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Primary Education in England

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Primary Education in England Published on Eurydice (https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/national-policies/eurydice) This chapter outlines the organisation and structure of primary education in England. Primary education covers pupils from age 4/5 up to the age of 11, when they transfer to secondary school [1]. Full-time primary education is compulsory from the school term following a child’s fifth birthday (terms begin in September, January and April). Admission authorities [2] must, however, allow children to be admitted to primary school in the September following their fourth birthday. As a result, most primary schools provide education for pupils between the ages of 4 and 11. Four-year-olds are admitted into the reception class [3]. This forms part of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) [4] (ISCED [5] 0), the phase of education and care spanning the period from birth to age five, which is described in the article on ‘Early Childhood Education and Care [6]’. There may be some variations in the age range catered for. Primary schools may, for example, also provide education for children from age 3, in a nursery class (ISCED 0, the Early Years Foundation Stage). In addition, in some areas, there are separate ‘infant schools’ for pupils aged 4/5 to 7, and ‘junior schools’ for pupils aged 7 to 11. There is also a small and declining number of middle schools [7], most often educating pupils aged 9 to 13. Curriculum and assessment The curriculum in all publicly funded primary schools must be balanced and broadly based and include English, mathematics and science. Schools must also provide religious education and a daily act of collective worship (a school assembly of a reverential or reflective nature). Maintained school [8]s, but not academies [9] (see ‘Types of school’ below), must also include the national curriculum [10] as part of their whole school curriculum. The national curriculum is divided into four key stages [11]. Primary education consists of Key Stages 1 and 2: Key Stage 1, for pupils aged 5 to 7 (primary, ISCED 1) Key Stage 2, for pupils aged 7 to 11 (primary, ISCED 1). The national curriculum key stages are determined by Section 82 of the Education Act 2002 [12]. (Key Stages 3 and 4 (11- to 16-year-olds) apply to secondary education.) Academies generally adhere to the same key stage structure for organising their curriculum. There are also national assessment arrangements at key points in children’s primary education, the results of which must be reported to parents. They are compulsory for all publicly funded schools. The assessment points are: in Year 1 (age 5-6) – the phonics screening check of progress in early reading at the end of Key Stage 1 (age 6-7) – end of Key Stage 1 statutory assessment at the end of Key Stage 2 (age 10-11) – end of Key Stage 2 statutory assessment. Note: From the 2019/2020 school year, all pupils in Year 4 (age 8-9) will also complete an online multiplication tables check. In addition, from September 2020, all pupils will be assessed on their entry to primary school in the reception class. This reception baseline assessment will be conducted in the Early Years Foundation Stage (ISCED 0). It is described in the article on ‘Early Childhood Education and Care [6]’, along with current assessment arrangements under the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile [13]. Types of school Most children attend a publicly funded primary school, which can be either a maintained school, funded via the local authority (LA) [14], or an academy with a direct funding agreement with government. Maintained schools are subdivided into: community schools [15] foundation schools [16] (including trust schools) voluntary schools (voluntary aided [17] and voluntary controlled [18]). Academies include: sponsored academies [19] converter academies [20] free schools [21]. For more information on the different legal categories of school, see the article on ‘Administration at Local and/or Institutional Level [22]’. A minority of children attend a fee-paying independent school [23] (see the article ‘Organisation of Private Education’ [24]). Primary schools generally cater for considerably smaller numbers of pupils than secondary schools. Virtually all publicly funded primary schools are mixed sex, educating boys and girls together. In January 2018, just over a third of primary schools in England were faith schools [25] designated as having a religious character. Most faith schools are designated as Roman Catholic or Church of England, but there is also a small number of Jewish, Muslim and Sikh schools and schools of other faiths/beliefs. For statistics on the number of primary schools by legal status, size and religious character, see Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics: January 2018. [26] Some primary age children are educated at home. See the subheading ‘Home education’ in the article on the ‘Organisation of the Education System [27] ’. Legal framework There is no single framework Act for primary education. Key aspects of compulsory education, school structures, and curriculum and assessment are underpinned by the Acts of Parliament summarised briefly below.‘The parent of every child of compulsory school age shall cause him to receive efficient full-time education suitable— Section 7 of the Education Act 1996 [28] places the responsibility for a child’s education on his / her parents: ‘The parent of every child of compulsory school age shall cause him to receive efficient full-time education suitable - (a) to his age, ability and aptitude, and (b) to any special educational needs [29] he may have, either by regular attendance at school or otherwise.’ The School Standards and Framework Act 1998 [30] established the current framework for maintained schools, categorising them as community, voluntary aided, voluntary controlled or foundation schools. It clarified the procedures for opening, closing and altering mainained schools, and placed local authorities under a duty to promote high standards of education, extending their powers to intervene in schools causing concern. It also included provisions relating to school admissions and governance, and set out local authorities’ duties in relation to the provision of childcare and nursery education. The Education Act 2002 [31] included: provisions for a new type of school to be known as academies (the Academies Act 2010 [32] later enabled all schools to apply to become an academy) general requirements for the curriculum for maintained schools a modernised framework for teachers’ pay and conditions, appraisal, qualifications and provision about misconduct revised inspection and registration regimes for childcare, day care and nursery education new arrangements for school governance a new regulatory regime for independent schools. The Explanatory Notes [33] on the Act provide further information. The Education and Inspections Act 2006 [34] introduced the ‘free school presumption’. This requires local authorities to seek proposals to establish a free school where they have identified the need for a new school in their area. It also introduced a presumption against the closure of a rural school. The Explanatory Notes [35] on the Act provide further information. More detailed information on the legal framework for particular aspects of education is provided in the various articles within this chapter. For a list, with brief notes, of the Acts of Parliament and Statutory Instruments that provide the legal framework for education in England, see the Legislation chapter [36]. Most legislation for schools applies to both primary and secondary schools. The framework for the governance of schools in England has been transformed in recent years. Where once all primary schools were maintained schools, there is now a ‘mixed economy’, with academies constituting a substantial and growing minority of primary schools. The majority of the common legal framework for maintained schools does not apply to academies, which are governed by contractual funding agreements with the Secretary of State [37]. Policy objectives The Department for Education’s (DfE) single departmental plan [38], updated in June 2019, is driven by the vision of providing ‘world-class education, training and care for everyone, whatever their background’. It has the aim of ensuring that ‘everyone has the chance to reach their potential’, and is guided by seven cross-cutting principles in five delivery areas. The seven principles relate to: ensuring that academic standards match and keep pace with key comparator nations striving to bring technical education standards in line with leading international systems ensuring that education builds character, resilience and well-being recruiting, developing and retaining the best possible workforce prioritising the most disdvantaged protecting the autonomy of institutions ensuring the effectiveness of funding. The first two of the five delivery areas (children’s services, early years and well-being; schools; post-16 and skills; corporate transformation; and Brexit) are most relevant to primary education. They include the key policy priorities of: promoting the educational outcomes of disadvantaged children, e.g. by providing targeted, place-based support in areas that need it supporting parents to develop their children’s learning at home ensuring there are sufficient high-quality teachers in schools, by delivering the teacher recruitment and retention strategy [39] and the Early Career Framework elevating the status of the teaching profession by strengthening qualified teacher status [40], reducing unnecessary workload and supporting the Chartered College of Teaching [41] strengthening the teaching of phonics for early reading continuing to build school-led school improvement, and ensuring that all children can access a place at a ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ school supporting schools in developing children’s character, resilience and well-being. The single departmental plan is supported by the Government’s social mobility plan, Unlocking Talent, Fulfilling Potential [42] (December 2017). This national plan to improve social mobility through education has an overarching ambition of delivering better educational and career outcomes across the country, by ‘leaving no community behind’.
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