Education

While education is recognised as a right of the child, international and domestic human rights law have tended to focus disproportionately on the rights of parents to control the content of their children’s education. For example, Article 2, Protocol 1 of the Convention states that everyone has a right to education and then goes on to say that the State has an obligation to respect the rights of parents to ensure that education and teaching of their children is in conformity with the parents’ religious and philosophical convictions. The emphasis on the rights of parents as consumers in education law and policy is problematic because it dilutes the child’s right to an education and it discourages acceptance of children’s right to participate. The Joint Committee on Human Rights has expressed concerns about the inadequacy of recent education legislation, in light of Article 12 UNCRC.

The law governing education in England and Wales is complex not least because there is a range of different types of state maintained schools, independent (albeit state funded) schools such as Academies and City Technology Colleges, and fully independent schools . Further, the Education and Inspections Act 2006 will allow schools to become Trust (foundation) schools.

This section deals primarily with the position in maintained schools.