Education Act 1976

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Education Act 1976
Act of Parliament
Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (variant 1, 1952-2022).svg
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title An Act to amend the law relating to education.
Citation 1976 c. 81
Introduced by Fred Mulley (Commons)
Territorial extent England and Wales
Dates
Royal assent 22 November 1976
Repealed1 November 1996
Other legislation
Amends Education Act 1944
Repealed by Education Act 1979 (partially)
Education Act 1996 (wholly)
Status: Repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted
Text of the Education Act 1976 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

The Education Act 1976 (c. 81) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom relating to education in England and Wales. The act gave the Secretary of State for Education the power to require local education authorities to plan for non-selective (i.e., comprehensive) secondary education. This was a significant step in the Labour government's attempt to abolish selection by ability and end the tripartite system. [1]

Contents

Passage through Parliament

An education bill was formulated in December 1975 by the then-Secretary of State for Education, Fred Mulley. The Education Bill received its second reading in the House of Commons on 4 February 1976, where Mulley declared that the Bill's foremost intention was to "give effect to the Government's policy on comprehensive education". [2] The Bill received Royal assent on 22 November 1976, [3] by which time Shirley Williams had taken over as Secretary of State for Education and Science.

Effects of the act

Comprehensive education

The primary impact of the act was the establishment of the "comprehensive principle" in law. Section 1 of the act explicitly stated that local education authorities "shall, in the exercise and performance of their powers and duties relating to secondary education, have regard to the general principle that such education is to be provided only in schools where the arrangements for the admission of pupils are not based (wholly or partly) on selection by reference to ability or aptitude". [4]

On 25 November 1976, just days after the act received Royal Assent, the Department for Education and Science issued Circular 11/76. This required local authorities that had not yet submitted schemes for comprehensive reorganisation to do so. [5] The act sought to complete the transition away from grammar schools and secondary moderns and legally enforce the abolition of the Eleven-plus examination, a transition process which had been heavily promoted via voluntary requests to local authorities since 1965. [1]

Repeal

The compulsion for local education authorities to go comprehensive was short-lived. Following the Conservative victory in the 1979 United Kingdom general election, the new government led by Margaret Thatcher passed the Education Act 1979, which formally repealed Sections 1, 2, and 3 of the 1976 Act. [6] This removed the legal requirement for comprehensive reorganisation and restored the right of local authorities to retain selective secondary schools.

The remaining provisions of the 1976 act remained on the statute book for a further seventeen years until they were entirely repealed and consolidated by the Education Act 1996. [7]

References

  1. 1 2 Gillard, Derek (2018). "Education in England: a history - Chapter 6". Education in England. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  2. ↑ "Education Bill - HC Deb 04 February 1976 vol 904 cc1215-344". Historic Hansard. Parliament of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  3. ↑ "Royal Assent - HL Deb 22 November 1976 vol 377 c1726". Historic Hansard. Parliament of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  4. ↑ "Education Act 1976: Section 1". legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  5. ↑ Circular 11/76: Education Act 1976. Department of Education and Science. 25 November 1976.
  6. ↑ "Education Act 1979: Section 1". legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  7. ↑ "Education Act 1996: Schedule 38 (Repeals)". legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
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