For a comprehensive view of the history of education from the 7th Century till today the following site is a mine of information:

Education in England: a brief history: Derek Gillard

The 1944 Act established a nationwide system of free, compulsory schooling from age 5 to 15. (The school leaving age was raised to fifteen in 1947 and the Act said it should be raised to 16 as soon as practicable). (Gillard)

It also provided for “education otherwise” for those parents who did not wish their children to be educated within the State system. This led to the growth of home schooling.

Even so, the vast majority of pupils in primary and secondary education are educated in State schools with probably less than 5% attending independent schools. While State education is free, parents sending their children to independent schools pay school fees typically ranging between £13,000 and £18,000 per year.

In return parents of children placed in independent schools expect the following advantages, though provision will vary from school to school:

• better resources
• better teachers
• better pastoral care (caring for the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of the pupils)
• less bullying
• better classroom discipline
• better communication between parents and the school through a regular school report system, giving information about the progress of the child
• smaller class sizes - typically classes run at about 20 as opposed to 30+ in State schools.
• better public examination results (GCSE and A-Level)

Independent Schools operate outside the State system and have greater freedom to experiment and innovate.

Although scholarships and bursaries are available for pupils with special talents, Some argue that the existence of independent schools is divisive. Nevertheless, successive governments have continued to accept the existence of independent schools and most independent schools achieve outstanding results from their pupils.

A third type of school - the Grammar School - has also been accused of being socially divisive.

Grammar Schools select pupils according to ability  on the basis of the “11+ examination” taken by pupils in their last year of primary education at age 10 or 11. The examination is no longer compulsory, and parents usually have to make special arrangements with the Grammar School of their choice for their child to sit the examination.

Grammar Schools resulted from the 1944 Education Act. Although this Act did not specify that such schools should be set up by law, this is what happened in most of the country. A tri-partitite system of education (Secondary modern schools, Technical schools and Grammar Schools) remained the norm until the introduction of Comprehensive Schools in the 1970s.

Gillard (see above) states:

In fact, the Act did not specify any particular kind of secondary school, as J Chuter Ede, Labour Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education, pointed out in a speech reported in The Times of 14 April 1944:

‘I do not know where people get the idea about three types of school, because I have gone through the Bill with a small toothcomb, and I can find only one school for senior pupils - and that is a secondary school. What you like to make of it will depend on the way you serve the precise needs of the individual area in the country.’ (quoted in Chitty and Dunford 1999)

However, even though it wasn’t specified, there is no doubt that the tripartite system was the outcome of the Act.

And the effect of the tripartite system was to disqualify a majority of the nation’s children from access to qualifications. The General Certificate of Education (GCE), introduced in 1951, was designed for the top 25 per cent of the ability range. GCE exams were normally taken at 16 (Ordinary Level) and 18 (Advanced Level), mostly in the grammar schools and the independent (public or private fee-paying) schools. The result was that the ‘parity of esteem and prestige’ between grammar and secondary modern schools, which the Act’s authors had envisaged, never became a reality. Competition for grammar school places increased as these schools offered pupils the opportunity of a place at university and thereafter a professional career. The tripartite system thus reinforced the notion that working class children were of lower intelligence.

In response to the criticism that Grammar Schools disqualified a very high percentage of working class pupils from access to qualifications, it can be argued that those working class pupils who did gain a place at a Grammar School (approximately 15%) received an education which was equal, or superior, to that offered in the majority of independent schools.

For many pupils from poor backgrounds the Grammar School provided a unique opportunity to receive an academic education which fitted them for university study and better job opportunities.

The concern in the 1970s, when Grammar Schools came under increased attack, was that most pupils who left Secondary Modern Schools (the schools for those who did not gain a Grammar School place) had no, or few, paper qualifications. Rather than improve provision in Secondary Modern Schools (which would have been a viable alternative), Labour-run Local Education Authorities set out to replace Grammar Schools by Comprehensive schools.

In some Conservative-run LEAs Grammar Schools have survived to the present day, though they are still regarded as socially divisive by many regardless of the educational advantages they offer working class children of superior academic ability.

Further efforts to democratise education occurred at the end of the 1980s when GCSEs (General Certificate of Secondary Education) were introduced to replace the former two-tier system of CSEs (Certificate of Secondary Education) and O-Levels (General Certificate of Education at Ordinary Level). O-Levels  were the examinations taken in a number of subjects at Grammar School at the end of secondary education (16) and pupils were awarded Grades A-F with “F” generally recognised as meaning “fail”. CSEs  were taken by the rest and awarded grades 1 - 4. Grade 4 was recognised as the national average and pupils achieving a Grade 1 were considered to have achieved the equivalent of a pass at O-Level.

The examination system was seen as divisive and was eventually replaced by GCSEs at roughly the same time as the National Curriculum was introduced at the beginning of the 1990s. The number of GCSEs to be taken depended on the academic performance of individual pupils and the grades awarded ranged from A - G. These were regarded as “pass” grades in order to include as many pupils as possible. A “U” grade (unclassified) did, however, exist and was given to pupils whose performance was extremely poor.

Initially the Grade A GCSE did not do justice to the wide range of ability which this grade encompassed, since the new Grade A at GCSE was roughly equivalent to Grades A-C at O-Level. This led to an additional GCSE grade being introduced - A* - for those pupils who performed exceptionally well at GCSE.

A comparison of results in 1990, when the first cohort of pupils took their GCSEs, and 2008 shows that there appears to have been a steady improvement the number of pupils achieving at least 5 GCSE passes at Grades A* - C.

YEAR 2008: All pupils (65.3%) Boys (60.9%) Girls (69.9%)
YEAR 1990: All Pupils (34.5%) Boys (30.8%) Girls (38.4%)

Examination papers are produced by a number of examination boards (under the supervision and guidance of the QCA). The papers are sat nationally and schools are free to choose whichever examination board they prefer. Over the years GCSEs have received a great deal of criticism, mainly because some people argue that they have become less challenging over the years and too many school leavers are not proficient in maths and English.  

THE NATIONAL CURRICULUM

The following summary of the NC is based on web pages taken from Hays Specialist Recruitment .

From the ages of 5-16, all children in England and Wales must receive an education based around the four key stages (KS) of the National Curriculum (NC). Below is an introduction to the National Curriculum.

What is the NC?
The National Curriculum was introduced in the UK in 1988 through the Education Reform Act (for Scotland, look at: www.ngflscotland.gov.uk ). Its aims are to:

Establish an entitlement for all children to a certain type of education

• Raise teaching standards
• Create a national framework for education to promote continuity and coherence between schools
• Promote public understanding of, and confidence in, schools

The National Curriculum has continued to develop through further legislation and different governments since that time. It has remained a political ‘hot potato’ and it is the teachers at the chalk facewho have had to cope with each new change.

Areas of study
Within the key stages, different areas of the curriculum are mandatory:

KS1(age 5 - 7/Years 1 & 2) and KS2 (age 8 - 11/Years 3 - 6)) - English, mathematics, science, design and technology, history, geography, art, music and PE
KS3 (age 11 - 14/Years 7 - 9) - All the above, plus a modern foreign language
KS4 (age 14 - 16/Years 10 & 11) - English, mathematics, science, PE, technology and a modern foreign language (there is no longer a requirement for pupils to study a modern language beyond the age of 14)
All students study religious education based on a non-denominational curriculum decided locally. This curriculum should not try to convert pupils or urge a particular religion on them. It needs to reflect the broadly Christian tradition of Britain but should also take in other religions.

For each subject and at each key stage, a school`s programmes of study (or POS) sets out what pupils should be taught. Attainment targets establish the expected standards of pupils’ achievements.

Schools are able to organise the delivery of these POS as they wish. Each school will create its own plans, day by day, week by week, term by term and year by year. Planning within schools can take place on a school, department, key stage, year group or individual teacher level.

Assessment  
Pupils are formally tested by their teacher when they first start school: this is called the baseline test. There are also national tests (or SATs) in English and mathematics at the end of key stages 1 and 2 with the addition of science at the end of key stages 2. At the end of key stage 4, students sit national examinations such as GCSEs or GNVQs.

[The results of SATs are expressed in terms of the level achieved by each child. At KS1 (age 7) pupils can attain levels 1 & 2. At KS2 (age 10) pupils may achieve Levels 3 - 5, with 4 being the national average, which most pupils achieve.]

Pupils can also continue their schooling beyond the age of 16. From 16-18, they can study for further GCSEs or GNVQs, or they work towards the AS/A2 qualifications in individual subjects. They can study for these at secondary schools or in colleges of further education. These qualifications can enable them to progress to university.

The Government is, however, also keen to encourage ongoing education with evening classes and part time study for adult learners in all qualifications from GNVQs to university degrees.

Special needs  
Students with specific learning difficulties, or special needs, are often taught within mainstream schools. Such learning difficulties can be emotional, behavioural, physical or through conditions such as dyslexia.

Such pupils will be monitored and their progress evaluated via an IEP (Individual Education Plan) under the supervision of the school`s SENCO (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator). They are assessed as to the level of their needs (from Stage 1 to a full Statement) and the school is then given state funds to help the individuals, either through withdrawal from lessons and/or in-class support, possibly from a learning support assistant. (An independent assessment by an educationalist psychologist not attached to the school is not regarded as valid evidence of special needs.)

There are also around 2000 schools across England and Wales that are special schools. They usually cater for those with severe difficulties. Class sizes are generally very small (around eight) and they follow a simplified, more appropriate National Curriculum.

Organisation in schools
To an extent the organisation of a school will depend on its size. However, every school will have a senior management team to lead it. This team will include the head teacher, one or more deputies and possibly the school bursar.

Primary schools are then further divided into Key Stage teams and possibly year group teams for the purposes of planning the curriculum as well as individual lessons for a particular year. They may also have a number of ‘co-ordinator’, for example for numeracy, literacy or music.

Secondary schools will certainly be split into subject departments with their own programmes of study (sometimes called ’schemes of work’) and departmental policies. These departments may be grouped together into faculties covering arts, technology, humanities, etc.

Secondary schools will also have pastoral teams of form tutors, which can be organised by year group under a year head or vertically through the school in a system of houses under a head of house.

Homework
When setting homework, it is important to follow your school’s homework policy. This will be set out in the staff handbook.

At primary level, homework is likely to be organised on a weekly basis and to concentrate on English, mathematics and science. It may well increase in amount as pupils progress up the school in order to prepare them for secondary education.

In secondary schools, each subject will have at least one ’slot’ per week. You will need to check how much to set each year group and if there is a particular day on which it needs to be set (in other words, do they have a homework timetable to help them to organise their week?) Always bear in mind that successful homework should:

• Be relevant
• Reinforce and extend the core work covered in class
• Not necessarily need too much marking

A major criticism of the NC is that it imposes a narrow academic structure on schools from above, forcing pupils and teachers to follow an academic curriculum which does not satisfy the needs of many pupils.

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