Title, commencement and application

1.  (1)  The title of these Regulations is the Education (Notification of School Term Dates) (Wales) Regulations 2014 and they come into force on 15 July 2014.

(2) These Regulations apply in relation to Wales.

Interpretation

2.  In these Regulations-

"the 2002 Act" ("Deddf 2002") means the Education Act 2002;

"complete notice" ("hysbysiad cyflawn") means a notice setting out all the term dates determined for all schools in its area and sent to the Welsh Ministers by a local authority pursuant to its duty in section 32A(5) of the 2002 Act;

"partial notice" ("hysbysiad rhannol") means a notice setting out the term dates determined for some but not all of the schools in its area and sent to the Welsh Ministers by a local authority pursuant to its duty in section 32A(5) of the 2002 Act;

"working day" ("diwrnod gwaith") means any day other than a Saturday, a Sunday, Christmas Day, Good Friday or a day which is a bank holiday for purposes of paragraph 1 of Schedule 1 to the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971(2).

Form and content of notifications

3.  (1)  Every complete notice and every partial notice must contain the information and be in the form set out in the Schedule.

(2) A complete notice or a partial notice may be completed and sent electronically.

Period in which notification must be given

4.  A local authority must notify the Welsh Ministers of all term dates which have been determined for the maintained schools in its area no later than the final working day in August in the year two years immediately preceding the beginning of the first school year for which the term dates have been determined.

Regulation 3

SCHEDULE 1Form of notice

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

Section 32A was inserted into the Education Act 2002 by section 42 of the Education (Wales) Act 2014. Section 32A(3) to (4) of the 2002 Act requires local authorities and governing bodies of foundation and voluntary aided schools to co-operate and co-ordinate with each to other to ensure that school term dates are the same (or as similar as can be).

Section 32A(5) further provides that local authorities must notify the Welsh Ministers of the school term dates determined. These Regulations provide that the notice must be sent at least two school years in advance. Therefore, the first term dates which local authorities have determined and which must be notified to the Welsh Ministers are for the school year 2016/2017. Section 32A(6) provides that the Welsh Ministers may prescribe the form and content of the notifications, the period in which notification must be given and the procedure for notification. Accordingly, these Regulations make provision in relation to those matters.