This is the latest in our series of quarterly education update blogs which will enable readers to catch up on the most important cases, issues or developments in education law from April to June 2017. Please feel free to submit a comment below or send us an Ask query if you have any views on the cases, issues, or legal developments that are covered or if you think we have missed something that should be brought to the attention of education law practitioners.
In this post, we look at:
- Legislative developments.
- Government guidance and policy statements.
- Featured Ask queries.
LEGISLATIVE DEVELOPMENTS
- The School Governance (Constitution and Federations) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2017 have been made. The regulations came into force on 1 May 2017, with the exception of regulation 2(3) and (4), which will come into force on 1 September 2017. The regulations extend to England and Wales, and amend the School Governance (Constitution) (England) Regulations 2012 and the School Governance (Federations) (England) Regulations 2012.
GOVERNMENT GUIDANCE AND POLICY STATEMENTS
On 21 June 2017, the House of Commons Library published a briefing paper on reforms relating to technical education. The paper discusses the 2015 Government’s Post-16 Skills Plan, published in July 2016, which set out proposed reforms to the technical education system in England, and the Technical and Further Education Act 2017, which contains the legislative framework for the reform proposals.
On 5 July 2017, the Welsh Government (WG) published a consultation document seeking views on proposals to improve outcomes for learners accessing education otherwise than at school (EOTAS) provision. The WG is seeking to implement a phased approach to reforming Welsh policy on EOTAS and pupil referral units, and invites views on proposals contained within the draft Framework for Action, improving outcomes for learners accessing education otherwise than at school provision. The consultation closes on 31 July 2017.
On 21 April 2017, the Department for Education published operational guidance for local authorities and providers on the entitlement of parents to 30 hours free childcare contained in the Childcare Act 2016. The guidance has been published to help local authorities and providers understand how they should deliver the free entitlements. Local authorities must have regard to the guidance when discharging their duties to secure free early years provision and, unless they have good reason to do so, should not depart from the guidance.
On 29 March 2017, the government published its response to the review of the special educational needs disagreement resolution arrangements undertaken by the Centre for Educational Development Appraisal and Research at the University of Warwick.
FEATURED ASK QUERIES
We have published the following Ask query that may be of interest to education practitioners: