Education (School Information and Prospectuses) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

The Regulations relate to the publication and provision of general information by Education and Library Boards and the publication of individual school prospectuses; they prescribe certain information to be included in Boards of Governors' annual reports. They will apply to all grant-aided schools, and will come into operation on 15th September 2003. They have effect in respect of information to be published in the 2003/04 school year and each subsequent one.

These Regulations revoke and replace the Education (School Information and Prospectuses) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1993 and the subsequent amendments to those Regulations: Schedule 1 specifies the revoked Regulations.

Regulation 5 imposes on each Education and Library Board obligations to publish general information about administrative policies and arrangements for primary (including nursery), secondary and special education in its area as set out in Schedule 2. This information shall include, in relation to certain grammar schools, details of any capital or tuition fee chargeable.

Regulation 6 requires the Board of Governors of every grant-aided school to publish a school prospectus containing the information set out in Schedule 3 or Schedule 4 as appropriate. The information to be published includes information about the school’s curriculum, school hours and holidays, pupils' attendance rate, the number of applications for admission to the school and number of pupils actually admitted, and the performance of pupils in the statutory assessments at the ends of Key Stages. In relation to secondary schools, the requirements include a range of information in relation to public examinations and qualifications and the destinations of school leavers.

In relation to public examinations and assessment outcomes, schools are required to publish details of their results for the school year prior to that in which the prospectus is published. Secondary schools must also publish information to be supplied to them by the Department on their public examination results in the three school years prior to that year.

Schools are also required to include in their prospectus a statement of their policy in relation to drugs, information about arrangements for pastoral care, how parents may obtain a copy of the school’s anti-bullying, child protection, school discipline and special educational needs policy statements, details of how parents may make known any concerns about their child’s safety, and details of how parents may discuss with teachers the educational progress of their children. Schools are also required to include details of pupils' participation in community activities and activities in relation to the Education for Mutual Understanding educational theme.

The Regulations also require that:

(a)copies of individual school prospectuses are to be made available, without charge, to parents and for reference by any person at the school (regulation 6(4)); and

(b)copies of prospectuses for special schools are in addition to be available, without charge, to parents and for reference by any person at the relevant board’s offices (regulation 6(5)).

Regulation 7 contains supplementary provisions in relation to published material. In particular, the prospectus must show the school year to which its information relates. It must also make clear that although the information was correct at the date specified, there may be some later changes (regulation 7(2)).

Boards are required to make available information about their charging and remissions policies under Article 131 of the Education Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 (regulation 8).

Information about the individual school’s charging and remissions policies and the operative times of a school day must be available at each school for reference purposes and for distribution on request (regulation 9(1) and (2)). In the case of certain grammar schools, this information must include details of any capital or tuition fee chargeable.

Boards of Governors are required to take all reasonable steps to ensure that information about any significant change to their charging and remissions policies, fees chargeable and the operative times of the school day is brought to the attention of parents of pupils at the school not later than three months before the change is to take effect (regulation 9(3)).

Regulation 10 requires Boards of Governors to include in their annual report information about the public examinations taken by pupils at the school, public examination results, the destinations of school leavers, the annual attendance rate and the provision of careers guidance in the year to which the annual report relates. They are also required to publish certain information on the average performance in public examinations of pupils in Northern Ireland schools for the school year prior to that year, also to be supplied by the Department.

Copies of the annual report are to be supplied to the relevant board in the case of a controlled or maintained school, to the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools in the case of a Catholic maintained school, and, in the case of any other voluntary or any grant-maintained integrated school, to the Department (regulation 10(2)).

The Regulations also require schools to make available for inspection and copying, on request, certain administrative information on curricular matters (regulation 11). In relation to copies of certain documents the principal of a school may make a charge, not exceeding the cost of production, for their supply (regulation 11(6)).

Regulation 12 provides that a Board of Governors may not publish examination results or assessment outcomes in such a way as to enable the results of an individual pupil to be revealed or deduced, or to publish such information in respect of any pupils being educated in a special education unit attached to the school.