Education Act 1997
1997 c. 44
An Act to amend the law relating to education in schools and further education in England and Wales; to make provision for the supervision of the awarding of external academic and vocational qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland; and for connected purposes.
[21st March 1997]
Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
(1) The Welsh Ministers may by regulations make such provision as the Welsh Ministers consider appropriate for requiring the governing bodies of maintained schools in Wales to secure that annual targets are set in respect of the performance of pupils—
(a) in public examinations or in assessments required by virtue of regulations made under Part 4 of the Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Act 2021, in the case of pupils of compulsory school age; or
(b) in public examinations or in connection with the attainment of other external qualifications, in the case of pupils of any age over that age.
(2) Regulations under this section may require—
(a) such targets, and
(b) the past performance of pupils in the particular examinations or assessments, or in connection with the attainment of the particular qualifications, to which such targets relate,
to be published in such manner as is specified in the regulations.
(3) In this section “maintained school” means—
(a) a community, foundation or voluntary school, or
(b) a community or foundation special school (other than one established in a hospital).
20 Provision of information about individual pupils’ performance.
After section 537 of the Education Act 1996 there shall be inserted—
Provision of information about individual pupils’ performance.
537A (1) The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision requiring—
(a) the governing body of every school which is—
(i) maintained by a local authority, or
(ii) a grant-maintained school, or
(iii) a special school which is not maintained by a local authority, and
(b) the proprietor of each independent school,
to provide to the Secretary of State such individual performance information relating to pupils or former pupils at the school as may be prescribed.
(2) In this section “individual performance information” means information about the performance of individual pupils (identified in the prescribed manner)—
(a) in any assessment made for the purposes of the National Curriculum or in accordance with a baseline assessment scheme (within the meaning of Chapter I of Part IV of the Education Act 1997);
(b) in any prescribed public examination;
(c) in connection with the attainment of any vocational qualification; or
(d) in any such other assessment or examination, or in connection with the attainment of any such other qualification, as may be prescribed.
(3) The Secretary of State may provide any information received by him by virtue of subsection (1)—
(a) to any prescribed body or person, or
(b) to any body or person falling within a prescribed category.
(4) Any body or person holding any individual performance information may provide that information to any body to which this subsection applies; and any body to which this subsection applies—
(a) may provide any information received by it under this subsection—
(i) to the Secretary of State, or
(ii) to the governing body or proprietor of the school attended by the pupil or pupils to whom the information relates; and
(b) may, at such times as the Secretary of State may determine, provide to any prescribed body such information received by it under this subsection as may be prescribed.
(5) Subsection (4) applies to any body which, for the purposes of or in connection with the functions of the Secretary of State relating to education, is responsible for collating or checking information relating to the performance of pupils—
(a) in any assessment or examination falling within subsection (2)(a), (b) or (d), or
(b) in connection with the attainment of any qualification falling within subsection (2)(c) or (d).
(6) No individual performance information received under or by virtue of this section shall be published in any form which includes the name of the pupil or pupils to whom it relates.
(7) References in this section to the attainment of a qualification of any description include references to the completion of any module or part of a course leading to any such qualification.