ABSTRACT
The Education Reform Act 1988 introduced the Local Management of Schools scheme, the aim of which is to achieve the maximum delegation of financial resources to schools. The local education authority no longer directs how much a school should allocate for items like those mentioned. It is for the school itself to decide how to set its priorities and to spend accordingly. The introduction of needs-based formula-funding and the delegation of financial and managerial responsibilities to governing bodies are key elements in Government's overall policy to be accountable and responsive to parents and to improve the quality of teaching and learning in schools. As progress is made to a common funding formula, vouchers as a funding mechanism are perennially popular with New Right commentators. The idea behind them is apparently simple and takes devolvement of funding to its logical conclusion, with the Government issuing credit notes to parents for the education of their children.
