Commentary Part 4: Schools Causing Concern Section 63: Power of LEA to require governing body to enter into arrangements
284.This section provides local education authorities with a new power of intervention, allowing them to direct the governing body of a maintained school to take certain steps if the school is eligible for intervention.
285.Subsection (1) sets out what sort of arrangements a governing body might be instructed to enter into under this section: contracting with another party for the provision of advisory services to the governing body; collaborating with the governing body of another school; collaborating with a further education college or creating or joining a federation.
286.Before using the power the local education authority must consult the governing body of the school; in the case of a church school, foundation or voluntary, the appropriate diocesan authority and in the case of other foundation or voluntary schools, the body that appoints the foundation governors (subsection (2)).
287.If a school has not complied with a warning notice issued by the local education authority and therefore becomes eligible for intervention, subsection (3) provides that the power of the local education authority to require a governing body to enter into arrangements can only be exercised within two months of the end of the compliance period.