Overview of the education
system in England
Eurydice at NFER, the Eurydice Unit for
England, Wales and Northern Ireland
United Kingdom
• England
– pop 51.1 million
• Scotland
– pop 5.1 million
• Wales
– pop 3 million
• Northern Ireland
– pop 1.8 million
England
• No separate government
of its own
• Primary legislation on
education made by UK
Parliament at Westminster
• Separate education
systems in Scotland,
Wales and Northern
Ireland
School education:
shared responsibilities
• Government departments (DCSF & BIS) &
associated non-departmental public bodies e.g.
QCDA, TDA
• Local authorities
• Schools (headteachers and governing bodies)
School governing
bodies
represent stakeholders (parents, school staff, the LA, the
community etc). Specifically responsible for:
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•
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•
setting strategic direction
approving school budget
reviewing progress
appointing headteacher
challenging and supporting headteacher
Early years education
• all 3- and 4-year-olds entitled to 2.5 hours a day
• Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum
Providers include:
• maintained (state) nursery schools
• maintained (state) primary schools in nursery
(3+) and reception (4+) classes
• private and voluntary providers who receive
government subsidies
Compulsory education
• Age 5-16
• Divided into 4 Key Stages
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KS1
KS2
KS3
KS4
5-7 years
7-11 years
11-14 years
14-16 years
But most children start school between the ages
of four and five (in the reception class).
Maintained (state)
schools
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receive funding from the local authority
are required to deliver National Curriculum
are subject to the same system of inspection
manage their own budgets
select and manage their own staff (including
support staff and headteacher).
But there are differences between them relating to
ownership of land and buildings, the constitution of
the governing body, whether they are responsible
for deciding admissions policy and whether they
are the legal employer of their staff. Schools fall
into the following legal categories:
• community schools
• voluntary aided (VA) and voluntary controlled
(VC) schools - typically faith schools
• foundation schools
Faith schools
• Around 1/3 of primaries but fewer secondaries
• Mainly Church of England or Catholic but also
some other faiths
• Fully funded for running costs
• RE and daily collective worship (assembly)
delivered according to religious character
• Often give preference for admission to members
of a particular faith or denomination
Independent schools
• Attended by around 7% of children
• Funded mainly by parental fees
• Don’t have to follow National Curriculum
Schools by age range
Primary schools
Early Years Foundation
Stage (EYFS)
age 0-5
Nursery and reception
KS1
age 5-7
Y1, Y2
KS2
age 7-11
Y3, Y4, Y5, Y6
KS3
age 11-14
Y7, Y8, Y9
KS4
age 14-16
Y10, Y11
Age 16-18+
Y12, Y13
Secondary schools
and often also:
KS 5/Sixth form
Types of secondary
school
• comprehensive schools – the great majority of
schools do not select on academic ability but there are
some that do, known as grammar schools
• specialist schools – the majority of secondary
schools now have a curriculum specialism
• academies – independent state schools
Compulsory education:
National Curriculum
• Originally established in 1988
• A framework which defines the minimum
entitlement and the starting point for planning a
school curriculum that meets the needs of
individuals and groups of pupils
• Defined by programmes of study, attainment
targets and level descriptions, and assessment
arrangements, not hours of study
National Curriculum
Assessment
There is a statutory system of formal assessment against national
standards at the end of each key stage.
• At KS 1 (age 7) there is teacher assessment in reading, writing, maths
and science, taking into account performance in tasks and tests in
reading, writing and maths
• At KS 2 (age 11) there is teacher assessment in English, maths and
science and there are national tests in English and maths
• At KS 3 (age 14) there is teacher assessment in all subjects
Qualifications at 16
• GCSEs are single subject exams
 students typically take 7 to 10 subjects
 externally regulated, set and marked with some
internally assessed coursework
 graded A*-G
 5+ A*-Cs (“five good GCSEs”) is a key benchmark
• School level results published including
contextual value added
• Some qualifications for lower attainers e.g. Entry
Levels
Post-compulsory
education
Provided in:
– schools (sixth forms)
– sixth form colleges
– further education colleges
Approximately two thirds of young people stay in
full-time education at 17.
Post-16 qualifications
• No compulsory core curriculum
• GCE A levels; AS at 17; A2s at 18
Single subject qualifications; students study 3
or more subjects in depth
Passes graded A to E
Externally regulated, set and marked with
some internally assessed coursework
• Also vast range of vocational qualifications
Higher education
• Very diverse in terms of size, mission, subject mix and
history
• 130 HEIs (86 universities and 44 HE colleges)
• Single sector – all are independent self-governing
bodies subject to same QA and funding arrangements
• Structure of UK degrees already conforms to the
Bologna model
• Variable tuition fees introduced 2006, typically £3,070
per annum in 2007/08
• Government committed to widening access
School workforce
• Includes leadership group (eg heads and deputies),
other qualified schoolteachers, teaching assistants
and administrative staff
• Each school decides its own staffing complement in
terms of numbers and type, recruits staff and makes
appointment decisions
• Schoolteachers are employees of local authority (LA)
or school, not civil servants
• National framework for schoolteachers’ pay and
conditions
Initial Teacher Training
(ITT)
• 3- or 4-year Bachelor of Education (BEd), or 1year Postgraduate Certificate of Education
(PGCE)
• Also School Centred Initial Teacher Training –
SCITT and employment-based options, such as
the Graduate Teacher Programme (GTP)
• All training routes lead to Qualified Teacher
Status (QTS)
• ITT is followed by an induction year
Further information:
Qualifications and curriculum
QCDA:
•
Qualifications and Curriculum
Development Agency (England)
Advises on school and early years curriculum,
examinations and assessment
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Reapproves and regulates external qualifications
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Remit excludes higher education
Further information:
Inspection and quality assurance
Ofsted:
The inspectorate for children and
learners in England, a non-ministerial
government department accountable to
Parliament
QAA:
Quality Assurance Agency for Higher
Education (UK-wide)
Further information:
bodies involved in further and
higher education
The Young People’s Learning Agency (YPLA) is
responsible for planning, allocating and funding education
and training for all 16 - 19 year olds in England.
The Skills Funding Agency is responsible for funding and
regulating adult FE and skills training in England.
HEFCE is the funding body for higher education in
England.
Further information:
Teacher training (including
CPD)
The Training and Development Agency for Schools
(TDA)
Responsible for the training and development of the whole
school workforce, including initial teacher training,
continuing professional development and training for the
wider school workforce
The General Teaching Council for England
A professional body for teachers with which teachers must
register
National College for Leadership of Schools and
Children’s Services
Further information:
Government departments and
related agencies in England
Department for Children, Schools and Families
(DCSF)
www.dcsf.gov.uk
Department for Business, Innovation, and Skills
(BIS)
www.bis.gov.uk
Ofsted
www.ofsted.gov.uk/
Qualifications and Curriculum Development
Agency (QCDA)
www.qcda.org.uk/
Young People’s Learning Agency (YPLA)
www.ypla.gov.uk/
Skills Funding Agency
www.skillsfundingagency.bis
.gov.uk/
Higher Education Funding Council for England
(HEFCE)
www.hefce.ac.uk/
Further information:
DCSF key policies and strategies
Five-year strategy for
children and learners:
www.dcsf.gov.uk/publication
s/5yearstrategy/index.shtml
14-19 education and
skills:
www.dcsf.gov.uk/1419/index.cfm?go=site.home
The Standards Site:
www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/
Further information:
Education in the UK & elsewhere international perspectives
Eurydice at NFER overview and diagram of
education in England, Wales and Northern
Ireland
www.nfer.ac.uk/eurydice/infor
mation-by-topic/educationsystems/overview-ofeducation-in-england-walesand-northern-ireland.cfm
Eurydice network
http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/edu
cation/eurydice/index_en.php
Eurydice Descriptions of National Education
Systems and Policies (Eurybase)
http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/edu
cation/eurydice/eurybase_en.
php
INCA (database on curriculum and
assessment frameworks in 21 countries)
www.inca.org.uk