Schools in the 1990s

Overall responsibility for all schools in the United Kingdom is held by four government departments: the Department of Education, headed by the Secretary of State for Education, in England; the Welsh Office; the Scottish Office; and the Department of Education for Northern Ireland—the last three headed by the secretaries of state for their respective countries. The majority of funding for state education is provided from central government revenues; the remainder is met from local government income from rates on property and local taxes. Until the late 1980s the LEAs were responsible for the allocation of finance and pupils to the overwhelming majority of schools, for their financial management and maintenance, and for the provision of certain services, such as the purchase of books for school libraries. In 1994 the government spent 5.2 per cent of gross national product (GNP) on education.

Reform in the 1980s and 1990s

However, the Education Reform Act introduced by the Conservative government in 1988 initiated the most fundamental changes in the education systems of the United Kingdom since 1945. Its provisions dramatically reduced the powers of the LEAs, giving individual schools control over their own budgets, and allowing schools to apply to opt out of LEA control and receive grant-maintained (GM) status. In England and Wales the LEAs are now responsible for allocating funds to individual schools, largely on the basis of pupil numbers. The school governors (comprising elected parent and teacher representatives, and LEA-appointed representatives) are responsible for budgeting and overseeing expenditure, and for most aspects of staffing, including appointments and dismissals. The system in Northern Ireland is similar, but adapted to accommodate the large number of voluntary Church schools. Devolved management has also been introduced in Scotland.

All state-funded secondary schools in England, Wales, and Scotland can obtain GM status if the parents support the idea in a ballot, and the secretary of state approves the school’s proposals. GM schools are completely self-governing and independent of LEAs, receiving their funds directly from central government. By 1996 there were 1,099 GM schools in England (448 primary and 642 secondary); the numbers in Wales and Scotland were much lower.

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Text 2. Politics and education	\|	National Curriculum

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