Education System in the uk

EDUCATION SYSTEM IN THE GREAT BRITAIN

Plan:

1. Early Years Education

2. Primary

3. Secondary

4.Higher Education

1. Early Years Education
Across the UK there are five stages of education: early years, primary, secondary, Further Education (FE) and Higher Education (HE). Education is compulsory for all children between the ages of 5 (4 in Northern Ireland) and 16. FE is not compulsory and covers non-advanced education which can be taken at further (including tertiary) education colleges and HE institutions (HEIs). The fifth stage, HE, is study beyond GCE A levels and their equivalent which, for most full-time students, takes place in universities and other HEIs and colleges.

Early Years Education

In England since September 2010, all three and four year olds are entitled to 15 hours of free nursery education for 38 weeks of the year. Early Years education takes place in a variety of settings including state nursery schools, nursery classes and reception classes within primary schools, as well as settings outside the state sector such as voluntary pre-schools, privately run nurseries or childminders. In recent years there has been a major expansion of Early Years education and childcare. The Education Act 2002 extended the National Curriculum for England to include the Foundation Stage which was first introduced in September 2000, and covered children’s education from the age of 3 to the end of the reception year, when children are aged 5. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) came into force in September 2008, and is a single regulatory and quality framework for the provision of learning, development and care for children in all registered early years settings between birth and the academic year in which they turn 5. The EYFS Profile
(EYFSP) is the statutory assessment of each child’s development and learning achievements at the end of the academic year in which they turn 5.
In Wales, children are entitled to a free part-time place the term following a child’s third birthday until they enter statutory education. These places can be in a maintained school or a non-maintained setting such as a voluntary playgroup, private nursery or childminder which is approved to provide education. The Foundation Phase is a holistic developmental curriculum for 3 to 7-year-olds based on the needs of the individual child to meet their stage of development. Statutory rollout of the Foundation Phase framework started in September 2008 and the process was completed in the 2011/12 school year.
In Scotland, education typically starts with pre-school. Local authorities have a duty to secure a part-time funded place for every child starting from the beginning of the school term after the child's third birthday. Pre-school education can be provided by local authority centres, or private and voluntary providers under a partnership arrangement. In Scotland, early years education is called ante-pre-school education for those who are start receiving their pre-school education in the academic year after their 3rd birthday until the end of that academic year (note: depending on when the child turned 3 years of age, some children may only receive part of an academic year’s worth of ante-pre-school education (e.g. 1 term), whereas other children may receive an entire academic year of pre-school education). All children are entitled to receive a full academic year’s worth of pre-school education in the academic year before they are eligible to, and expected to, start primary school.

The commitment in the Northern Ireland Executive’s Programme for Government is to ‘ensure that at least one year of pre-school education is available to every family that wants it.’ Funded pre-school places are available in statutory nursery schools and units and in those voluntary and private settings participating in the Pre-School Education Expansion Programme (PSEEP). Places in the voluntary/private sector are part-time whilst, in the statutory nursery sector, both full-time and part-time places are available. Pre-school education is designed for children in the year immediately before they enter Primary 1. Taking into account the starting age for compulsory education in Northern Ireland this means children are aged between 3 years 2 months and 4 years 2 months in the September in which they enter their final pre-school year. The Programme incorporates a number of features designed to promote high quality pre-school education provision in all settings including a curriculum which is common to all those involved in pre-school education