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Information about Local Education Authority

“LEA” redirects here. For other uses, see LEA (disambiguation).


A Local Education Authority (LEA) is the part of a local council, or local authority (LA), in England and Wales that is responsible for education within that council's jurisdiction. The phrase is now obsolete in official use, but is still frequently used informally to refer to the Education Department of the relevant local authority.

Responsible local authority

In Greater London the London borough councils are the local authorities responsible for education; in the metropolitan counties it is the metropolitan borough councils; and in the shire counties it is the county councils or, where extant, the councils of the unitary authorities.

Functions

Local education authorities have responsibility of all state schools in their area: they organise funding for the schools, allocate the number of places available at each school and employ all teachers (except for foundation and voluntary aided schools, which, while still funded by the local authority, employ their own staff).

Local education authorities are responsible for the funding of students in higher education (for example undergraduate courses and PGCE) whose permanent address is in their area, regardless of the place of study. Based on an assessment of individual circumstances they offer grants or access to student loans through the Student Loans Company.

History

Creation

The term was introduced by the Education Act 1902 (2 Edw.7, c. 42). The Act designated each local authority; either county council and county borough council; would set up a committee known as a Local Education Authority (LEA). [1] The councils took over the powers and responsibilities of the school boards and technical instruction committees in their area. Municipal boroughs with a population of 10,000 and urban districts with a population of 20,000 were to be local education authorities in their areas for elementary education only. The LEAs' role was further expanded with the introduction of school meals in 1906 and medical inspection in 1907. [1]

In 1904 the London County Council became a local education authority, with the abolition of the London School Board. The metropolitan boroughs were not education authorities, although they were given the power to decide on the site for new schools in their areas, and provided the majority of members on boards of management.

Reform

The system continued unchanged until 1965, when the London County Council was replaced by the Greater London Council. The twenty outer London boroughs became local education authorities, while a new Inner London Education Authority, consisting of the members of the GLC elected for the inner boroughs covering the former County of London was created. [2]

In 1974 local government outside London was completely reorganised. In the new metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan boroughs became LEAs. In the non-metropolitan counties the county councils were the education authorities, [3] as they were throughout Wales.

In 1986, with the abolition of the Greater London Council, a directly elected Inner London Education authority was formed. This, however, only existed until 1990, when the 12 inner London boroughs assumed responsibility for education.

In 1989, under the Education Reform Act 1988, the LEAs lost responsibility for higher education, with all polytechnics and colleges of higher education becoming independent corporations.

A further wave of local government reorganisation during the 1990s lead to the formation of unitary authorities in parts of England and throughout Wales, which became local education authorities. [4]

The Education and Inspections Bill, presented to parliament in 2006 includes a clause which allows for the renaming of Local Education Authorities as Local Authorities in all legislation, removing the anomaly of one local authority being known as a local authority, a local education authority, and a children's services authority.

List of local authorities responsible for education by region

There are currently 150 local education authorities in England. Below they are listed alphabetically by region. [5]

London
South West
South East
East
West Midlands
East Midlands
Yorkshire and the Humber
North West
North East

See also

  • Special education#England and Wales
  • Special education#Scotland
  • Special school

References

1. ^ Bryne, T., Local Government in Britain, (1994)
2. ^ Saint, A., Politics and the people of London: the London County Council (1889-1965), (1989)
3. ^ Redcliffe-Maud & Wood, B., English Local Government Reformed, (1974)
4. ^ Jones, B. et al, Politics UK, (2004)
5. ^ Department for Education and Skills - LA Contact Details

External links

Lea may refer to:

In geography:
  • Albert Lea, Minnesota
  • Albert Lea Township, Minnesota
  • Lea, Derbyshire
  • Lea, Lancashire
  • Lea, Lincolnshire
  • Lea, Wiltshire
  • The River Lea (also called the River Lee), a river in southern England
In
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There is no single system of local government in the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom is made up of constituent countries, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Each has a different system of local government.
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Motto
Dieu et mon droit   (French)
"God and my right"
Anthem
No official anthem specific to England — the anthem of the United Kingdom is "God Save the Queen".
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Motto
Cymru am byth   (Welsh)
"Wales forever"
Anthem
"Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau"
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Education encompasses teaching and learning specific skills, and also something less tangible but more profound: the imparting of knowledge, positive judgment and well-developed wisdom.
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Greater London is the top-level administrative subdivision covering London, England. The administrative area was created in 1965 and covers the City of London and 32 London boroughs. Its area also forms the London region of England and the London European Parliament constituency.
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London boroughs. Twelve of these plus the City of London constitute Inner London, while twenty others constitute Outer London.

Map


  1. City of London †
  2. City of Westminster
  3. Kensington and Chelsea
  4. Hammersmith and Fulham

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The metropolitan counties are a type of county-level country subdivision in current use in England. There are six metropolitan counties, which each cover large urban areas, typically with populations of 1.2 to 2.8 million.
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A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of local government district in England, covering urban areas within metropolitan counties.

Metropolitan boroughs of London (1900-1965)


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shire county or non-metropolitan county in England, is a county level entity which is not a metropolitan county. The names of most, but not all, shire counties end in the suffix "-shire" such as Wiltshire or Staffordshire.
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A County council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.

Britain and Ireland

England and Wales

In England and Wales, a county council
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A unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of
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In England and Wales, a foundation school is a type of school which has a degree of independence from the local education authority. Foundation schools were set up under the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 to replace grant-maintained schools.
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A voluntary aided school is a school in England where the governing body, as opposed to the Local Education Authority, employs the staff, and decides the admission arrangements, but the school is funded by the state and can't charge fees.
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Higher education is education provided by universities, vocational universities (community colleges, liberal arts colleges, and technical colleges, etc.) and other collegial institutions that award academic degrees, such as career colleges.
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In some educational systems, undergraduate education is post-secondary education up to the level of a bachelor's degree. In the United States, students of higher degrees are known as graduates.
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PGCE can stand for:
  • Postgraduate Certificate in Education, an English, Welsh and Northern Irish qualification that trains students to become a teacher; it includes credits towards a master's degree

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Student loans are loans offered to students to assist in payment of the costs of professional education. These loans usually carry a lower interest rate than other loans and are usually issued by the government.
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The Student Loans Company Limited is a non-departmental public body of the United Kingdom government, responsible for the provision of financial support to students attending university.
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Education Act 1902 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom affecting education in England and Wales. (Education in Scotland had always been separate, and had been brought under the Scotch Education Department in an act of 1872) At the time of passing, the Conservative
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A County council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.

Britain and Ireland

England and Wales

In England and Wales, a county council
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County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (excluding Scotland), to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control.
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School boards were set up in England and Wales under the Elementary Education Act 1870 following campaigning by George Dixon, Joseph Chamberlain and the National Education League for elementary education free from Anglican doctrine.
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Municipal boroughs were a type of local authority which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974.

The municipal boroughs were created by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 and allowed the creation of an elected town council, consisting of a mayor, aldermen and
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worldwide view of the subject.
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In the British Isles an urban district was a type of local government district which covered an urbanised area.
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London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889-1965 existence, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected.
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School Board for London (often abbreviated to the SBL and known colloquially as the London School Board) was an institution of local government and the first directly elected body covering the whole of London.
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A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of local government district in England, covering urban areas within metropolitan counties.

Metropolitan boroughs of London (1900-1965)


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London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889-1965 existence, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected.
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The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area.
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