Education Act 2011 Chapter 21

The Education Act is founded on the principles and proposals in the Department for Education November 2010 white paper, the Importance of Teaching (Cm. 7980, ISBN 9780108400803). The Act includes measures to increase authority of teachers to discipline pupils and ensure good behaviour with a general power to search pupils for items banned under the school's rules, the ability to issue same-date detentions and pre-charge anonymity when faced with an allegation by a pupil of a criminal offence. The Act removes duties and gives effect to proposals to increase school, local authorities and college freedoms. It will change school accountability, with more focused Ofsted inspections and wider powers to intervene in under-performing schools. Ofqual, the independent qualifications regulator, will be required to secure that the standards of English qualifications are comparable with qualifications awarded outside the UK. Five arm's length bodies, will be abolished with many of their functions ending and those which are to continue being discharged by the Secretary of State, who will directly to Parliament accountable for them. Enforcement powers of Ofqual and of Welsh Ministers will also be changed. The Government will introduce an entitlement to free early years provision for disadvantaged two year olds and take forward elements of higher education funding: enabling a real rate of interest to charged on higher education student loans and allowing fees for part-time undergraduate courses to be capped. The Act will also make provision regarding direct payments for people with special educational needs or subject to learning difficulty assessment