The Education Reform Act 1988 (Commencement No. 9) Order 1991

Made: 12th March 1991

The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 236(6) to (8) of the Education Reform Act 1988[^f00001], hereby makes the following Order:

Citation, interpretation and effect

1

• (1) This Order may be cited as the Education Reform Act 1988 (Commencement No. 9) Order 1991.

• (2) In this Order “the Act” means the Education Reform Act 1988.

• (3) Articles 2 to 4 and 6 have effect for bringing the provisions specified into effect in relation to primary schools.

Coming into force of certain provisions of the Act

2

Section 26 of the Act shall come into force—

• (a) for the purpose of enabling proposals to be made under subsections (4) to (6) for fixing the number of pupils in any age group which it is intended to admit to a primary school in the school year beginning next after 1st August 1992 and for the purposes of subsections (7), (8) and (10), on 1st September 1991; and

• (b) for its remaining purposes (so far as they relate to primary schools), on 1st August 1992.

3

Subsections (1) to (3) and (9) of section 27 and sections 28 and 32 of the Act shall come into force (so far as they relate to primary schools) on the making of this Order.

4

Subsections (4) to (8) of section 27 of the Act shall come into force—

• (a) for the purpose of enabling orders reducing any standard number applying to a primary school to be made under subsection (5) and applications for such orders to be made as mentioned in subsection (6), on 1st May 1991;

• (b) for the purpose of enabling orders increasing any standard number applying to a primary school to be made under subsection (5) and applications for such orders to be made as mentioned in subsection (7), on lst September 1991; and

• (c) for their remaining purposes (so far as they relate to primary schools) on the making of this Order.

5

Section 29 of the Act shall come into force on 1st May 1991.

6

• (1) Subsection (1) of section 31 of the Act shall come into force (so far as it relates to primary schools) on 1st August 1992.

• (2) Subsection (2) of section 31 of the Act shall come into force (so far as it relates to the publication of admission arrangements for primary schools for the school year beginning next after 1st August 1992 and subsequent school years) on 1st September 1991.

• (3) Subsection (3) of section 31 of the Act shall come into force on 1st August 1991.

• (4) Subsections (4) to (6) of section 31 of the Act shall come into force on 1st May 1991.

Transitional provision

7

Where—

• (a) an application for an order under section 27(5) reducing a standard number has been made before 31st May 1992, and

• (b) the Secretary of State has not before that date either made or refused to make an order on the application,

the standard number applying to the primary school in question for any age group to which the application relates in the school year beginning next after 1st August 1992 shall be the number of pupils in that age group registered at the school on 31st May 1992.

Signed

Kenneth Clarke — Secretary of State for Education and Science — 12th March 1991

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order brings into force certain provisions of the Education Reform Act 1988 relating to the admission of pupils to county and voluntary schools.

This Order brings section 29, which makes special provision in relation to admissions to primary schools, into force and brings specified provisions of sections 26, 27, 28, 31 and 32 into force in relation to primary schools (articles 1(3) and 2 to 6).

Sections 27(1) to (3) and (9), 28 and 32 are brought into force for primary schools immediately (article 3).

Section 29 is brought into force on 1st May 1991 (article 5).

Subsections (4) to (8) of section 27 are brought into force on 1st May 1991 to the extent necessary to enable applications for orders reducing standard numbers at such schools, and such orders, to be made (article 4(a)).

Those same subsections, together with section 26, are brought into force on 1st September 1991 to the extent necessary to enable proposals for increasing admissions limits and applications for orders increasing standard numbers at such schools, and such orders, to be made (articles 2(a) and 4(b)).

Those same subsections are brought into force for their remaining purposes, so far as they relate to such schools, immediately (article 4(c)).

A transitional provision in article 7 provides for the case where an application for reduction of a standard number has been made before 31st May 1992 but not determined by that date.

Section 26 is brought fully into force in relation to primary schools on 1st August 1992, together with the consequential provisions in section 31(1) (articles 2(b) and 6(1)). For school years commencing after that date the admissions limits for county and voluntary primary schools must not be less than the relevant standard number as defined in section 27. Section 31(2), which makes consequential amendments in the requirements for the publication of admission arrangements, is brought into force in relation to such years and such schools on 1st September 1991 (article 6(2)).

Subsection (3) of section 31, which extends the requirements of section 6 to 8 of the Education Act 1980 (c. 20) in relation to parental preferences to the admission of children aged below 5 years on admission, is brought into force on 1st August 1991.

Subsections (4) to (6) of section 31, which amend sections 12, 13 and 38 of the 1980 Act, are brought into force on 1st May 1991.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 1988 c. 40