Education and Skills Bill

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Downloads

• Education and Skills Bill [600kb]
• Raising expectations: staying in education and training post-16 [335kb]
• Raising expectations: from policy to legislation [287kb]
• World class skills: implementing the Leitch review of skills in England [907kb]
• Bill narrative - Lords [34kb]
• Impact Assessment - revised 21 July 2008 [833kb]
• Delegated Powers Memo - Lords Introduction [193kb]
• Delegated Powers - supporting documents - Lords intro [301kb]

Supporting documents

• Draft Clause 65 Guidance to local authorities [1.85mb]

Related links

• Education and Skills Bill

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The Education and Skills Bill received its Third Reading in the House of Commons on 13 May 2008 and was introduced to the House of Lords the following morning. Second Reading in the House of Lords took place on 10 June.

The Bill was debated by the House of Lords Committee on 25 June, 1, 3, 17 July; the final Committee session took place on 21 July. The Bill will have its Report stage and Third Reading in the House of Lords after summer recess (dates for the final stages of the Bill have yet to be confirmed).

This landmark piece of legislation will increase participation in learning for young people and adults, meeting the Government’s ambition of achieving world class skills in the UK by 2020.

For the first time in 30 years, the Government is legislating to raise the education leaving age to 18.

In doing this, young people will be given new rights to take up opportunities for education and training, and the support they need to engage in learning.

They will also have new responsibilities as part of a partnership between young people and parents, schools and colleges, local government and employers.

The Bill’s provisions will put in place a right for adults to basic and intermediate skills, giving adults a second chance to gain the skills they need to thrive in society and throughout their working lives.

The Bill will also rationalise the regulation and monitoring regime for independent schools and non-maintained special schools in line with the Government’s wider simplification and bureaucracy cutting agenda.

The Bill makes a number of other changes to support the raising of the education and training participation age, including:

• Transferring the responsibility for delivering the Connexions service to local authorities
• Placing the Learning and Skills Council under a duty to secure proper provision of apprenticeships
• Strengthening arrangements for local collaboration for the 14-19 reforms
• Clarifying schools’ duty to deliver careers education impartially and not to seek to promote institutional interest before the best interests of the young person
• Ensuring young people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities receive an assessment of their needs during the year they are expected to leave school to take up Further Education or training
• Ensuring local authorities take travelling time as well as distance into account in preparing transport statements for over 16s
• Requiring local authorities to produce an annual report on school admissions arrangements in their area

The Bill’s provisions will bring benefits at many different levels:

• to the economy because of higher skill levels and improved competitiveness;
• to society because young people who are participating in learning are less likely to be involved in crime or anti-social behaviour, to be misusing drugs or alcohol or to be teenage parents. Better skills – for young people and adults - are the key to greater social mobility, and will contribute to improving health outcomes and to greater civic and community participation;
• to individuals from increased self-esteem, higher earnings potential and improved employability.

The downloadable documents on the right hand side of this page set out in greater detail the policies and provisions of the Education and Skills Bill.

You can track the Bill’s progress through Parliament online.

School Admissions Consultation
In the Children’s Plan, published in December 2007, ministers committed to review the school application and allocation process. On 12 June 2008 the Department launched a consultation which outlines proposed changes to make the admissions process for parents as fair, transparent and straightforward as possible.

The draft regulations in this consultation reflect the changes proposed to the consultation on admissions arrangements and the extended powers of the Schools Adjudicator in clause 134 of the Education and Skills Bill. The consultation runs for 16 weeks. The full consultation and supporting documents can be viewed on the Department's Consultation pages.

If you have any further specific questions about the Bill, please email: EducationAndSkills.BILL@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk