The Schools Forums (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2008

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

The Schools Forums (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2007 amend the Schools Forums (England) Regulations 2002 (“the Principal Regulations”).

Regulation 2(2) inserts new definitions of local authority 14-19 partnerships and PVI providers into regulation 1(3) of the Principal Regulations.

Regulation 2(3) amends regulation 3(2) of the Principal Regulations to provide that non-schools members may comprise up to one third of the total membership of a schools forum.

Regulation 2 paragraphs (4)-(5) amend regulations 4(3) and 4A(4) of the Principal Regulations to enable senior members of staff to become schools members of a forum as head teachers’ representatives.

Regulation 2(6) substitutes a new regulation 5 for regulation 5 of the Principal Regulations to provide that, where the relevant authority decide to appoint non-schools members, they must appoint persons to represent both the local authority 14-19 partnership and PVI providers before the 1st September 2008, or at such time as they determine, for the first time, to appoint non-schools members; identify other bodies they think might be appropriate to be represented as non-schools members (“appropriate bodies”); seek nominations from, and appoint representatives of, those bodies. The relevant authority must consider whether the various religious bodies listed might be appropriate bodies.

Executive members and relevant officers of the authority are excluded from being non-schools members, as are representatives of local and regional learning and skills councils and the Learning and Skills Council for England. Local learning and skills councils, currently in existence, are to be abolished and replaced by regional learning and skills councils. As these provisions are not yet in force, it has been necessary to exclude both bodies.

Regulation 2(7) adds new regulation 6(2A) to the Principal Regulations to provide that the Learning and Skills Council for England may nominate an observer when local learning and skills councils cease to exist. They may nominate the person already attending in this capacity, or somebody different.

Regulation 2(8) amends regulation 6(7) to make it subject to regulation 6(11).

Regulation 2(9) adds a new paragraph (11) to regulation 6 to enable the relevant authority to implement arrangements for substitutes to attend meetings of the schools forum and vote on behalf of schools and non-schools members, having consulted the forum and taken into account their views on the nature of any such arrangements.

Regulation 2(10) revokes regulation 7. The obligation upon local education authorities to consult their schools forum on proposed changes to their formulae for determination of schools’ budget shares is in regulation 8(3) of the School Finance (England) Regulations 2006.