ClaremontCrizzle Education

State Schools

Community schools: These were previously county schools. The LEA employs school staff, owns the school lands and buildings and decides the arrangements for admitting pupils.

Foundation schools: Many of these were formerly grant maintained schools. The governing body employs the school staff and has primary responsibility for admissions. The school land and buildings are owned by the governing body or a charitable foundation.

Voluntary Aided: Many of the voluntary aided schools are church schools. The governing body employs the staff and decides admission arrangements. The land and buildings are normally owned by a charitable foundation.

Voluntary Controlled: These are almost always church schools and the lands and buildings are almost always owned by a charitable foundation. The LEA employs the school staff and has responsibility for admissions.

Pre-school education
Between the ages of two and five, children attend pre-school. The government’s Sure Start scheme provides free nursery education for all four-year-olds and an increasing number of three-year-olds. The government is working with local authorities to develop a network of children’s centres dealing with early education, childcare and family and health services.

Primary Education
Children start primary school education in the term after the child’s fifth birthday. Primary schools are divided into the infants (five to seven) and the juniors (seven to 11). Although the terms KS1 and KS2 are now becoming commonplace. Children first start school at the age of five. Most primary schools are run by the board of governors under Local Management of Schools scheme. In practice the governors almost always delegate their powers to the headteacher who runs the school.

Secondary Education
Secondary education is compulsory until the age of 16. Within the four categories of school, community schools, foundation schools, voluntary aided and voluntary controlled, there are more specialised schools:

Specialist schools: Any maintained secondary school in England can become a specialist school in areas such as technology, languages, sports or arts. The schools meet full national curriculum requirements, but have a special focus on the chosen speciality. They raise £50,000 from private sector sponsorship and prepare plans for improvements in teaching and learning. The Labour government wants all schools to become specialist schools, specialising in one particular subject by 2008. Already existing specialist schools are being encouraged to take on another specialism. The idea is that by specialising in one subject, standards increase across the curriculum. So, even if a school specialises in arts, science provision will not be affected.

Academies: The government wants to replace weak and failing schools with 'academies'. These are schools that are state funded and free to students but they have much more independence than most secondary schools. They are established by sponsors from business, faith or voluntary groups working with the community, and they can be more flexible with their curriculum and staffing to meet local needs. They were originally set up as a way of bringing high-quality schools with heavy investment in facilities and technology to disadvantaged areas. A private organisation must put in £2m and the government will provide the remaining £20m or so. The Labour government has set a target of 200 city academies by 2010.

Grammar schools: Some local authorities still run a selective secondary school system with grammar schools. Pupils in these areas will sit a test at the age of 11 called the 11-plus test. The results of this test will determine whether they gain entry to the local grammar school. There are around 150 state grammar schools in England. There has been some debate about whether to stop admission by academic ability, but no steps have been taken.

City technology colleges: These are funded directly by the government and offer a wide range of vocational qualifications alongside A-levels or equivalents. They teach the national curriculum and focus on science, mathematics and technology.

Faith Schools: Faith schools are schools with a religious character. Any new faith schools must have the agreement of parents and the local community, and be approved by the LEA. Nearly half of faith schools are voluntary controlled. They teach the locally agreed religious syllabus and the LEA is the admissions authority. Voluntary aided faith schools are responsible for setting their own admissions policies and teach religious education according to their religious precepts. Faith schools admit pupils on religious affiliation but many admit those who are not of the school faith.

Special Needs: An estimated one in five children has some form of special educational need. The Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 asserts the right of children with physical or behavioural problems to be taught with mainstream classes. As a result special schools for children with mild or moderate difficulties are being closed. There are still about 1200 special schools for pupils with special needs. Some of these are run by voluntary organisations and others are in hospitals.

Pupil Referral Units: Pupil Referral Units are a type of school established and maintained by LEAs. They provide education to children who may not otherwise receive a mainstream education. A PRU might include teenage mothers or pupils excluded from school, for example. The aim of these units should be getting pupils back into mainstream education. They are run by a management committee made up of a range of people from school governors to representatives from social services.

Robbie