1.Provisions of Education

Theoretically the ultimate responsibility for the statutory system of public education in England and Wales lies with the British Parliament.This enacts legislation determining the national policy for education and directing how the statutory system shall be organized，controlled and administered，provides from national funds the greater part of the money for its support，and by MPs’questions and debates maintains a general supervision of its working.Except that the current law requires that religious instruction shall be given in all maintained primary and secondary schools，Parliament does not lay down what subjects shall be taught；nor does it give any directions about teaching methods，or prescribe any textbooks.

The Department of Education and Science（DES）is primarily concerned with the creation，interpretation，execution，and supervision of national policy.The DES does not provide or maintain any schools or colleges，or employ，pay，or dismiss any teachers；these matters are the responsibility of the universities，the Local Education Authorities（LEAs），or the governing bodies of independent establishment.Nor does the DES prescribe，or veto，books or other teaching aids for use in schools，colleges or universities.

The LEAs take charge of all state-provided education within a county or borough，below the level of the universities.The powers of the LEA are sometimes altered by the Government，and duties sometimes added.According to the Education Act of 1944，every LEA must establish an Education Committee and let it exercise any of the functions in respect to education，except the power to borrow money or raise a rate.Each LEA is also required to appoint a Chief Education Officer（CEO），whose main job is to assist teachers by advice on their class duties，particularly in such highly specialized subjects as art，drama，music，and physical education.The CEO is usually able to exercise a great influence on an LEA’s policy.

Like all other bodies exercising administrative control in English education，governing bodies of maintained schools¹ do not ordinarily interfere with the day-to-day organization of the school life or with the curriculum and teaching methods.These are held to be the responsibility of the Head Teacher.This is primarily due to the conviction with which two beliefs are still very generally held in England：first，that the best way in which to ensure good results is to vest responsibility for a job in a person and then to allow him to go about it in his own way，intervening only if he is manifestly not doing it properly；and secondly，that a school is not only aplace for learning but also a society，free to plan and conduct its corporate life as seems best to it，provided that it keeps this life within the accepted framework laid down by social convention and the national policy for education.The Head Teacher’s task is，in partnership with his staff and his pupils，to create such an autonomous society，and to maintain it in a state of good health.