Local Education Authority
A
Local Education Authority (
LEA) is the part of a
council in
England or
Wales that is responsible for
education within that council's jurisdiction. This function is exercised by the
county councils,
metropolitan borough councils and
unitary authorities.
LEAs are in charge of all state schools in their area: they organise funding for the schools, allocate the number of places available for pupils at each school and employ all teachers at the schools (except for
foundation schools, which, while still funded by the LEA, employ their own staff).
LEAs are also responsible for funding pupils entering
undergraduate higher education or embarking on a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (
PGCE). They assess the income of a student or their parents currently living in their jurisdiction and help pay the cost of
tuition fees if the assessment shows that the student or parents should not pay them all. The assessment also determines how much
student loan they are entitled to, though the loan itself is supplied by the
Student Loans Company. The LEA provides these services to a student whose home address is in the LEA, even if the student chooses to go to a university outside that LEA.
The term "Local Education Authority" was introduced by the
Education Act 1902 (2 Edw.7, c. 42). The Act designated each
county council and
county borough as LEAs, assuming responsibility for education in
1903. 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.
In the following year 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.
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.
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, 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, LEAs lost responsibility for higher education, with all
polytechnics and colleges of higher education becoming independent corporations.
A further wave of local government reorganisation from
1995 lead to the formation of
unitary authorities in parts of England and throughout
Wales, which became local education authorities.
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.
There are currently 150 LEAs in Engalnd. Below they are list alphabetically by region.
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Barking and Dagenham London Borough Council
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Barnet London Borough Council
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Bexley London Borough Council
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Bromley London Borough Council
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Camden London Borough Council
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Corporation of London (primary school only)
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Croydon London Borough Council
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Ealing London Borough Council
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Enfield London Borough Council
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Greenwich London Borough Council
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Hackney London Borough Council
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Hammersmith and Fulham London Borough Council
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Haringey London Borough Council
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Harrow London Borough Council
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Havering London Borough Council
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Hillingdon London Borough Council
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Hounslow London Borough Council
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Islington London Borough Council
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Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council
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Kingston upon Thames London Borough Council
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Lambeth London Borough Council
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Lewisham London Borough Council
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Merton London Borough Council
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Newham London Borough Council
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Redbridge London Borough Council
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Richmond upon Thames London Borough Council
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Southwark London Borough Council
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Sutton London Borough Council
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Tower Hamlets London Borough Council
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Waltham Forest London Borough Council
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Wandsworth London Borough Council
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Westminster City Council
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Bath and North East Somerset District Council
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Bournemouth Borough Council
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Bristol City Council
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Cornwall County Council
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Devon County Council
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Dorset County Council
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Gloucestershire County Council
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Council of the Isles of Scilly*
North Somerset District Council
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Plymouth City Council
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Poole Borough Council
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Somerset County Council
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South Gloucestershire District Council
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Swindon Borough Council
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Torbay Borough Council
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Wiltshire County Council
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Bracknell Forest Borough Council
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Brighton and Hove City Council
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Buckinghamshire County Council
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East Sussex County Council
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Hampshire County Council
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Isle of Wight Council
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Kent County Council
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Medway Borough Council
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Milton Keynes Borough Council
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Oxfordshire County Council
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Portsmouth City Council
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Reading Borough Council
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Slough Borough Council
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Southampton City Council
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Surrey County Council
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West Berkshire District Council
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West Sussex County Council
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Wokingham District Council
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Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council
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Bedfordshire County Council
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Cambridgeshire County Council
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Essex County Council
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Hertfordshire County Council
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Luton Borough Council
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Norfolk County Council
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Peterborough City Council
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Southend-on-Sea Borough Council
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Suffolk County Council
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Thurrock Borough Council
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Birmingham City Council
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Coventry City Council
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Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council
*County of
Herefordshire District Council
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Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council
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Shropshire County Council
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Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council
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Staffordshire County Council
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Stoke-on-Trent City Council
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Telford and Wrekin Borough Council
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Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council
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Warwickshire County Council
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Wolverhampton City Council
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Worcestershire County Council
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Derby City Council
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Derbyshire County Council
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Leicester City Council
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Leicestershire County Council
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Lincolnshire County Council
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Northamptonshire County Council
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Nottingham City Council
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Nottinghamshire County Council
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Rutland County Council District Council
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Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council
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Bradford City Council
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Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council
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Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council
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East Riding of Yorkshire Council
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Hull City Council
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Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council
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Leeds City Council
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North East Lincolnshire Borough Council
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North Lincolnshire Borough Council
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North Yorkshire County Council
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Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council
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Sheffield City Council
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Wakefield City Council
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York City Council
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Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council
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Blackpool Borough Council
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Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council
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Bury Metropolitan Borough Council
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Cheshire County Council
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Cumbria County Council
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Halton Borough Council
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Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council
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Lancashire County Council
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Liverpool City Council
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Manchester City Council
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Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council
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Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council
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Salford City Council
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Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council
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St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council
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Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council
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Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council
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Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council
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Warrington Borough Council
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Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council
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Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council
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Darlington Borough Council
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Durham County Council
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Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council
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Hartlepool Borough Council
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Middlesbrough Borough Council
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North Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council
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Northumberland County Council
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Newcastle upon Tyne City Council
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Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council
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South Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council
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Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council
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Sunderland City Council
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Special education#England and Wales*
Special education#Scotland*
Special school*
DfES: The Role of the Local Education Authority in School Education
