The Education Act 2011 (c. 21) is an Act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

. It was the first major piece of education legislation to be introduced by the coalition government, and makes changes to many areas of educational policy, including the power of school staff to discipline students, the manner in which newly trained teachers are supervised, the regulation of qualifications, the administration of local authority maintained schools,

academies An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

, the provision of post-16 education, including vocational

apprenticeships Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

, and student finance for

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after comple ...

. The Act also brought about the abolition of the

General Teaching Council for England The General Teaching Council for England (GTCE) was the professional body for teaching in England between 2000 and 2012. The GTC was established by the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998 which set two aims: "to contribute to improving standa ...

, the

Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency The Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA) was a charity, and an executive non-departmental public body (NDPB) of the Department for Education. In England and Northern Ireland, the QCDA maintained and developed the National ...

and the

Training and Development Agency for Schools The Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) was a body responsible for the initial and in-service training of teachers and other school staff in England. It was an executive non-departmental public body of the Department for Education. ...

, amongst other bodies. The Act is divided into ten parts, and comprises 83 Sections and 18 Schedules.

Parliamentary passage

The

Secretary of State for Education The secretary of state for education, also referred to as the education secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department for Education. The incumbent is a member of the C ...

, Michael Gove, introduced the Education Bill to the House of Commons on 26 January 2011 when it also received its first reading. Two weeks later, on 8 February 2011, the Commons debated the general principles of the Bill before passing it at second reading, before committing it to a

public bill committee In the British House of Commons, public bill committees (known as standing committees before 2006) consider Bills – proposed Acts of Parliament. The House of Lords does not have such committees, as Bills are usually considered by the House as a ...

to be scrutinised in depth by a select, cross party group of MPs. The committee stage lasted 11 days throughout March and the beginning of April, before returning to the main floor of the Commons on 11 May 2011, where consideration at report stage was completed alongside its third reading, thus completing its passage through the lower house. The bill as passed by the Commons was introduced to the House of Lords the following day, before receiving its second reading following a debate on 14 June. It was sent to a grand committee of all peers for detailed scrutiny, which sat for eight days before the summer recess of Parliament, and for three days afterwards, before returning for four days of report stage scrutiny in the Lords chamber. It passed its third reading, and thus passed the House of Lords, on 9 November, when it was returned to the Commons to obtain agreement to the various amendments to the bill made during its passage through the upper house. The Commons accepted all of the Lords' amendments without further amendment after debate on 14 November, allowing it to receive

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in oth ...

and become an Act of Parliament the following day.

Provisions

The Act is divided into 10 distinct parts, each of which are summarised below.

Part 1 - Early years provision

Part 1 makes provision for the organisation and supply of early years learning by amending the

Childcare Act 2006 The Childcare Act 2006 (c 21) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Summary The Act defines new duties for Local Authorities with respect to: *improving the Every Child Matters outcomes for pre-school children *childcare for worki ...

to extend the duty on all English local authorities that requires them to provide 15 hours of early years education free of charge for all three- and four-year-olds and to all two-year-olds identified as disadvantaged. The Secretary of State and local authorities will determine those who fall into such a category through the tax credit information held by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs and tax information held by the

Department for Work and Pensions , type = Department , seal = , logo = Department for Work and Pensions logo.svg , logo_width = 166px , formed = , preceding1 = , jurisdiction = Government of the United Kingdom , headquarters = Caxton House7th Floor6–12 Tothill Stree ...

, which the Secretary of State is authorised to receive by virtue of Section 1(3) of the Act, which also makes it a criminal offence for anyone to disclose such information without authorisation.

Part 2 - Discipline

Part 2 extends the power given to school staff in Section 550ZA of the

Education Act 1996 The Education Act 1996 is Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It led to the establishment of special local authorities, who for example would identify children with special educational needs Special educational needs (SEN), also known ...

to search a pupil or their possessions if they believe them to be carrying certain items to include power to search if the member of staff believes one or more of the possessions have been, or may be used, to commit a criminal offence, cause personal injury or damage property. Staff are also given the power to search a student even if they are under the age of criminal responsibility, and for staff of the opposite sex to the student to search said student if they believe the risk is so great that serious harm would be caused if they waited or attempted to find a member of staff who is the same sex as the student to be searched. Clarification is also provided as to when "reasonable force" can be used by staff to confiscate items, as well as setting out the process to be followed if specified items are found. Teachers are also given the power to examine data files on electronic devices and delete them if they believe there is good reason to do so. Part 2 also, through Section 4, gives headteachers of maintained schools and lead teachers of pupil referral units in England the power to exclude a pupil either permanently or for a fixed-term for disciplinary reasons. The section also gives the excluded party the power to appeal to a "review panel" if the headteacher or lead teacher has decided not to reinstate a pupil, who may uphold the exclusion, recommend a review of the exclusion by the headteacher or lead teacher, or quash the exclusion and force the headteacher to reconsider the exclusion. Section 5 of Part 2 removes the requirement on a school to provide a student's parent, guardian or carer with 24 hours' written notice of an out of school detention, whilst Section 6 removes the duty imposed on schools by the

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 The Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 (c 22) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It alters the law relating to education. The precursors of this Act were the white paper "Raising Expectations: Enabling the s ...

to enter into behaviour and attendance partnerships with other authorities in a local area.

Part 3 - School workforce

Part 3 abolishes the

(GTCE), and transfers the majority of its functions to the Secretary of State, including the power to investigate disciplinary cases, issue prohibition orders to bar a person from teaching and maintain a register of those barred from teaching. The abolition of the GTCE does not affect the

General Teaching Council for Wales The General Teaching Council for Wales was the body overseeing the qualification, registration, and good conduct of teachers in Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east ...

, which continues to exist with all of the powers it currently holds. Section 9 legislates for all new teachers in England to be required to serve an induction period, a practice that already currently exists but is administered by the GTCE, whose abolition requires the Secretary of State to take on the responsibility for the procedure, as this section sets out. Part 3, through Section 13, also introduces restrictions on the reporting of allegations made against teachers by students, including the reporting of information through which a teacher against whom an allegation has been made could be identified. Such restrictions would only be lifted once a teacher is charged with a criminal offence, or when the Secretary of State publishes certain information. The Act makes it a criminal offence to breach these restrictions, including through reporting on the internet. Sections 14 to 17 abolish the

, and transfers its functions to the Secretary of State, who is in turn given power to delegate Welsh responsibilities of the TDA on Welsh Ministers. Section 18 authorises the abolition of the

School Support Staff Negotiating Body A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...

, whilst Section 19 makes minor amendments to preceding legislation regarding school budgets.

Part 4 - Qualifications and the Curriculum

In Part 4, Clause 20 gives the Secretary of State the power to direct the governing bodies of schools to participate in certain international education surveys. Part 4 also makes changes to the operation and management of

Ofqual The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) is a non-ministerial government department that regulates qualifications, exams and tests in England. Colloquially and publicly, Ofqual is often referred to as the exam "watchdo ...

, the government's qualifications regulator. It changes the title of the Chief Executive of Ofqual to 'Chief Regulator' who will now be appointed by The Queen through an

order in council An Order-in-Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council (''Kin ...

, whilst the Chairman of Ofqual, who was previously known as the 'Chief Regulator' and appointed by the Queen, will now simply be the Chairman, and appointed directly by the Secretary of State. Provisions are also made about how Chairman and Chief Regulator will be appointed, the length of their terms of office, their salaries and pensions. Section 22 provides a definition of what Ofqual's objectives are in relation to the standard of qualifications offered. Section 23 gives Ofqual the power to impose financial penalties on qualification awarding bodies if they have failed to comply with a condition of their recognition, and sets out detailed conditions as to how such penalties are to be administered, whilst Section 24 provides Welsh Ministers with similar powers to those granted to Ofqual through Section 23. The Qualification and Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA) is abolished by Sections 25-27, and its powers and functions transferred to the Secretary of State, who is also given power to introduce a scheme to transfer the staff, properties and liabilities of the QCDA to the Secretary of State and Department for Education. Section 28 removes the Secretary of State's powers to give directions to local authorities regarding the provision of careers and post-16 education advice, and the requirement that schools must provide people involved in careers advice access to both students and school facilities. Section 29 legislates that all schools must continually provide students aged between 14-16 careers advice that is completely independent and that provides impartial information about all post-16 training options, including apprenticeships. Sections 30 and 31 repeal unenacted provisions from the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 relating to diploma entitlements.

Part 5 - Educational institutions: other provisions

Part 5 removes the need for school governing bodies to publish a '

school profile A school profile was a document which was required to be produced by most maintained schools in England, under the provisions of the Education Act 2005. The profile replaced the requirement for school governors to produce an Annual Report to Par ...

', and for the local authority to appoint 'school improvement partners'. Section 34 of Part 5 removes a local authority's need to set up 'admission forums', as well as making slight alterations to the powers of the schools adjudicator in relation to school admissions. Section 35 imposes a cap on the charge that can be made for providing milk, school meals and other refreshments to pupils, preventing any charge being higher than the cost of providing such a service, whilst also giving schools the power to charge different prices for the same item. Section 37 enacts Schedule 11 of the Act which makes provision about the creation of new schools. It requires that when a local authority is of the opinion that a new school is required, it must seek proposals for such a school to be created through the creation of a new academy school, and that no competition for the creation of a new school may begin without the local authority obtaining the consent of the Secretary of State. The Schedule sets out the various bureaucratic processes that must be conducted by both the local authority and Secretary of State when the local authority decides that a new school is needed. The interpretation of this section of the Act was tested by a

judicial review Judicial review is a process under which executive, legislative and administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. A court with authority for judicial review may invalidate laws, acts and governmental actions that are incomp ...

in November 2012, when the court upheld the decision of Richmond Local Authority to establish

Voluntary Aided A voluntary aided school (VA school) is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust (usually a religious organisation), contributes to building costs and has a substantial influence in the running of the school. In m ...

schools,

St. Richard Reynolds Catholic College St Richard Reynolds Catholic College is a Mixed-sex education, coeducational Catholic school for pupils aged 4 to 18. It is located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England. The school is named after Richard Reynol ...

, without first seeking proposals for an Academy. Section 38 reduces the number of different categories of

governors A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

that must be elected or appointed to a school's governing body, whilst Section 39 makes provision for the procedure to dissolve the governing body of a single school within a wider federation of schools should the school wish to leave the federation in order to convert to academy status. Section 40 gives power to the Chief Inspector of schools to create a list of 'exempt schools' that do not need to be inspected at the regular intervals set out in the

Education Act 2005 The Education Act 2005 (c 18) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was enacted in order to simplify the process of school improvement, strengthening the accountability framework for schools, in particular by amending the approac ...

, whilst Section 41 makes provision about what matters should be covered by a school inspection. Further education and sixth-form colleges that received an 'Outstanding' inspection grading in their last inspection are given exemption from future inspections by virtue of Section 42, whilst Section 43 clarifies the requirements of inspections of schools that provide boarding accommodation. Section 44 gives the Secretary of State additional powers to intervene in schools that have been judged by Ofsted to require improvement, including the power to direct the closure of any school that has failed to comply with performance standards. Section 45 removes the requirement of the

Local Government Ombudsman The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, legally the Commission for Local Administration in England and formerly known as the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO), is a service that investigates complaints from the public about councils and som ...

to consider complaints about a school from parents and pupils, as well as strengthening the Secretary of State's power to intervene when they are of the opinion that a governing body is acting or intends to act in an unreasonable manner. Section 46 gives the Secretary of State the power, after consultation, to direct a local authority to revise parts of the scheme they are required to keep that details its financial relationship with schools under its control, whilst the governing body is given the power to use the school's budget to reimburse the local authority any outstanding funds following the retirement, dismissal or resignation of members of staff employed by the school for 'community purposes' by Section 47. Section 48 amends Education Act 1996 to give governing bodies the power to charge for early years provision that is provided beyond the 15 hours of free provision provided by Part 1 of the Act, which can include charges to maintain the upkeep of buildings and their utility supplies, education materials, and for the employment of teaching staff. Section 49 enacts Schedule 12 to the Act, which gives additional powers to further education and sixth-form colleges, including the power to borrow money to run their education services without having to first gain the permission of either the Young People's Learning Agency for England (YPLA) or their local authority, and the removal of the duty on post-16 establishments to "promote the economic and social wellbeing of an area". The Secretary of State is given the power to dissolve a further education college of sixth-form without having to consult the YPLA as is currently required, as well as to create a new sixth-form college without having to wait for a local authority to request such a creation. The Secretary of State is also given the power to draw up the initial instruments and articles of government of a new sixth-form, a function previously undertaken by the YPLA. As a result of the removal of almost all of their responsibilities, Schedule 12 also dissolves the YPLA and transfers any remaining powers to the Secretary of State. The Schedule also removes the need for post-16 governing bodies to have regard to possible future staff and students in the exercise of their functions, as well as transferring to the Secretary of State the power currently held by the Chief Executive of Skills Funding in respect of further education colleges, and by the local authority in respect to sixth-form colleges, to intervene in establishments that are considered to be either mismanaged or failing. The final provisions of part 5 relate to

Pupil Referral Units The pupil is a black hole located in the center of the iris of the eye that allows light to strike the retina.Cassin, B. and Solomon, S. (1990) ''Dictionary of Eye Terminology''. Gainesville, Florida: Triad Publishing Company. It appears black ...

(PRUs), with Section 50 providing for PRUs to be allocated funding by the local authority in the same manner as maintained schools, whilst Section 51 repeals unenacted provisions in the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 that would have renamed PRUs as 'Short-Stay Schools'.

Part 6 - Academies

Part 6 removes the need for

to have a specialism in one or more specific subject areas, as well as providing for the creation of specific '16-19 academies' and 'alternative provision academies' instead of the currently one size fits all academy. Section 55 makes it necessary for the Secretary of State to involve the appropriate religious body in the decision making process to convert a foundation school, a

voluntary aided school A voluntary aided school (VA school) is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust (usually a religious organisation), contributes to building costs and has a substantial influence in the running of the school. In ...

or a

voluntary controlled school A voluntary controlled school (VC school) is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust (usually a Christian denomination) has some formal influence in the running of the school. Such schools have less autonomy tha ...

to an academy, whilst Section 56 places a requirement on the governing bodies of maintained schools to consult all those who they see fit before they opt to convert to academy status. Section 57 allows for the conversion of a federated school to an academy without the agreement of the whole federated body, section 58 clarifies that a local authority is not prohibited from providing an academy with assistance, financially or otherwise, should it believe it would be beneficial, whilst Section 59 makes technical amendments to the power held by the Secretary of State by virtue of the Academies Act 2010 regarding the transfer of properties and other liabilities from the local authority to a new academy. Section 61 deals with boarding provision at academy schools, and provides in certain circumstances for the boarding fees of a student to be remitted by the local authority in which that students would have resided if they had not been attending a boarding school. The two conditions are defined as when the local authority was unable to provide a non-boarding school place for the student, or when paying the boarding fees would place the paying family in financial hardship. Section 62 meanwhile gives academies with a religious character the same rights as maintained school to employ a number of "reserve" teachers who are capable of teaching religious education in accordance with the religious denomination of the school, as well as the power to appoint people specifically because of their religious character. Section 63 enacts Schedule 14 relating to the land academies may own, and gives the Secretary of State the power to transfer the publicly funded land held by maintained school to an academy, but whilst also protecting the public interest in any such land. The Secretary of State is given the power to obtain through

compulsory purchase Compulsion may refer to: * Compulsive behavior, a psychological condition in which a person does a behavior compulsively, having an overwhelming feeling that they must do so. * Obsessive–compulsive disorder, a mental disorder characterized by ...

any land a local authority has sold without his consent to a third party, if he believes such land is now needed by an academy. Section 64 places academies on the same basis as maintained school with regards to the power of a parent, pupil, or the Secretary of State, to refer the academy's admissions arrangements to the School Adjudicator, and thus extends many of the Adjudicator's power to include academies.

Part 7 - Post-16 education and training

Part 7 abolishes the Young People's Learning Agency for England (YPLA), and transfers its functions and duties to the Secretary of State, as well as giving the Secretary of State the power to introduce a scheme to allow for the transfer of the staff, properties and liabilities of the YPLA to the Department of Education, through the Secretary of State. Section 69 of Part 7 requires the Chief Executive of Skills Funding to prioritise funding in order to secure an apprenticeship offer for certain people, namely those aged between 16-18, those aged 19–24 who are care-leavers, and those aged 19–24 who are disabled. Section 71 makes the Secretary of State the default issuer of apprenticeship certificates, but provides him with the power to appoint another person to exercise this responsibility. Section 72 gives the Secretary of State power to compel the Chief Executive of Skills Funding to consult with certain people about the exercise of his duties and functions, whilst Section 73 reduces the right to fee remission for vocational training only to those aged between 19 and 24. Finally, Section 74 gives the Secretary of State greater flexibility in the commencement of the provisions of the

Education and Skills Act 2008 The Education and Skills Act 2008 (c 25) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that raised the minimum age at which a person can leave education or training from 16 to 18 for those born after 1 September 1997, with an interim minimum ...

regarding the raising of the education and training leaving age to 18, but does not alter the inherent requirement for the leaving age to have been fully raised to 18 by 2015.

Part 8 - Direct payments

Part 8, which consists solely of Section 75, gives the Secretary of State the power to create pilot schemes that would allow local authorities to make direct payments to secure goods and services for students who they hold a statement of Special Educational Needs (SEN) or Education Health and Care plan (EHC plan).

Part 9 - Student finance

Part 9 gives the Secretary of State greater power to set the interest rates that are to be charged of student loans made to those who commence their courses on or after 1 September 2012, the day on which the level of tuition fee is permitted to increase to a maximum level of £9,000 per year. The rates the Secretary of State sets cannot, however, be out of line with the rates at the time being offered on loan available to the public. Section 77 introduces limits on the amount a higher education institution can charge students undertaking courses on a part-time basis in order to ensure they do not exceed the equivalent charges being made to full-time students.

Part 10 - General

Section 78 gives the Secretary of State power to implement the provisions of this Act through the use of one or more Statutory Instruments, and defines how any such instruments are to be approved. Section 79 provides detailed citations of preceding Acts of Parliament that are referenced in the Act, Section 80 allows for any charges incurred in the implementation of the Act to be paid for by Parliament, whilst Section 81 details the territorial extent of the Act within the United Kingdom. Section 82 details when and how the provisions of the Act are to be implemented, whilst Section 83 authorises the Act to be called the Education Act 2011, and for it to be included in the official list of Education Acts maintained in Section 578 of the Education Act 1996.

Commencement

Different provisions of the Act were brought into law at different stages, as specified by Section 78, and the resulting Statutory Instruments made under that Section. The table below summarises these different commencement dates. The remaining provisions will be enacted on a day to be appointed by a Minister of the Crown by further statutory instruments.

References

External links

Official text of the Education Act 2011
as enacted, and in force today {{UK legislation November 2011 events in the United Kingdom United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 2011 United Kingdom Education Acts Vocational education in the United Kingdom 2011 in education