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Education and Skills Bill

The purpose of this Bill is to promote excellence in schools and help ensure that every school becomes a good school; to ensure a customer-driven skills and apprentichsip system; and to create a new regulator for qualifications and tests, and a development agency for curriculum, assessment and qualifications.

The main elements of the Bill

The main elements of the Bill are:

  • promote excellence in schools and fair access to good schools, through taking appropriate powers and making sure local authorities intervene when necessary to ensure that all schools achieve at least 30% 5 GCSEs at A* - C grade, including English and Maths; strengthening the powers that parents have to ensure that their children receive high standard, personalised education and ensuring parents’ complaints are handled in a straightforward and open way; improving behaviour and attendance and reform of Pupil Referral Units and other alternative provision outside mainstream schools and strengthening of local partnerships
  • transfer funding and responsibility for delivering 16-18 education and training to local authorities; and create a new non-departmental public body to perform certain functions on pre-19 education and skills (Young People’s Learning Agency)
  • transfer responsibility for the education and training of young offenders in juvenile custody to local authorities
  • strengthen the capacity of Children’s Trusts to improve outcomes for children, young people and their families, in particular to make arrangements for early identification and support for children with additional needs
  • strengthen qualifications regulation powers, and transfer those powers from the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) to a new independent regulator for England, the Office of the Qualifications and Examinations Regulator (Ofqual); and establish a Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency to continue QCA’s remaining functions
  • provide a statutory basis for the apprenticeship programme, creating a new National Apprenticeships Service, establishing the first statutory entitlement to apprenticeships for all suitably qualified young people, and ensuring that schools provide comprehensive career information about apprenticeships
  • secure a demand-led adult skills system, driven by learners and employers; a new adult advancement and careers service will be housed within a new post-19 Skills Funding Agency
  • strengthen workplace skills training, including by creating a right for employees to request from their employer time to undertake relevant training
  • amend the rules about the effect of personal insolvency for those with student loans, ensuring consistency of treatment for those subject to an Individual Voluntary Arrangement and those subject to bankruptcy

Making your voice heard - consultation

If you would like to comment on this Bill, follow the link below.

Additional links

Draft Legislative Programme

DLP - making Britain's laws, having your say

Your chance to find out about and comment on the proposals for new laws

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