The Education (Special Schools) Regulations 1994

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

These Regulations replace the Education (Approval of Special Schools) Regulations 1983, as amended, which are revoked by regulation 3. They make new provision for the approval by the Secretary of State as special schools of schools which are not maintained by a local education authority and which are not grant-maintained schools (“non-maintained special schools”). They prescribe the requirements which must be observed by such schools in order to be approved and while such approval is in force.

Under section 188(3) of the Education Act 1993, any special school which is in existence at the date when that section comes into force (1st April 1994) is to be treated as approved under section 188. The Regulations prescribe the requirements to be observed by such schools and also by new special schools maintained by a local education authority, new grant-maintained special schools the proposals for which have been approved by the Secretary of State under section 184 of the 1993 Act and special schools which become grant-maintained special schools under section 186, which are also to be treated as approved under section 188. The requirements now include provisions relating to sex education (Schedule, paragraph 10).

Provision is made for the withdrawal of such approval (regulation 7) and for special schools in hospitals (regulation 8).

The Regulations prescribe the information to be included in the notices which have to be served when a local education authority proposes to establish a new maintained special school, when specified alterations (regulation 9) in maintained special schools are proposed and when it is proposed to discontinue such a school (regulation 11). They also prescribe on whom such notices are to be served (regulation 10).