Surviving, not thriving: LEAs since the Education Reform Act of 1988

Local Education Authorities (LEAs) have been features of the administrative landscape of England and Wales for a century. For most of this period, their role, as central government's key partners in the operation of the national education system, expanded. However, intense criticisms of educational organisation and standards, during the 1970s, led to re-assessment of, and ultimately to major reductions in, their responsibilities, during the 1980s and 1990s. This article surveys the changed and changing role of LEAs, and the debate that has surrounded it, during their hundred years of existence, with particular reference to the period since the 1988 Education Reform Act. The concluding part of the article focuses on current developments under the New Labour government, which has assigned a definite but limited range of functions to LEAs. It is argued in this article that, as the 'intermediate level' of LEA administration has been relegated to a marginal role, little purpose would be served by implementing recent proposals for a radical restructuring of the local educational administration.