The Education Act 2005 (c 18) is an Act

Act of Parliament

An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...

 of the Parliament of the United Kingdom

Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

. It was enacted in order to simplify the process of school improvement, strengthening the accountability framework for schools, in particular by amending the approach used by Ofsted

Office for Standards in Education

The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills is the non-ministerial government department of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools In England ....

 when inspecting schools in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. This Act repealed the provisions of the School Inspections Act 1996.

The Act also brought about changes to the role of the Teacher Training Agency, broadened the need for Local Education Authorities

Local Education Authority

A local education authority is a local authority in England and Wales that has responsibility for education within its jurisdiction...

 to invite proposals for new schools, and introduced 3-year budgets for maintained schools.

The Education Act is divided into five parts, which are summarised below:

Part 1 - School inspections and other inspections by school inspectors

This part of the Act sets out

• Procedures for appointment and removal of Her Majesty's Chief Inspectors of Schools in England and Wales
• Requirements for inspections of schools at 'prescribed intervals'
• Requirement to publish school inspection reports
• The circumstances under which a school should be deemed to require special measures
  Special measures
  Special measures is a status applied by Ofsted and Estyn, the schools inspection agencies, to schools in England and Wales, respectively, when it considers that they fail to supply an acceptable level of education and appear to lack the leadership capacity necessary to secure improvements...
  
   or significant improvement; and
• Procedures to be invoked when a school is deemed to require special measures
  Special measures
  Special measures is a status applied by Ofsted and Estyn, the schools inspection agencies, to schools in England and Wales, respectively, when it considers that they fail to supply an acceptable level of education and appear to lack the leadership capacity necessary to secure improvements...
  
   or significant improvement; and
• The steps which must be taken by responsible authorities in such circumstances
• The parties to whom a copy of the final school inspection report must be passed
• The provision for the inspection of Religious Education
  Religious Education
  Religious Education is the term given to education concerned with religion. It may refer to education provided by a church or religious organization, for instruction in doctrine and faith, or for education in various aspects of religion, but without explicitly religious or moral aims, e.g. in a...
  
   in faith schools
• The provision of rights to inspect by other authorities, including Local Education Authorities
• The circumstances under which the National Assembly for Wales
  National Assembly for Wales
  The National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, or AMs...
  
   may amend the inspection framework for use in Wales

Part 2 - School organisation

This part of the Act:

• amends the processes by which an organisation can propose the creation of a community, foundation or voluntary school
• amends procedures for proposing the discontinuation of rural primary schools

Part 3 - Training the school workforce

This part of the Act:

• renames the Teacher Training Agency as the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA).
• extends the responsibilities of the TDA to include continuing professional development for teachers and schools and raising standards of teaching, in addition to its existing role of promoting teaching as a career
• sets out the circumstances under which the TDA will work in Wales under the authority of the National Assembly for Wales
• sets out the financial framework within which the TDA will work
• sets out the funding arrangements for the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales
  Higher Education Funding Council for Wales
  The Higher Education Funding Council for Wales is an Assembly Government Sponsored Body, and anintermediary body between the Welsh Assembly Government and the higher education sector in Wales.- HEFCW business :...
  
   (HEFCW)
• sets out the power of maintained schools to provide training for the school workforce

Part 4 - Miscellaneous

This part of the Act contains miscellaneous provisions which:

• require Local Education Authorities
  Local Education Authority
  A local education authority is a local authority in England and Wales that has responsibility for education within its jurisdiction...
  
   to set targets for pupils in their care and in their schools
• remove the requirement for school governors
  School governors
  In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, school governors are members of a school's Governing Body. In state schools they have responsibility for raising school standards through their three key roles of setting strategic direction, ensuring accountability and acting as a critical friend...
  
   to produce an annual report, or to hold an annual meeting with parents.
• introduce the requirement for governors to produce a School profile
  School profile
  A school profile is a document which must be produced by most maintained schools in England, under the provisions of the Education Act 2005.The profile replaces the requirement for school governors to produce an annual report to parents...
  
  
• make specific admission arrangements for children in the care of the local authority.
• set out the requirement for the sharing of information in relation to Education Maintenance Allowance
  Education Maintenance Allowance
  Education Maintenance Allowance is a financial scheme applicable to students and those undertaking unpaid work-based learning in the Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland aged between sixteen and nineteen whose parents have a certain level of taxable income...
  
   payments, and the provision of free school meals.
• make arrangements for the provision of alternative education for otherwise excluded pupils.

Part 5 - General

This part of the Act indicates those functions which may be exercised by the National Assembly for Wales in respect of Wales.

Section 125 - Commencement

The following orders have been made under section 125(4):

• The Education Act 2005 (Commencement No.1 and Savings and Transitional Provisions) Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/2034 (C. 87))
• The Education Act 2005 (Commencement No. 2 and Transitional Provisions and Savings) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/2129 (C. 70))

• The Education Act 2005 (Commencement No. 1 and Transitional Provisions) (Wales) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/1338 (W. 130) (C. 45))
• The Education Act 2005 (Commencement No. 2) (Wales) Order 2010 (S.I. 2010/735 (W. 72) (C. 49))