Repeal of duties of governing bodies, local authorities and others
Section 32: Duty to prepare and publish a school profile
175.Section 32 repeals the duty in section 30A of EA 2002 for maintained schools in England to prepare and publish a school profile which is required to contain information provided by the Secretary of State for inclusion, information about matters specified by the Secretary of State, and other prescribed information.
Section 33: Duty to appoint school improvement partners
176.Section 33 repeals section 5 of EIA 2006, removing the duty on a local authority to appoint a school improvement partner (known as a “SIP”) for each school they maintain. The SIP provides advice to the school and governing body in order to help improve the attainment and outcomes of pupils.
Section 34: Duties in relation to school admissions
177.Section 34 amends Part 3 of SSFA 1998 which is concerned with school admissions.
178.Subsection (2)(a) removes the requirement under section 85A of SSFA 1998 on English local authorities to establish an admission forum for their area.
179.Subsection (3) removes the duty on the adjudicator to decide, on receiving an annual report from a local authority, whether the admission arrangements described conform to the relevant legal requirements. The adjudicator’s discretionary power under section 88I(5) of SSFA 1998 to consider arrangements that appear not to conform to legal requirements, regardless of how they come to the adjudicator’s attention, is not affected by this change and the adjudicator can investigate matters in these reports under that power.
180.Subsection (4) changes the powers of the adjudicator. It repeals section 88J of SSFA 1998 which requires the adjudicator, upon referral of a specific matter concerning a maintained school’s admission arrangements, to consider whether it would be appropriate for changes to be made to any aspect of those admission arrangements in consequence of the matter referred, and gives them the power to require such changes to be made.
181.Subsection (5) amends section 88P of SSFA 1998 which requires local authorities to provide reports to the adjudicator about admissions arrangements in their area. Currently regulations prescribe the form, content and timing of such reports but the amendment means that the School Admissions Code will instead contain the requirements for such reports (and the regulation-making power is removed)..
182.Schedule 10 makes amendments that are consequential on the repeals and amendments made by this section.
Section 35: Duties in relation to school meals etc
183.Section 35 amends sections 512ZA (power to charge for meals etc) and 533 (functions of governing bodies of maintained schools with respect to provision of school meals etc) of EA 1996.
184.Subsections (2)(a) and (3)(a) will prohibit local authorities and governing bodies of maintained schools in England from charging more than the cost of providing milk, meals or other refreshments to pupils. Currently there is no cap on how much a pupil can be charged. This change will not affect the provision of free school meals (and free milk) to eligible pupils.
185.Subsections (2)(b) and (3)(b) repeal the requirement that any charge made for the provision of “milk, meals and other refreshments” in a school must be the same for every person for the same quantity of the same item. The repeal of this requirement will, in effect, allow different prices to be charged for the same quantity of the same item.
186.This will, for example, enable local authorities and governing bodies in England to charge less for school meals provided to children in reception classes at the start of term or children of families on low incomes not eligible for free school meals, in order to encourage them to take school meals. Use of flexible charging will be optional and subject to local circumstances. This change will not affect the provision of free school meals (and free milk) to eligible pupils.
