Commentary Schedule 4: Disposals and changes of use of land Section 38: General duties of governing body of maintained school
181.Subsection (1) of this section amends section 21 of the 2002 Act (general responsibility for conduct of school) to impose four new duties on the governing body of maintained schools.
182.The first of these duties, provided by the new subsection (5)(a) of section 21, requires the governing body of a maintained school in England and Wales to promote the well-being of pupils at the school when discharging their functions relating to the conduct of the school.
183.Well-being is defined (in the new subsection (8)(a) of section 21) in relation to pupils at a school in England, as relating to the matters mentioned in section 10(2) of the Children Act 2004. For pupils at a schools in Wales, well-being is defined (in the new subsection (8)(b) of section 21) as relating to the matters mentioned in section 25(2) of the Children Act 2004. In both sections 10(2) and 25(2) of the Children Act 2004 the matters are:
184.The second of these duties, provided by the new subsection (5)(b) of section 21, requires the governing body of a maintained school in England to promote community cohesion when discharging their functions relating to the conduct of the school.
185.The third duty, provided by the new subsection (6) of section 21, requires the governing body of a maintained school in England and Wales to have regard to any relevant Children and Young People’s Plan (“CYPP”) in exercising their functions in relation to the conduct of the school.
186.A relevant CYPP is defined (in the new subsection (9)(a) of section 21) in relation to a school in England, as a plan published by the local education authority under section 17 of the Children Act 2004 or, in relation to a local education authority that is exempt from the requirements in that section, a similar plan setting out the authority’s strategic plan for their delivery of children’s services. The Children and Young People’s Plan Regulations (England) 2005 exempt local authorities that are classified as ‘excellent’ under Comprehensive Performance Assessment from the requirement to produce a statutory plan. A relevant CYPP is defined (in subsection (9)(b)) in relation to a school in Wales, as a plan published by the local education authority under section 26 of the Children Act 2004 or, in relation to a local education authority that is exempt from the requirements in that section, a similar plan setting out the authority’s strategic plan for their delivery of children’s services. This subsection will apply the duty to schools in authorities that choose to produce a CYPP even though they are not required to do so.
187.The new subsection (7) of section 21 of the 2002 Act requires governing bodies of maintained schools in England, in the discharge of their functions, to have regard to any views expressed by parents of registered pupils. It will be for individual schools to determine how and when to seek the views of parents. Under the new inspection framework introduced in September 2005 all schools will have to demonstrate that they have listened to and taken into account parental views. This subsection does not apply to governing bodies of maintained schools in Wales.
188.Subsection (2) of this section amends section 28 of the 2002 Act (limit on power to provide community facilities etc.) to require governing bodies to take into account the CYPP (new subsections (4A) and (4B) of section 28) and the views of parents (new subsection (4C)), in each case in providing extended services for the wider community.