Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc. Act 2000

Provision of school education: right of child and duty of education authority

Equal opportunities

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It shall be the right of every child of school age to be provided with school education by, or by virtue of arrangements made, or entered into, by, an education authority.

Regulations

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• (1) Where school education is provided to a child or young person by, or by virtue of arrangements made, or entered into, by, an education authority it shall be the duty of the authority to secure that the education is directed to the development of the personality, talents and mental and physical abilities of the child or young person to their fullest potential.

• (2) In carrying out their duty under this section, an education authority shall have due regard, so far as is reasonably practicable, to the views (if there is a wish to express them) of the child or young person in decisions that significantly affect that child or young person, taking account of the child or young person’s age and maturity.

Raising standards

Raising standards

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• (1) The Scottish Ministers shall endeavour to secure improvement in the quality of school education which is provided for Scotland; and they shall exercise their powers in relation to such provision with a view to raising standards of education.

• (2) An education authority shall endeavour to secure improvement in the quality of school education which is provided in the schools managed by them; and they shall exercise their functions in relation to such provision with a view to raising standards of education.

• (3) The duties under subsection (2) above shall apply also in relation to school education which is provided in pursuance of any arrangements made, or entered into, by an education authority under—

• (a) section 14 of the 1980 Act; or

• (b) section 35 of this Act.

• (4) In subsections (1) to (3) above, “school education” means school education directed as is described in section 2 of this Act.

School Boards (Scotland) Act 1988 (c.47)

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Education authority’s annual statement of improvement objectives

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School development plans

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• (1) For the purpose of securing improvement in the quality of education which a school managed by them provides, an education authority shall, subject to subsection (6) below, ensure that there is prepared for the school, by such date in 2001 as the Scottish Ministers may, after consulting the education authorities, determine (one date being so determined for all the authorities) and thereafter by that date annually, after consultation with the persons mentioned in subsection (2) below and after the pupils in attendance at the school have been given an opportunity to make their views known—

• (a) an improvement plan which takes account of the authority's plan (or revised plan) under section 3F, report under section 3H and strategy for parental involvement published by that date in the year in question , sets objectives for the school (including objectives as to the involvement of a pupil's parents in the education provided to the pupil and to the school's pupils generally) and contains a statement of the education authority's ambitions for the school; and

• (b) a summary of the improvement plan.

• (2) The persons are—

• (a) any Parent Council or Combined Parent Council established for the school;

• (b) the teachers employed in the school;

• (c) such persons so employed or working in the school on an unpaid basis as are not teachers; and

• (d) such local bodies as appear to the authority to be representative of—

• (i) such teachers;

• (ii) such persons; or

• (iii) parents of pupils in attendance at the school.

• (3) The improvement plan shall include an account of the ways in which, and extent to which, the headteacher of the school will—

• (a) consult the pupils in attendance at the school; and

• (b) seek to involve them, when decisions require to be made concerning the everyday running of the school.

• (4) The education authority shall ensure that there is prepared, without unreasonable delay after the expiry of the period of twelve months immediately following the preparation, in any year, of the improvement plan—

• (a) a report as to what was done, during those twelve months, in implementation of the plan; and

• (b) a summary of that report.

• (5) The education authority shall ensure that the parents of the pupils in attendance at the school have access without cost to the improvement plan and the report upon request and receive copies of the summaries prepared by virtue of subsections (1)(b) and (4)(b) above; and any other person shall be entitled to have access to those summaries on request.

• (6) The improvement plan prepared in any year after the first year in which such a plan is prepared for the school may be in the same terms as, or be a revised version of, that prepared in a preceding year or may be prepared anew; but the education authority shall from time to time review the implementation of the plan and if there is in any year a change of circumstances relevant to the plan and of such significance that they conclude that the plan should be revised or prepared anew then they shall ensure that the improvement plan next prepared is prepared accordingly.

Review of school performance

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• (1) An education authority shall from time to time, after consulting such bodies as appear to the authority to be representative of teachers and parents within their area and giving such persons within that area as appear to the authority to have an interest in the matter an opportunity to make their views known, define and publish, as respects quality of education provided, measures and standards of performance for the schools managed by them; and different measures and standards may be so defined for different categories of such schools.

• (1A) In defining measures and standards of performance for the purposes of subsection (1), an education authority must take into account—

• (a) the National Improvement Framework, and

• (b) the plan (or revised plan) published by the authority under section 3F.

• (2) An education authority shall, as respects each school managed by them, from time to time review the quality of education which the school provides; and if, having regard to the measures and standards of performance for the time being defined by them under subsection (1) above and relevant to the school, they conclude in any such review that the school is not performing satisfactorily they shall take such steps as appear to them to be requisite to remedy the matter.

• (3) Without prejudice to the generality of subsections (1) and (2) above, in those subsections “ quality of education ” includes the extent to which a pupil's parents are involved in the education provided to the pupil.

Delegation schemes

Delegation schemes

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• (1) An education authority shall have a scheme for delegating to the headteacher of a school—

• (a) managed by them; and

• (b) of a category of school which is stated in the scheme to be covered by the scheme,

management of that share of the authority’s budget for a financial year which is available for allocation to individual schools and is appropriated for the school; or management of part of that share.

• (2) The scheme—

• (a) shall delegate to the headteacher the preparation of the school improvement plan; and

• (b) may also so delegate such other management functions in relation to the school as the authority think fit.

• (3) The scheme shall require that the headteacher exercise the delegated functions in a manner consistent with the education authority’s duties under section 3(2) of this Act.

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Inspection of education authority

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Code of practice as regards inspection of education authority

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Inspection of educational establishment

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Code of practice as regards inspection of educational establishment

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Guidance

Guidance to education authorities: raising standards and delegation schemes

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• (1) The Scottish Ministers may issue guidance to education authorities in relation to the functions of those authorities under sections 3 to 8 of this Act; and education authorities shall, in discharging those functions, have regard to any such guidance.

• (2) Before issuing any guidance in relation to the duties of education authorities under section 3B or 3D, the Scottish Ministers must consult the following persons about the proposed guidance––

• (a) each education authority,

• (b) the parents of any pupils that the Scottish Ministers think appropriate,

• (c) any voluntary organisations that the Scottish Ministers think appropriate,

• (d) any other persons that the Scottish Ministers think appropriate.

Guidance to education authorities as to home education

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The Scottish Ministers may issue guidance as to the circumstances in which parents may choose to educate their children at home; and education authorities shall have regard to any such guidance.

Requirement for mainstream education

Requirement that education be provided in mainstream schools

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• (1) Where an education authority, in carrying out their duty to provide school education to a child of school age, provide that education in a school, they shall unless one of the circumstances mentioned in subsection (3) below arises in relation to the child provide it in a school other than a special school.

• (2) If a child is under school age, then unless one of the circumstances mentioned in subsection (3) below arises in relation to the child, an education authority shall, where they—

• (a) provide school education in a school to the child, provide it in; or

• (b) under section 35 of this Act, enter into arrangements for the provision of school education in a school to the child, ensure that the arrangements are such that the education is provided in,

a school other than a special school.

• (3) The circumstances are, that to provide education for the child in a school other than a special school—

• (a) would not be suited to the ability or aptitude of the child;

• (b) would be incompatible with the provision of efficient education for the children with whom the child would be educated; or

• (c) would result in unreasonable public expenditure being incurred which would not ordinarily be incurred,

and it shall be presumed that those circumstances arise only exceptionally.

• (4) If one of the circumstances mentioned in subsection (3) above arises, the authority may provide education for the child in question in a school other than a special school; but they shall not do so without taking into account the views of the child and of the child’s parents in that regard.

Ending of corporal punishment in schools

No justification for corporal punishment

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• (1) Corporal punishment given by, or on the authority of, a member of staff to a pupil—

• (a) for whom school education is provided by an education authority (whether or not at a school);

• (b) for whom school education is provided, at a school other than a nursery school, by a person other than an education authority; or

• (c) for whom school education is provided—

• (i) by a person to whom any payment is made under section 23 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1996 (c.43) (which provides for grants for the education of children under school age); or

• (ii) at a nursery school, or other establishment, by a person other than an education authority, in pursuance of arrangements entered into under section 35 of this Act,

cannot be justified in any proceedings on the ground that it was so given in pursuance of a right exercisable by virtue of having a position as a member of staff.

• (2) Subsection (1) above applies to corporal punishment given at any time and whether or not given at the place where education is provided.

• (3) Subject to subsection (4) below, references in this section to giving corporal punishment are references to doing anything for the purposes of punishing the pupil concerned (whether or not there are other reasons for doing it) which, apart from any justification, would constitute physical assault upon that pupil.

• (4) Corporal punishment shall not be taken to be given to a pupil by virtue of anything done for reasons which include averting—

• (a) an immediate danger of personal injury to; or

• (b) an immediate danger to the property of,

any person (including the pupil concerned).

• (5) In subsection (1) above, “member of staff”, in relation to the pupil concerned, means—

• (a) any person who works as a teacher at the school or other place at which education is provided for the pupil; or

• (b) any other person who (whether in connection with the provision of education for the pupil or otherwise)—

• (i) works at that school or place; or

• (ii) otherwise provides services there (whether or not for payment), and has lawful control or charge of the pupil.

• (6) Section 48A of the 1980 Act (which makes provision with regard to corporal punishment in schools etc.) is repealed.

Ending of self-governing status of schools

Ending of self-governing status of school

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• (1) The Scottish Ministers may by order provide that, on such date as may be specified in the order, a self-governing school so specified shall cease to be under the management of its board of management and that it shall, in consequence, cease to be a school which is a self-governing school; and the board shall, on that date, cease to exist.

• (2) On and after that date, the education authority in whose area the school is situated shall manage the school.

• (3) On that date—

• (a) all—

• (i) land and other property (including corporeal and incorporeal moveable property); and

• (ii) rights and obligations,

which immediately before that date were vested in that board shall transfer to and vest in that authority; and

• (b) all persons in the employment of that board shall transfer to the employment of that authority.

• (4) The vesting of property, rights and obligations under this section shall have effect notwithstanding any rule of law, any obligation or any provision made in or under any enactment (other than this Act or an enactment made under this Act).

Order supplementary to ending of self-governing status

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• (1) Where an order has been made under section 17 of this Act as respects a school the Scottish Ministers may, after consultation with the education authority which is to manage the school, by order under this section make incidental, supplementary, transitional or ancillary provision as respects the change in status of the school.

• (2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) above, an order under this section may—

• (a) stipulate a timetable for any steps that may be specified in the order as necessary or expedient in relation to that change in status;

• (b) provide for the payment of the expenses attributable to that change in status;

• (c) confer such additional powers and impose such additional duties on the board of management of the school as appear to the Scottish Ministers to be appropriate in relation to that change in status;

• (d) provide for the ingathering of any land or moveable property owned by—

• (i) the board; or

• (ii) trustees for the purposes of the school; or

• (e) require the board to comply with any directions given by the Scottish Ministers in relation to that change in status.

• (3) Where land or moveable property purchased, or as the case may be refurbished, for the school out of (or partly out of) funds provided by way of a capital grant—

• (a) is transferred to the education authority by virtue of section 17 of this Act; and

• (b) subsequently is sold by that authority to a third party,

the Scottish Ministers may, after consultation with the education authority, require that authority to pay them the amount of the funds so provided (or if the amount received by the authority in respect of the sale was less than the amount of those funds, to pay them the amount so received).

• (4) Without prejudice to subsection (2)(b) above, the Scottish Ministers may make grants to the board of management for the purpose of enabling the board to defray such expenses incurred by the board as are attributable to that change in status.

• (5) The Scottish Ministers may make the payment of a grant in pursuance of subsection (4) above subject to such conditions and requirements (including a requirement that the whole or any part of a grant be repaid) as they think fit.

Transfer of staff of self-governing school

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• (1) This subsection and subsections (2) to (4) below apply to any person who, immediately before the date specified in an order under section 17 of this Act as respects a self-governing school, is employed by the board of management of the school.

• (2) The contract of employment between the person and the board shall have effect from that date as if originally made between the person and the education authority which is to manage the school.

• (3) Without prejudice to subsection (2) above—

• (a) all the board’s rights, powers, duties and liabilities under or in connection with the contract shall by virtue of this paragraph transfer to the authority on that date; and

• (b) anything done before that date by or in relation to the board in respect of that contract or of the employee shall be deemed as from that date to have been done by or in relation to the authority.