The Education Act 2002 (c.32) 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 suprem ...

that gave schools greater autonomy to implement experimental teaching methods.

Main provisions

The act significantly amended legislation relating to

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 ...

, publicly funded schools operating outside of local government control and with a significant degree of autonomy areas such as wages and digressing from the national curriculum. Academies were originally set up under the

Learning and Skills Act 2000 The Learning and Skills Act 2000 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It made changes in the funding and administration of further education, and of work-based learning (or apprenticeships) for young people, within England and Wale ...

under the name "city academies", and were renamed to "academies" by this act. Schools which have innovative ideas to improve education, but are prevented by an existing law from implementing them, will be able to apply for exemption from that law. Schools which demonstrate a high standard of teaching will be given exemption national controls such as the

national curriculum A national curriculum is a common programme of study in schools that is designed to ensure nationwide uniformity of content and standards in education. It is usually legislated by the national government, possibly in consultation with state or other ...

, agreements on teachers' pay and conditions and the way the scheduling of the school day and terms. Schools designating or re-designating as

specialist school Specialist schools, also known as specialised schools or specialized schools, are schools which specialise in a certain area or field of curriculum. In some countries, for example New Zealand, the term is used exclusively for schools specialis ...

s could now gain specialisms in Business and Enterprise,

Engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

, Mathematics and Computing and

Science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence ...

. The act imposes various minimum standards for

independent school An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British En ...

s in areas such as

health and safety Occupational safety and health (OSH), also commonly referred to as occupational health and safety (OHS), occupational health, or occupational safety, is a multidisciplinary field concerned with the safety, health, and welfare of people at wo ...

and space requirements.

List of provisions

*Power to innovate (sections 1-5) *Earned autonomy (sections 6-10) *School companies (sections 11-13) *Grant-making power (sections 14-18) *Governance (sections 19-40) *School funding (sections 41-45) *School admission, exclusion and attendance, (section 46-53) *Powers of intervention (sections 54-64) *Academies (sections 65-69) *Early years (sections 149-156) *Independent schools (sections 157-174) *Student loans (section 186) *Inter-authority recoupment (sections 206-207) Identify school funds

References

External links

Explanatory notes to the Education Act 2002
from

UK Statute Law Database legislation.gov.uk, formerly known as the UK Statute Law Database, is the official web-accessible database of the statute law of the United Kingdom, hosted by The National Archives. It contains all primary legislation in force since 1267 and a ...

{{UK legislation United Kingdom Education Acts United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 2002 2002 in education July 2002 events in the United Kingdom