(1)    It shall be the duty of—

(a)    any local education authority or other person providing relevant nursery education, and

(b)    any person employed by such an authority or other person, or otherwise engaged to provide his services, in the provision of such education,

(except where a duty is already imposed by subsection (2) of section 313 of the Education Act 1996) to have regard to the provisions of the code of practice issued under that section (practical guidance in respect of the discharge of functions under Part IV of that Act).

(2)    That code of practice may include practical guidance in respect of the provision of relevant nursery education for children with special educational needs in circumstances where functions under Part IV of the Education Act 1996 do not fall to be discharged.

(3)    But unless that code of practice includes provision made by virtue of subsection (2)—

(a)    the Secretary of State shall publish a document explaining how the practical guidance contained in that code applies in circumstances where functions under Part IV of the Education Act 1996 do not fall to be discharged, and

(b)    the duty imposed by subsection (1) includes a duty to have regard to the provisions of that document.

(4)    In this section “relevant nursery education” means nursery education which is provided—

(a)    by a local education authority, or

(b)    by any other person who is in receipt of financial assistance given by such an authority and whose provision of nursery education is taken into account by the authority in formulating proposals for the purposes of section 120(2)(a).