciding to specify a particular maintained or grant-maintained school in a notice under section 193(2) of this Act a local education authority shall consult—

(a) the governing body, and

(b) if another local education authority are responsible for determining the arrangements for the admission of pupils to the school, that authority.

(6) Where a local education authority decide to specify a particular maintained or grant-maintained school in a notice under section 193(2) of this Act they shall, before serving the notice, serve notice in writing of their decision on—

(a) the governing body and head teacher of the school, and

(b) if another local education authority are responsible for determining the arrangements for the admission of pupils to the school, that authority.

(7) A governing body or local education authority on whom notice is served under subsection (6) above may, within the period of fifteen days beginning with the day on which the notice was received, apply to the Secretary of State for a direction under this section and if they do so, shall inform the local education authority which served the notice.

(8) Where the Secretary of State gives a direction under this section, the school or schools to be specified in the notice under section 193(2) of this Act shall be determined in accordance with the direction.