Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009: Chapter 22

The ‘Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 received Royal Assent on 12 November 2009. The Act introduces a wide range of measures covering apprenticeships, learning and skills and education. It will also: provide a statutory framework for apprenticeships and creates a right to an apprenticeship for suitably qualified 16-18 year olds; introduce a right for employees to request time away from their duties to undertake training, and places a corresponding duty on employers to consider such requests seriously and to be able to refuse them only for specified business reasons; dissolve the Learning and Skills Council; and, transfer the responsibility for funding education and training for 16-18-year-olds to local authorities. It makes provision with respect to the education of offenders. It creates the Young Person’s Learning Agency, the Skills Funding Agency, a new regulatory body for qualifications (Ofqual), and a new agency to carry out the non-regulatory functions currently performed by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. It strengthens the accountability of children’s services. It amends intervention powers in respect of schools which are causing concern. It establishes a new parental complaints service. It changes the school inspection arrangements. It creates a new negotiating body for pay and conditions for school support staff. It makes provisions in respect of pupil and student behaviour.