Part I General
Chapter III Local education authorities
General functions
C113 General responsibility for education.
1
A local education authority shall (so far as their powers enable them to do so) contribute towards the spiritual, moral, mental and physical development of the community by securing that efficient primary education, F1and secondary educationF18and, in the case of a local education authority in England, further education, are available to meet the needs of the population of their area.
2
The duty imposed by subsection (1) does not extend to matters in respect of which any duty is imposed on—
F13aa
the National Assembly for Wales under Part 2 of the Learning and Skills Act 2000, or
b
the higher education funding councils established under section 62 of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992.
F193
The reference in subsection (1) to further education is to further education for persons—
none
a
who are over compulsory school age but under 19, or
b
who are aged 19 or over but under 25 and are subject to learning difficulty assessment.
4
For the purposes of this Act a person is subject to learning difficulty assessment if—
a
a learning difficulty assessment has been conducted in respect of the person, or
b
arrangements for a learning difficulty assessment to be conducted in respect of the person have been made or are required to be made.
5
In subsection (4), a “learning difficulty assessment” means an assessment under section 139A or 140 of the Learning and Skills Act 2000 (assessments relating to learning difficulties).
6
For the purposes of subsection (1), persons who are subject to a detention order are to be regarded as part of the population of the area in which they are detained (and not any other area).
13AF21Duty to promote high standards and fulfilment of potential
1
A local education authority in England must ensure that their relevant education functions and their relevant training functions are (so far as they are capable of being so exercised) exercised by the authority with a view to—
a
promoting high standards,
b
ensuring fair access to opportunity for education and training, and
c
promoting the fulfilment of learning potential by every person to whom this subsection applies.
2
Subsection (1) applies to the following—
a
persons under the age of 20;
b
persons aged 20 or over but under 25 who are subject to learning difficulty assessment.
3
A local education authority in Wales must ensure that their relevant education functions and their relevant training functions are (so far as they are capable of being so exercised) exercised by the authority with a view to—
a
promoting high standards, and
b
promoting the fulfilment of learning potential by every person to whom this subsection applies.
4
Subsection (3) applies to persons under the age of 20.
5
In this section—
“education” and “training” have the same meanings as in section 15ZA;
“relevant education function”, in relation to a local education authority in England, means a function relating to the provision of education for—
- a
persons of compulsory school age (whether at school or otherwise);
- b
persons (whether at school or otherwise) who are over compulsory school age and to whom subsection (1) applies;
- c
persons who are under compulsory school age and are registered as pupils at schools maintained by the authority;
- a
“relevant education function”, in relation to a local education authority in Wales, means a function relating to the provision of education for—
- a
persons of compulsory school age (whether at school or otherwise);
- b
persons (whether at school or otherwise) who are over compulsory school age but under the age of 20;
- c
persons who are under compulsory school age and are registered as pupils at schools maintained by the authority;
- a
“relevant training function” means a function relating to the provision of training.
14 Functions in respect of provision of primary and secondary schools.
1
A local education authority shall secure that sufficient schools for providing—
a
primary education, and
b
education that is secondary education by virtue of section 2(2)(a),
are available for their area.
2
The schools available for an area shall not be regarded as sufficient for the purposes of subsection (1) unless they are sufficient in number, character and equipment to provide for all pupils the opportunity of appropriate education.
3
In subsection (2) “appropriate education” means education which offers such variety of instruction and training as may be desirable in view of—
a
the pupils’ different ages, abilities and aptitudes, and
b
the different periods for which they may be expected to remain at school,
including practical instruction and training appropriate to their different needs.
F153A
A local education authority in England shall exercise their functions under this section with a view to—
a
securing diversity in the provision of schools, and
b
increasing opportunities for parental choice.
4
A local education authority is not by virtue of subsection (1)(a) under any duty in respect of children under F3compulsory school age.
F44A
A local education authority for an area in Wales may secure that regional schools for providing—
a
primary education, and
b
education that is secondary education by virtue of section 2(2)(a),
are available for Wales or any part of Wales that includes the area of the authority.
4B
For this purpose a “regional school”, in relation to a local education authority, is a school maintained by that authority which provides education to meet both—
a
the needs of pupils with particular special educational needs in their area, and
b
the needs of such pupils in the rest, or any other part, of Wales,
whether or not the institution also provides education suitable to the requirements of other pupils.
F55
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6
In exercising their functions under this section, a local education authority shall in particular have regard to—
a
the need for securing that primary and secondary education are provided in separate schools;
b
the need for securing that special educational provision is made for pupils who have special educational needs; and
c
the expediency of securing the provision of boarding accommodation (in boarding schools or otherwise) for pupils for whom education as boarders is considered by their parents and the authority to be desirable.
7
The duty imposed by subsection (6)(a) does not apply in relation to middle schools or special schools.
14AF14Duty of local education authority to consider parental representations
1
Where a local education authority in England receive any representation from a parent of a qualifying child as to the exercise by the authority of their functions under section 14, the authority shall—
a
consider the representation and what action (if any) to take in response to it, and
b
within a reasonable time provide the parent with a statement setting out—
i
any action which the authority propose to take in response to the representation, or
ii
where the authority are of the opinion that no such action is necessary, their reasons for being of that opinion.
2
In subsection (1) “qualifying child”, in relation to a local education authority, means any child in the authority's area who is of or under compulsory school age.
3
Subsection (1) does not apply in relation to any representation which—
a
appears to the local education authority to be frivolous or vexatious, or
b
is the same as, or similar to, a representation previously received by the authority from the same person.
4
In exercising their functions under this section, a local education authority must have regard to any guidance given from time to time by the Secretary of State.
F615 Functions in respect of provision of further education.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
15ZAC4C4F16Duty in respect of education and training for persons over compulsory school age: England
1
A local education authority in England must secure that enough suitable education and training is provided to meet the reasonable needs of—
a
persons in their area who are over compulsory school age but under 19, and
b
persons in their area who are aged 19 or over but under 25 and are subject to learning difficulty assessment.
2
A local education authority may comply with subsection (1) by securing the provision of education or training outside as well as within their area.
3
In deciding for the purposes of subsection (1) whether education or training is suitable to meet persons' reasonable needs, a local education authority must (in particular) have regard to—
a
the persons' ages, abilities and aptitudes;
b
any learning difficulties the persons may have;
c
the quality of the education or training;
d
the locations and times at which the education or training is provided.
4
In performing the duty imposed by subsection (1) a local education authority must—
a
act with a view to encouraging diversity in the education and training available to persons;
b
act with a view to increasing opportunities for persons to exercise choice;
c
act with a view to enabling persons to whom Part 1 of the Education and Skills Act 2008 applies to fulfil the duty imposed by section 2 of that Act;
d
take account of education and training whose provision the authority think might reasonably be secured by other persons.
5
A local education authority must, in—
a
making any determination as to the provision of apprenticeship training that should be secured under subsection (1), or
b
securing the provision of any apprenticeship training under that subsection,
co-operate with the Chief Executive of Skills Funding.
6
For the purposes of this section a person has a learning difficulty if—
a
the person has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of persons of the same age, or
b
the person has a disability which either prevents or hinders the person from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided by institutions providing education or training for persons who are over compulsory school age.
7
But a person is not to be taken to have a learning difficulty solely because the language (or form of language) in which the person is or will be taught is different from a language (or form of language) which has at any time been spoken in the person's home.
8
In this section—
“apprenticeship training” means training provided in connection with—
- a
an apprenticeship agreement (within the meaning given in section 32 of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009),
- b
any other contract of employment, or
- c
any other kind of working in relation to which alternative English completion conditions apply under section 1(5) of that Act (meaning of “completing an English apprenticeship”);
- a
“education” includes full-time and part-time education;
“training” includes—
- a
full-time and part-time training;
- b
vocational, social, physical and recreational training;
- c
apprenticeship training.
- a
9
The references in subsection (1) to—
a
persons in a local authority's area who are over compulsory school age but under 19, and
b
persons in a local authority's area who are aged 19 or over but under 25 and are subject to learning difficulty assessment,
do not include persons who are subject to a detention order.
15ZBCo-operation in performance of section 15ZA duty
Local education authorities in England must co-operate with each other in performing their duties under section 15ZA(1).
15ZCF17Encouragement of education and training for persons over compulsory school age: England
1
A local education authority in England must—
a
encourage participation in education and training by persons in their area who are within section 15ZA(1)(a) or (b);
b
encourage employers to participate in the provision of education and training for such persons.
2
For the purposes of subsection (1)(b), participating in the provision of training includes participating by entering into—
a
an apprenticeship agreement (within the meaning given in section 32 of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009), or
b
any other contract of employment in connection with which training is provided.
3
In this section “education” and “training” have the same meanings as in section 15ZA.
C2F715AF26Powers in respect of education and training for 16 to 18 year olds.
1
F231ZA
A local education authority in England may secure the provision for their area of full-time or part-time education suitable to the requirements of persons from other areas who are over compulsory school age but have not attained the age of 19.
F91A
The power under F24subsections (1) and (1ZA) to secure the provision of education includes power to secure the provision—
a
of training, including vocational, social, physical and recreational training, and
b
of organised leisure time occupation (within the meaning of section 2(6)) which is provided in connection with the provision of education or of training within paragraph (a).
2
Subsections (6) and (7) of section 14 shall apply in relation to functions under this section C3in respect of secondary education as they apply in relation to functions under that section.
F103
In exercising their functions under this section in respect of further education a local education authority shall in particular have regard to the needs of persons with learning difficulties (within the meaning of F25section 15ZA(6) and (7)).
4
A local education authority may do anything which appears to them to be necessary or expedient for the purposes of or in connection with the exercise of their functions under this section.
15BF11 Functions in respect of education for persons over 19.
1
A local education authority may secure the provision for their area of full-time or part-time education suitable to the requirements of persons who have attained the age of 19, including provision for persons from other areas.
2
The power under subsection (1) to secure the provision of education includes power to secure the provision—
a
of training, including vocational, social, physical and recreational training, and
b
of organised leisure time occupation (within the meaning of section 2(6)) which is provided in connection with the provision of education or of training within paragraph (a).
3
In exercising their functions under this section a local education authority shall in particular have regard to the needs of persons with learning difficulties (within the meaning of F27section 15ZA(6) and (7) ).
4
A local education authority may do anything which appears to them to be necessary or expedient for the purposes of or in connection with the exercise of their functions under this section.
5
This section does not apply to higher education.