Education Act 1980

The Education Act 1980 was an Act of Parliament relating to education in England and Wales. The Act gave local authorities greater autonomy, and had a large effect on the lives of children.

Education Act 1980
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title1980 Education Act
Dates
Royal assent3 April 1980

Passage through Parliament

The Education Bill referred to education in England, Wales and Scotland. The Education Bill received its second reading on 5 November 1989.[1] In mid-February 1980 the Bill was in the Report Stage, and passing through the House of Lords in late February 1980, and the Committee Stage in the second week of March 1980. The House of Lords sat late into the evening on Monday 10 March and Tuesday 11 March 1980, with 299 amendments.[2] Clause 23, linked to costs of school transport, looked likely to be defeated; this proposal from the Association of County Councils (the Local Government Association, or LGA, since 1997) was thought to save about £20m. The House of Lords sat through the night of Tuesday 11 March. Clause 23 did not pass, and it was abandoned.

The Third Reading of the Bill was passed on Monday 31 March 1980.[3]

Repeal

Small parts of the act would be repealed by the Education Act 1996.

Effects of the Act

Assisted Places Scheme

From 1976, 119 direct-grant grammar schools had gone independent; it was expected that most would participate in the Assisted Places Scheme, which would cost around £6m in the first year, rising to £55m after six years. It would be paid for around 12,000 to 15,000 children a year, from means-tested poor families. There were around 265 grammar schools in England at the time. The scheme was expected to start in September 1981.

The leader of the NAHT (National Association of Head Teachers) said that his teaching staff deplored the Assisted Places Scheme, as it would take up to 20% of the bright children from the state sector. All of the educational establishment were against the scheme, but Margaret Thatcher vehemently believed in the scheme, and the scheme would go on to last until 1998.

School meals

The Act abandoned the compulsion of proper meals being served in education. The NAHT believed that children being allowed to bring in snack food for lunchtime, instead of being giving appropriate meals, would be unsuitable for their health.[4] The NAHT threatened that its headteachers could ban snack food.

Caroline Walker, a nutritionist and food campaigner said that - left to their own devices, many children will buy sugary and/or fatty foods for lunch. In many cases, that would largely happen.[5]

The number of children with government-provided meals would drop by around a half.

References
  1. Times November 1979, Diana Geddes
  2. Times Monday 10 March 1980, page 2
  3. Times 1 April 1980, page 10
  4. Times Monday 26 November 1979, page 4
  5. Times Friday 4 January 1980, page 2
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