Education and Skills Act 2008

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Education and Skills Act 2008 [1]
Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (variant 1, 1952-2022).svg
Long title An Act to make provision about education and training; and for connected purposes.
Citation 2008 c 25
Introduced by Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (Commons)
Lord Adonis, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools and Learners (Lords)
Territorial extent  England
Dates
Royal assent 26 November 2008
History of passage through Parliament
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended

The Education and Skills Act 2008 (c 25) is an Act of the Parliament for England which added additional requirements for those post school leaving age (16), to be in either full-time (or part-time) work, or further education (ie. college) when aged 16-17. The Act does not apply in Scotland, Northern Ireland or Wales, in those nations the school-leaving age remains around 16, without additional requirements (depending on the person's birthday).

This part of the Act has been described as "exhum[ing] fundamental questions about the purposes of statutory state education". [2] There was some criticism, based on the theory that the government wanted to decrease unemployment figures by removing this group of young people from those looking for work. [3] It was certainly intended to bring down the NEET figures. [4]

The Act also introduced a number of other changes including the right of choice and appeal for young people regarding their sixth form college, and placing duties on the Learning and Skills Council regarding payment and finance of courses for both children and adults. [5]

References

  1. The citation of this Act by this short title is authorised by section 174(1) of this Act.
  2. Farnsworth, K.; Irving, Z.; Fenger, M. (2014). Social Policy Review 26: Analysis and Debate in Social Policy 2014. Social Policy Review Series. Policy Press. p. 47. ISBN   978-1-4473-1556-8 . Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  3. Hindmarch, D.; Hall, F.; Machin, L.; Murray, S. (2017). A Concise Guide to Education Studies. Critical Publishing. p. 23. ISBN   978-1-911106-83-8 . Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  4. Pickard, S. (2019). Politics, Protest and Young People: Political Participation and Dissent in 21st Century Britain. Palgrave Macmillan UK. p. 172. ISBN   978-1-137-57788-7 . Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  5. "Department for Education". 15 December 2023.

See also