English and Welsh English and Welsh Education SystemEducation SystemEnglish and Welsh English and Welsh Education SystemEducation System

Presented by Sharon Ghiacy, Presented by Sharon Ghiacy, Icknield SchoolIcknield School

The Department for Education (DfE) is the government department which

leads on policy in schools.

• DfE decide on overall direction and broad approach to education.

• DfE produce curriculum requirements – National Curriculum; schools can decide on how best to teach the National Curriculum.

• DfE set assessment tests for pupils at age 5, 7, 11 and 14.

• DfE approve Examination Boards for national accreditation at age 16 and 18

• General Certificate of Education at 16 (GCSE) and Advanced Level (A Level) at 18.

• DfE produce league tables to compare attainment of pupils in different schools.

• DfE manage the inspection system of schools, Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education).

• Schools are inspected every 3 years, graded and given areas to improve.

Overview – State Education• By law, children must receive education from

age 4 – 16 years. • Education from 4 – 18 years is provided by the

state and is free (paid for from taxes).• Most children attend nursery school from age 3

years.• Many young people continue in education until

aged 18 years.• Young people may go to University from age 18

– 21 years.

• Mainstream schools are usually organised as Primary Schools (4 – 11 years) and Secondary Schools (11 – 16/18 years); but there are exceptions.

• All schools are managed by a board of Governors, who are volunteers.

• The Governors appoint the Head Teacher and they pass the leadership and management to the Head Teacher.

• The role of the Governors is to support and challenge the Head Teacher.

Private Education• Parents can choose to send their children to

fee - paying schools.• Private schools are organised differently to

state schools.• Generally they are Preparatory School ( up to

age 13 years) and Public School (13 – 18 years).

• If you ever hear someone say they went to Public School it means they paid for their education – Varies from£10000 - £30000 per year. What’s the advantage? The majority of the government went to Public Schools.

Special Education• If a child has greater needs than other children,

(visual, hearing, physical, cognitive, behavioural) they will be identified as needing support appropriate to their needs.

• They will usually attend mainstream schools and receive extra resources.

• Schools will contact specialist support services and implement their advice.

• If the need is significantly more than others, a pupil will receive ‘A Statement of Educational Need.’ (A Statement)

• Professionals and parents contribute to the formation of the ‘Statement.’

• The ‘Statement’ lays down statutory requirements to meet the needs of the pupil – this may include Speech and Language Therapy, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, level of staffing.

• Parents may express their preference on whether their child attends mainstream school or a special school.

• There is a legal requirement to review the ‘Statement’ annually.

• This process in currently under review and may change in the next few years.

Special Schools• There is a wide range of special schools, most are

state run but there are private ones (places are paid for by the Local Authority not parents)

• They are divided into schools to meet different needs.• There are schools for children with cognitive

impairment – moderate learning difficulties and severe learning difficulties (Icknield)

• There are schools for children with behavioural, emotional, social difficulties (BESD).

• There are schools for children with Autistic Spectrum disorders.

• There are schools for children with sensory impairment – hearing and visual.

• Many are organised into Primary and Secondary Schools

• Some are all-age schools, Icknield has pupils aged 3 – 19 years.

• Special schools have to follow the National Curriculum like mainstream schools.

• If pupils are working below level 1 of the National Curriculum (average level of 5 year old) their progress is assessed using ‘p’ levels.

• Special Schools are inspected by Ofsted under the same criteria as mainstream schools.

Statistics• 8 200 000 children attend school in UK

• 494 000 children attend school in Wales

• 744 000 children attend school in Scotland

• 7% attend private schools ( up 16% post age 16 years)

• 20% identified as having additional needs

• 3% attend Special Schools