Education (Scotland) Act 1980

School education and further educationS

1 Duty of education authorities to secure provision of education.S

(1)Subject to subsection (2) below, it shall be the duty of every education authority to secure that there is made for their area adequate and efficient provision of school education and further education.

(2)The duty imposed on an education authority by subsection (1) above shall not include the provision of school education in nursery schools and nursery classes, but an education authority shall have power to provide for their area school education in nursery schools and nursery classes.

(3)Every education authority [F1—

(a)shall][F1shall for the purposes of their duty under subsection (1) above—

(a)]have power to secure for their area, and

(b)[F2without prejudice to the duty imposed on them by subsection (1) above, shall] be under a duty to secure for pupils in attendance at schools in their area,

the provision of adequate facilities for social, cultural and recreative activities and for physical education and training.

(4)The facilities for further education that may be provided by an education authority shall include facilities for vocational and industrial training.

(5)In this Act—

(a)“school education” means progressive education appropriate to the requirements of pupils in attendance at schools, regard being had to the age, ability and aptitude of such pupils, and includes—

(i)activities in schools and classes (hereinafter in this Act called “nursery schools” and “nursery classes”), being activities of a kind suitable in the ordinary case for pupils who are under school age;

[F3(ii)provision for special educational needs;]

(iii)the teaching of Gaelic in Gaelic-speaking areas;

(b)further education includes—

(i). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F4

(ii)voluntary part-time and full-time courses of instruction for persons over school age;

(iii)social, cultural and recreative activities and physical education and training, either as [F5voluntary organised activities designed to promote the educational development of persons taking part therein or as] part of a course of instruction [F2or as organised voluntary leisure-time occupation;];

(iv)the teaching of Gaelic in Gaelic-speaking areas;

[F6(c)“provision for special educational needs”, in relation to a child [F7who has attained school age] or to a young person receiving school education, means educational provision which is additional to, or otherwise different from, the educational provision made generally for children or, as the case may be, young persons of his age in schools under the management of the education authority for the area to which he belongs in accordance with section 23(3) of this Act [F8and in relation to any other child means such educational provision as is appropriate to those needs];

(d)“special educational needs”, in relation to a child or young person, are needs caused by a learning difficulty which he has which calls for provision for special educational needs to be made for him, and a child or young person has a learning difficulty for the purposes of this paragraph if—

(i)he has significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children or, as the case may be, young persons of his age; or

(ii)he suffers from a disability which either prevents or hinders him from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for children or, as the case may be, young persons of his age in schools under the management of the education authority for the area to which he belongs in accordance with section 23(3) of this Act; or

(iii)he is under the age of five years and is, or would be if provision for special educational needs were not made for him, likely to fall within sub-paragraph (i) or (ii) above when over that age,

but a child or young person is not to be taken as having a learning difficulty solely because the language in which he is or will be taught (the “teaching language”) is different from a language, or from a form of the teaching language, which has at any time been spoken in his home.]

2 Secretary of State may prescribe standards, etc., for education authorities.S

The Secretary of State may make regulations prescribing the standards and general requirements to which every education authority shall conform in discharging their functions under section 1 of this Act [F9and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, such regulations may include provision as to the testing of pupils in primary schools.]

3 Fees not to be charged in public schools, etc: exceptions.S

(1)Subject to the provisions of subsections (2) to (5) below, school education and compulsory further education provided by an education authority shall be provided without payment of fees.

(2)An education authority shall have power to charge fees for school education in some or all of the classes in a limited number of schools under their management.

(3)An education authority may award to any pupil in a class in which fees are charged by virtue of subsection (2) above a scholarship, by way of remission in whole or in part of the fee, in any case where, having regard to the pupil’s ability and aptitude, it appears to the authority proper to do so; but such a pupil shall not be regarded for the purposes of section 11(1)(a) of this Act (provision of free books, etc.) as receiving free education.

(4)An education authority shall not exercise the power conferred by subsection (2) above except where it may be exercised without prejudice to the adequate provision of free school education for their area whether—

(a)at schools under their management, or

(b)at other schools by virtue of arrangements made by them with the managers of those schools or, in the case of schools under the management of another education authority, with that authority.

(5)Where an education authority are providing school education for an outwith-area pupil in a school under their management—

(a)in classes in which fees are charged under the provisions of subsection (2) above, the education authority may charge in respect of that pupil, in addition to the fee charged by virtue of that subsection, such extra fee as they think proper,

(b)in classes in which no fees are charged, the education authority may charge in respect of that pupil such fee as they think proper.

In this subsection “outwith-area pupil” means, in relation to any education authority, a pupil who is not deemed to belong for the purposes of section 23 of this Act to the area of that authority.

(6)An education authority shall have power to make charges in respect of the use of some or all of—

(a)any facilities for voluntary further education provided by them,

(b)any facilities provided by them under section 1(3) of this Act.

4 Duty of education authorities to provide child guidance service.S

It shall be the duty of every education authority to provide for their area [F11a regional or island authority psychological service in clinics] or elsewhere, and the functions of that service shall include— F12

(a)the study of children with special educational needs;]

(b)the giving of advice to parents and teachers as to appropriate methods of education. . . F13 for such children;

(c)in suitable cases,. . . F14 provision [F15for the special educational needs of] such children in. . . F16 clinics;

(d)the giving of advice to a local authority within the meaning of the M1Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 regarding the assessment of the needs of any child for the purposes of any of the provisions of that or any other enactment.

F175. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .S

6 Social activities, physical education, etc.S

(1)For the purpose of securing [F18, under section 1(3) of this Act,] the provision of facilities for social, cultural and recreative activities and physical education and training, an education authority may—

(a)establish, maintain and manage—

(i)camps, outdoor centres, playing fields and swimming pools;

(ii)play areas and centres;

(iii)sports halls, centres and clubs;

(iv)youth, community and cultural centres and clubs,

and other places at which any such facilities as aforesaid are available;

(b)organise holiday classes, games, expeditions and other activities.

(2)In the exercise of their powers under subsection (1) above an education authority—

(a)may assist any body whose objects include;

(b)shall, so far as practicable, co-operate with local authorities and with voluntary societies or bodies whose objects include,

the provision or promotion of social, cultural and recreative activities and physical education and training or the facilities for such activities, education and training.

(3)In this section “local authority” means a regional, islands or district council.

7 Provision of educational facilities to be in accordance with schemes.S

(1)The functions of an education authority under the foregoing provisions of this Act shall be exercised in accordance with schemes prepared as hereinafter provided and approved by the Secretary of State under section 69 of this Act, except where such functions relate to—

(a)further education as described in sub-paragraphs (ii) and (iii) of section 1(5)(b) of this Act other than such voluntary part-time or full-time courses of instruction for persons over school age as the Secretary of State may direct; or

(b)such facilities as are mentioned in section 6(1) of this Act; or

[F19(bb)school education;]

(c). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F20

(2)It shall be the duty of an education authority within such time as may be prescribed to prepare and submit for the approval of the Secretary of State a scheme or schemes for the exercise of [F21those of their functions which fall under subsection (1) above to be performed in accordance with schemes].

(3)An education authority may at any time, and shall if and when so required by the Secretary of State, prepare and submit for his approval a revised scheme or modification of an existing scheme under this section.

(4)In considering and determining for the purposes of [F22their functions under the foregoing provisions of this Act in relation to] the provision of school education what amount of public school accommodation or additional public school accommodation is required for their area, an education authority shall have regard to and take into account every school, whether public or not, and whether situated in the area or not, which, in their opinion, gives, or will when completed give, efficient school education, and is, or will when completed be, suitable and available for the education of the pupils in their area.

(5)An education authority shall for the purposes of subsection (4) above have power to call upon all head teachers and managers of schools other than public schools for such information and for access to and delivery of all such documents as shall to the education authority appear to be necessary to enable them to discharge their duties under this Act, and an education authority may from time to time appoint fit and proper persons to procure such information and to inspect such documents.

(6)[F23In the performance of their functions under the foregoing provisions of this Act in relation to] the provision of school education, an education authority shall, in particular, have regard to the expediency of securing the provision of boarding accommodation, either in boarding schools or in hostels, for pupils for whom education as boarders is considered by their parents and by the authority to be desirable.

(7)In the preparation of any scheme for further education, an education authority shall have regard to such of the following considerations as may be relevant—

(a)to any facilities for such education provided for their area by universities, central institutions, colleges of education, educational associations, and other bodies and to the need for consultation with any such organisations as aforesaid and with the education authorities for adjacent areas; and the scheme may include such provisions as to the co-operation of any such bodies or authorities as may have been agreed between them and the authority preparing the scheme;

(b)to the need for consultation with persons concerned or engaged in crafts, industries, commerce or other employments in their area;

(c)to the need for securing the adequate provision of technical education and, keeping in view the requirements of the crafts, industries, commerce and other employments in the area and the provision therefor made elsewhere, to the need for the establishment of local technical colleges offering courses of suitable standard;

(d)to the expediency of securing the provision of boarding accommodation,. . . F24 in hostels, for pupils for whom residence at a distance from their homes is necessary in order that the greatest advantage may be derived from compulsory further education; and

(e)to the desirability of securing the provision of residential colleges for other forms of further education.

(8)Where general arrangements under section 50 of this Act are part of the measures to be taken by the authority to secure the adequate provision of. . . F25 compulsory further education for persons resident in any part of their area, information regarding the said arrangements shall be included in the appropriate scheme prepared under this section.

8 Religious instruction.S

(1)Whereas it has been the custom in the public schools of Scotland for religious observance to be practised and for instruction in religion to be given to pupils whose parents did not object to such observance or instruction, but with liberty to parents, without forfeiting any of the other advantages of the schools, to elect that their children should not take part in such observance or receive such instruction, be it enacted that education authorities [F26and boards of management of self-governing schools] shall be at liberty to continue the said custom, subject to the provisions of section 9 of this Act.

(2)It shall not be lawful for an education authority [F27or board of management] to discontinue religious observance or the provision of instruction in religion in terms of subsection (1) above, unless and until a resolution in favour of such discontinuance duly passed by the authority has been submitted to a poll of the local government electors for the education area taken for the purpose, and has been approved by a majority of electors voting thereat.

(3)A poll under subsection (2) above shall be by ballot and shall be taken in accordance with rules to be made by the Secretary of State, which rules may apply with any necessary modifications any enactments relating to parliamentary or local government elections.

9 Conscience clause.S

Every public school [F28, every grant-aided school and every self-governing school] shall be open to pupils of all denominations, and any pupil may be withdrawn by his parents from any instruction in religious subjects and from any religious observance in any such school; and no pupil shall in any such school be placed at any disadvantage with respect to the secular instruction given therein by reason of the denomination to which such pupil or his parents belong, or by reason of his being withdrawn from any instruction in religious subjects.

10 Safeguards for religious beliefs.S

Where the parent of any pupil who is a boarder at any public school. . . F29 or other educational establishment under the management of an education authority [F30, or at any self-governing school] requests that the pupil be permitted to attend worship in accordance with the tenets of a particular religious denomination on Sundays or other days exclusively set apart for religious observance by the religious body to which his parent belongs, or to receive religious instruction or to practise religious observance in accordance with such tenets outside the working hours

[F31(a)of the school. . . F29 or other educational establishment, the education authority][F32;

(b)of the self-governing school, the board of management,]

shall make arrangements for affording to the pupil reasonable opportunities for so doing, and such arrangements may provide for affording facilities for such worship, instruction or observance on the premises of the school. . . F29[F33, other educational establishment or self-governing school], so however that such arrangements shall not entail expenditure by the education authority [F34or, as the case may be, by the board of management].

11 Provision of books, materials and special clothing free of charge.S

(1)An education authority shall provide free of charge for all pupils belonging to their area who are given free education—

(a)at schools. . . F35 under their management, or

(b)at other schools by virtue of arrangements made by them with the managers of those schools or, in the case of schools under the management of another education authority, with that authority,

books, writing materials, stationery, mathematical instruments, practice material and other articles which are necessary to enable the pupils to take full advantage of the education provided; and the authority may make similar provision, with or without charge, for other pupils resident in their area and attending any school or other educational establishment.

(2)An education authority may provide—

(a)for pupils in attendance at any school,. . . F35 or other educational establishment under their management, articles of clothing suitable for physical exercise or for other activities of the school,. . . F36 or establishment for which special clothing is desirable, and

(b)for persons who make use of facilities for physical education or training provided by the authority under section 1(3) of this Act, articles of clothing suitable for such physical education or training.

12 Library service.S

(1)An education authority may, as an ancillary means of promoting education, provide, by purchase or otherwise, such books and other printed matter, pictures, gramophone records, tape recordings, films and other materials as they may think desirable, for pupils attending schools,. . . F37 or other educational establishments in their area.

(2)For the purposes of this section, an education authority may—

(a)make such arrangements as they consider necessary for the management of a library service provided by them including the accommodation and distribution of books and other materials, and

(b)enter into arrangements with the managers of public libraries.

13 Provision of hotels.S

An education authority may provide and maintain hostels for pupils attending educational establishments in their area.

14 Power to provide education elsewhere than at an educational establishment.S

If an education authority are satisfied that by reason of any extraordinary circumstances a pupil is unable to attend a suitable educational establishment for the purpose of receiving education, they may make special arrangements for him to receive education elsewhere than at an educational establishment.

[F3914A Education in social work establishments.S

(1)An education authority may, in accordance with this section, provide for their area school education in any establishment provided by a local authority under section 59(1) or (2) of the M2Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 which is provided wholly or mainly for children under school age (other than any establishment whose provision is secured by them under paragraph (c) of the said section 59(2)).

(2)The provision of school education referred to in subsection (1) above shall consist of the making available by the education authority, in accordance with arrangements made by them in that behalf with the local authority providing the establishment, of the services of any teacher who is employed by them.

(3)Arrangements under subsection (2) above may make provision for—

(a)the supply of equipment for use in connection with the provision of school education made available under the arrangements;

(b)any supplementary or incidental matters connected with the arrangements.

(4)A teacher whose services are made available by an education authority in pursuance of arrangements under subsection (2) above shall, during the period in which his services are made available, be deemed to be in a post in a primary department of a school under the management of the education authority.]