Local education authorities (LEAs) were defined in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

as the local councils responsible for education within their jurisdictions. The term was introduced by the Education Act 1902, which transferred education powers from

school boards A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional area, ...

to existing local councils. There have been periodic changes to the types of councils defined as local education authorities. Initially, they were the councils of counties and county boroughs. From 1974 the local education authorities were the county councils in non-metropolitan areas and the district councils in metropolitan areas. In Greater London, the ''ad hoc''

Inner London Education Authority The Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) was the local education authority for the City of London and the 12 Inner London boroughs from 1965 until its abolition in 1990. From 1965 to 1986 it was an ad hoc committee of the Greater London Co ...

existed from 1965 to 1990. Outer London borough councils have been LEAs since 1965 and inner London borough councils since 1990. Unitary authorities created since 1995 have all been LEAs. The functions of LEAs have varied over time as council responsibilities for local education have changed. On 1 April 2009, their powers were transferred to directors of children's services. The Children Act 2004 required every London borough, metropolitan district, top-tier local authority (county) or UA in England to appoint a director of children's services. The Education and Inspections Act 2006 includes a clause that allows for the future renaming of LEAs as local authorities in all legislation, removing the anomaly of one local authority being known as an LEA and a children's services authority.

History

Creation

The term was introduced by the Education Act 1902 ( 2 Edw. 7. c. 42). The legislation designated each local authority; either

county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Australia In the Australian state of New South Wales, county councils are special purpose ...

and county borough council; would set up a committee known as a ''local education authority'' (LEA).Bryne, T., ''Local Government in Britain'', (1994) The councils took over the powers and responsibilities of the

and technical instruction committees in their area.

Municipal borough A municipal borough was a type of local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of ...

s with a population of 10,000 and urban districts with a population of 20,000 were to be local education authorities in their areas for elementary education only. In 1904 the

London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...

became a local education authority, with the abolition of the London School Board. The

metropolitan boroughs A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of local government district in England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts within metropol ...

within London were not education authorities, although they were given the power to decide on the site for new schools in their areas, and provided the majority of members on boards of management. The LEAs' role was further expanded with the introduction of school meals in 1906 and medical inspection in 1907.

Reform

The

Education Act 1944 The Education Act 1944 ( 7 & 8 Geo. 6. c. 31) made major changes in the provision and governance of secondary schools in England and Wales. It is also known as the Butler Act after the President of the Board of Education, R. A. Butler. Histori ...

changed the requirements for delegation of functions from county councils to districts and boroughs. The population requirement for excepted districts became 60,000 or 7,000 pupils registered in elementary schools. The

Local Government Act 1958 The Local Government Act 1958 (6 & 7 Eliz. 2. c. 55) was an Act of Parliament, Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom affecting local government in England and Wales outside London. Among its provisions it included the establishment of Local ...

permitted any county district to apply for excepted district status. In 1965 the

Middlesex County Council Middlesex County Council was the principal local government body in the administrative county of Middlesex from 1889 to 1965. The county council was created by the Local Government Act 1888, which also removed the most populous part of the cou ...

and the councils of the county boroughs of Croydon, East Ham and West Ham were replaced by the

Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...

. The twenty outer

London borough The London boroughs are the current 32 districts of England, local authority districts that together with the City of London make up the administrative area of Greater London, England; each is governed by a London borough council. The present ...

s became local education authorities, while a new

, consisting of the members of the GLC elected for the twelve inner London boroughs covering the former

County of London The County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Government A ...

was created. In 1974 local government outside London was completely reorganised. In the new metropolitan counties of England and Wales,

metropolitan borough A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of districts of England, local government district in England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan distr ...

s became LEAs. In the non-metropolitan counties the

s were the education authorities. In 1986, with the abolition of the Greater London Council, the Inner London Education Authority became directly elected. This however only lasted until 1990, when the twelve inner

s assumed responsibility for education. In 1989, under the

Education Reform Act 1988 The Education Reform Act 1988 (c. 40) is legislation that introduced multiple changes to the education system in England and Wales, including the introduction of Key Stages and the National Curriculum. It replaced many rules and structures that h ...

, the LEAs lost responsibility for higher education, with all polytechnics and colleges of higher education becoming independent corporations. A further wave of local government reorganisation during the 1990s led to the formation of

unitary authorities A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

in parts of England and throughout Wales, which became local education authorities.

Redefinition

The Children Act 2004 defined each local education authority as additionally a children's services authority, with responsibility for both functions held by the director of children's services.Children Act 2004 c. 31

Ending

England

The ''Local Education Authorities and Children's Services Authorities (Integration of Functions) Order 2010'' removed all reference to local education authorities and children's services authorities from existing legislation, replacing them with the term 'local authority'. A local authority for the purposes of the

Education Act 1996 The Education Act 1996 (c. 56) is act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, introduced under the second John Major government. It led to the establishment of special local authorities, who for example would identify children with special educ ...

and the Children Act 2004 was defined as the county council, metropolitan district council, unitary authority, London borough council and the Common Council of the City of London. Schedule 1 of the order inserted in the Education Act 1996 a list of 'education functions' for the relevant local authorities. Despite the term becoming obsolete, 'local education authority' continues to be used to distinguish local authorities with education functions from those without them.

Wales

In Wales the councils of the counties and county boroughs are responsible for education. Since 5 May 2010, the terms local education authority and children's services authority have been repealed and replaced by the single term 'local authority' in both primary and secondary legislation.

Functions

Local education authorities had some responsibility for all state schools in their area. *They are responsible for distribution and monitoring of funding for the schools *They are responsible for co-ordination of admissions, including allocation of the number of places available at each school *They are the direct employers of all staff in

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

and VC schools *They have a responsibility for the educational achievement of looked-after children, i.e. children in their care *They have attendance and advisory rights in relation to the employment of teachers, and in relation to the dismissal of any staff *They are the owners of school land and premises in community schools. Until recently, local education authorities were responsible for the funding of students in

higher education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

(for example undergraduate courses and PGCE) whose permanent address is in their area, regardless of the place of study. Based on an assessment of individual circumstances they offer grants or access to

student loan A student loan is a type of loan designed to help students pay for post-secondary education and the associated fees, such as tuition, books and supplies, and living expenses. It may differ from other types of loans in the fact that the interest ...

s through the Student Loans Company.

Education functions

Statutory education functions for local authorities in England are as follows: * Making of byelaws relating to the employment of children. * Payment of injury benefit to or in respect of teachers. * Powers and duties relating to careers services * Duty to provide information to the Secretary of State. * General duty to secure that facilities for education are provided without sex discrimination. * Power to use a school bus to carry fare-paying passengers. * Duty to prepare and revise lists of rooms in school premises which candidates may use. * Duty to require the appropriate officer to give an opinion as to whether a child with a statement is disabled. * Education supervision orders. * Duty to secure that disabled pupils are not placed at a substantial disadvantage. * Duty to prepare an accessibility strategy. * Duty (as responsible body) to prepare an accessibility plan. * Duty relating to the provision of independent advocacy services * Duties as an "authorised body" relating to qualifications. * Duty to arrange assessments relating to learning difficulties. * Duty to implement approved proposals relating to sixth forms. * Duty to include certain persons on overview and scrutiny committee if it relates to education functions. * Powers and duties relating to education of a child in an accommodation centre. * Powers and duties relating to parenting orders and parenting contracts. * Duty to make available to the Secretary of State appropriate accommodation for enabling the Secretary of State to arrange for medical inspections in schools.

Relevant local authority

England has several tiers of local government and the relevant local authority varies. Within

Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...

the 32

London borough council The London boroughs are the current 32 local authority districts that together with the City of London make up the administrative area of Greater London, England; each is governed by a London borough council. The present London boroughs were ...

s and the

Common Council of the City of London The Court of Common Council is the primary decision-making body of the City of London Corporation. It meets nine times per year. Most of its work is carried out by committees. City of London Corporation elections , Elections are held at least eve ...

are the local authorities responsible for education; in the metropolitan counties it is the 36 metropolitan borough councils; and in the non-metropolitan counties it is the 21

s or, where there is no county council, the councils of the 62

. The

Council of the Isles of Scilly The Council of the Isles of Scilly is a ''sui generis'' local government authority covering the Isles of Scilly off the west coast of Cornwall, England. It is currently made up of 16 councillors, all independents. The council was created in 18 ...

is an education authority. There are 153 local education authorities in England.

List of local authorities responsible for education

There are currently 153 local education authorities in England. Below they are listed alphabetically by region.Department for Education and Skills
- LA Contact Details

References

External links

DfES: The Role of the Local Education Authority in School Education
{{Local government services in the United Kingdom Education in the United Kingdom

Education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

Local education authorities