In England the borough councils are the local authorities responsible for education. Local Education Authorities (LEA) has responsibilities towards schools in their areas. Some of their responsibilities are as follows:1.They are responsible for distribution and monitoring of funding for the schools – the method of calculation of school’s budgets is called Fair Funding. Most maintained schools receive 100% of their total expenditure.
However, voluntary aided schools are eligible only for 85% of their capital expenditure. LEA also covers school improvement and SEN and the grants depend on the number of pupils their age and the number of children with SEN.2.They are responsible for co-ordination of admissions, including allocation of the number of places available in each school – LEA settles the admission number for different age groups, they do not recommend more than 30 children in a class. The admission criteria are as follows: distance from home (catchment area), siblings in the school, medical needs.
LEA may order to extend the pupils number for the child with SEN.3.They are direct employers of all staff in community and voluntary controlled schools (in foundation schools the governing body employs teachers) and they have attendance and advisory rights in relation to the employment and dismissal of staff.4.They have a responsibility for the educational achievement (success in tests, celebration of progress) of looked after children or children in their care - everyone has the right to education and LEA have a statutory duty to ensure that education is available for all children of compulsory school age appropriate to their abilities, aptitudes, age and educational needs that they might have. They responsibilities are:•To fulfil every child’s educational potential•To promote fair access to educational opportunities•To promote choice and diversity•To give parents say about the provision in schools in their areas•To identify children missing school•To promote well-being to secure access to educational and recreational leisure time activities and facilities•To help schools to foster children in cooperation with schools•To promote social and educational inclusion and overcome barriers to it ( extra funds for children with SEN, appointing SENCO to be present in every school, ensuring that appropriate provisions are carried, providing training for teachers about inclusive practices )5.
They provide a model safeguarding policies and guidelines for schools and encourage them to adopt it.6.They are owners of school land and premises in community schools and appoint school improvement partners to help schools prioritize targets for improvement. The role of LEAs is not to control school, but to challenge all schools to improve and support those which need help to raise standards.
