| Academies | Publicly funded independent schools |
| Agree syllabus | A
non-denominational syllabus of religious education required to be used
in Community and Voluntary Controlled schools and drawn up by a SACRE
(see below) |
| ANDA |
Performance analysis and data. One of the tools for helping schools
set appropriate targets. |
| Appraisal | A
review of an employee’s performance, especially for the purposes of
staff development |
| ASCL |
Association of School and College Leaders (formerly SHA Secondary
Heads Association |
| AST | Advanced Skills Transfer |
| ATL | Association of Teachers and Lecturers |
|
Attainment Targets | These
establish what children of differing ability should be expected to
know and be able to do by the end of each Key Stage of the Curriculum:
each target is graded into eight levels which pupils climb up as they
learn more |
| Autumn Package |
A
compilation of comparative data used by schools to target set.
Published by the DFES. Data contained is both locally and nationaly. This
type of data helps to place the school in context. |
| Average Point Score | Every
child is given a score dependent upon their achievements in each phase
of testing. |
| AWPU |
Age-Weighted Pupil Unit: the sum of money allocated to the school for
each pupil according to age – this is the basic unit of funding for
the school |
| Baseline assessment |
Assessment of pupils’ attainment on entry to Year 1. The benchmark
that takes place six weeks after the children are in school. It is the
use of this data that forms part of the prediction for year two SATS |
| BSF |
Building Schools for the Future: a 10-15 year programme for the
rebuilding or refurbishing of secondary schools |
| Capital expenditure |
Spending on projects, improvements, and extensions to the school |
| CATS | Cognitive Ability Tests |
| Circulars | Policy
statements issued by the DfES to explain, interpret and give guidance
about legislation |
| Community governor | A
governor representing the community and local businesses chosen by members
of a governing body who have themselves been elected or appointed |
| Community schools | A term
used in the SSFA (see below) to describe former Local Authority maintained schools |
| Community Special schools | A term
used in the SSFA (see below) to describe former Local Authority maintained Special
schools |
| Competitive tendering | Obtaining quotes or tenders from alternative suppliers before awarding
contracts |
| Connexions |
Service for 13-19 year olds providing advice, guidance and support in
planning further education and employment |
| Contextual Data |
Information relating to free school meals, special educational needs,
electoral wards, and socio-economic issues. It places the school in the
historic data trends so that outside agencies will build a profile of
the school. This may not accurately reflect the school currently. |
| Core Curriculum |
English, Maths and Science – these are studied by all pupils |
| CPD | Continuous Professional Development for school staff |
| DDA | Disability Discrimination Act |
| Delegated Budget | Money
provided to schools, which governors can manage at their discretion
(see also Devolved funds, below) |
| Delegated powers |
Authority given to a committee or to the head teacher to take action on
behalf of the governing body |
| DfES |
Department for Education and Skills |
| Differentiation | The
organisation of teaching programmes and methods specifically to suit
the age, ability and aptitudes of individual children |
| Directed Time | Time
when a teacher must be available to carry out duties, including
attending staff and parent meetings, under the direction of the head
teacher: a maximum of 1265 hours in a school year |
| Disapplication | A term
used where Curriculum requirements may not apply to a pupil |
| DSG | Dedicated School Grant |
| EBD | Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties |
| ECM | Every
Child Matters: this is the Green Paper which led to the 2004 Children
Act |
| EDP |
Education Development Plan which Local Authorities are required to prepare |
| ESO | Education Supervision Order, which Local Authorities may apply for to deal with
cases of poor attendance at school |
| ETS | Excellent Teacher Scheme |
| EWO | Education Welfare Officer: a professional worker who visits pupils’
homes and deals with attendance problems and other welfare matters in
co-operation with the school |
| Ex officio | Able
to attend meetings by virtue of holding a particular office |
| Exclusion | The
temporary or permanent banning of a pupil from school |
| Extended schools |
Schools that provide a range of services and activities often beyond
the school day to help meet the needs of its pupils, their families
and the wider community |
| Form of entry | The
number of classes that a school admits each year |
| Formula budget | Money
that comes via the government and the Local Authority. The school can decide how to set the budget. We use a range of strategies to help us
decide the priorities, using historic data as well as the school
improvement plan. |
| Foundation governor | A
governor appointed by the foundation body of a Voluntary school |
| Foundation schools | State
schools, which have more freedom than community schools to manage
their own school and decide on their own admissions: at foundation
schools the governing body is the employer and admissions authority |
| Foundation Special schools | State
special schools, which have the same freedoms as foundation schools
(see above) |
| Foundation Stage |
Curriculum followed by children below statutory school age, in schools
and nursery / pre-school provision |
| GB |
Governing Body |
| GBSR |
Governing Body Self Review |
| GCSE |
General Certificate of Secondary Education |
| GNVQ |
General National Vocational Qualification |
| GTC |
General Teaching Council |
| HLTA |
Higher Level Teaching Assistant |
| HMCI |
Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Schools |
| HMI |
Her Majesty’s Inspector |
| HSE |
Health and Safety Executive |
| HT/Head |
Headteacher |
| I(C)T |
Information (and Communication) Technology |
| IEP |
Individual Education Plan for pupils with special educational needs |
| IIP |
Investors in People |
| Inclusion |
The statement from the government that encourages all children to be
taught in an inclusive way. This also applies to the staff of the
school so that no group should be disenfranchised. |
| INSET |
In-Service Education Training – course for practising teachers |
| Instrument of Government |
A legal document setting out the composition of governing bodies |
| ISCG |
Information for School and College Governors |
| KS 1-4 |
Key Stages – the four stages of the Curriculum: KS1 for pupils aged 5-7;
KS2 for 7-11; KS3 for 11-14; KS4 for 14-16 |
| LA |
Local Authority |
| LSC |
Learning and Skills Council |
| Minor Authority |
A district council or parish council |
| Mixed ability |
A teaching group in which children of all abilities are taught together |
| NAHT |
National Association of Headteachers |
| NASUWT |
National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers |
| National Curriculum |
This was established by the 1988 Education Reform Act to ensure that all
pupils receive a broad and balanced education which is relevant to
their needs |
| NCPTA |
National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations |
| NFER |
National Foundation for Education Research. Tests that the school uses
to give a standardised score to enable the correct plotting of
progress for individual children, it helps the school to identify the
gap in education. However it is only a snap shot and use of this
information needs to be handled with care. |
| NGA |
National Governors’ Association: The national membership organisation
for school governors |
| NGfL |
National Grid for Learning |
| NNEB |
National Nursery Examination Board |
| Non-teaching (Support) Staff |
Members of the school staff employed by the governors to provide
services in a school, such as classroom assistants, cleaners and
school secretaries |
| NQT |
Newly Qualified Teachers |
| NRT |
National Remodelling Team |
| NRwS |
New Relationship with Schools |
| NUT |
National Union of Teachers |
| Ofsted |
Office for Standards in Education: the body which arranges, and sets
standards for, school inspections |
| PAN |
Planned Admissions Number – formerly PAL (Planned Admissions Limit):
the number of children the LEA (governing body of an Aided School)
determines can be admitted to the school |
| Panda |
Performance and Assessment Data from Ofsted, rating school of
comparable circumstances |
| PAT |
Professional Association of Teachers |
| Peripatetic teacher |
One who teaches in a number of schools, to give specialist instruction
e.g. in music |
| PESE |
A
system that is operated in Kent for transfer of year six pupils into
the secondary sector (Procedure for Entry into Secondary Education). If
a child wishes to enter a selective school they need to sit the 11+
.All schools operate an entry procedure but not always one that is
dependent on an entry test. |
| PFI |
Private Finance Initiative |
| PGCE |
Post-Graduate Certificate of Education |
| PGR |
Parent Governor Representative elected to serve on a Local Authority
committee discharging the education functions of the LA |
| PI |
Performance Inspectors |
| PLASC |
Pupil Level School Census |
| PM |
Performance Management |
| PPA |
Planning Preparation and Assessment – 10% guaranteed non-contact time
for teachers |
| PPP |
Public and Private Partnership |
| PRP |
Performance Related Pay |
| PRU |
Pupil Referral Unit |
| PSP |
Pastoral Support Programme for pupils at serious risk of permanent
exclusion |
| PTA |
Parent Teacher Association – or PSA (Parent Staff Association) |
| PTR |
Pupil/Teacher Ratio: this is calculated by dividing the number of
pupils in a school by the number of full-time equivalent teachers |
| Pupil profile |
Broad evaluation of a pupil’s personality, interests and capabilities: this
forms part of the pupil’s Record of Achievement |
| QCA |
Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. This body produces the
literature that comes into school on a wide range of subjects |
| QTS |
Qualified Teacher Status |
| Quorum |
The
minimum number of members at a meeting before decisions can be made |
| RAISEonline |
Reporting and Analysis for Improvement through School Self-Evaluation (data package) |
| Resolution |
A
formal decision which has been proposed, seconded and agreed – not
necessarily by a vote – at a meeting |
| Rglf/RI |
Registered Inspector, who is authorised to lead an inspection
team(colloquially, a ‘Reggie’) |
| ROA |
Record of Achievement |
| SACRE |
Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education: local statutory body
which advises on religious education and collective worship |
| SATs |
Standard Assessment Tasks used for Curriculum Assessment. These occur
in year two and year six. They are tests that the Education Secretary
sets for all 7 and 11 year olds in schools. Keystage one is internally
marked and externally moderated. Keystage two is externally marked and
externally moderated. |
| Schools Forum |
A
Schools Forum has been established in each Local Authority area to advise on the
allocation of the funding for schools: the majority of places on this
body should be filled by governors and head teachers |
| Secondment |
The release of staff on a temporary basis for work |
| SEF |
School Self-Evaluation Form |
| SEN |
Special Educational Needs: learning difficulties for which special
educational provision has to be made |
| SENCO |
SEN Co-ordinator: the teacher responsible for co-ordinating SEN provision
in the school |
| SENDIST |
Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal Setting |
| Setting |
A
system of organising pupils into ability groups for particular
subjects |
| SIMS |
Schools Information and Management System: a computer package to
assist schools in managing information on pupils, staff and resources |
| SIP |
School Improvement Partner or School Improvement Plan |
| SLT |
Senior Leadership Team |
| SOC |
School Organisation Committee: required to be established by the Local Authority to
consider its School Organisation Plan (SOP) for the provision of
school places in its area |
| Special school |
A
school for children whose special educational needs cannot be met
within a mainstream school |
| Special unit |
A unit
attached to a mainstream school to cater for children with specific
special needs |
| Specialist School / College |
All
maintained schools may apply for Specialist Status allowing them to
have a special focus on a chosen subject area, whilst meeting National
Curriculum requirements |
| SSFA |
School Standards and Framework Act 1998 |
| Standards Fund |
Money
that comes into school via central government. This money is allocated
to specific funds and cannot be spent outside these areas. There are
in excess of thirty-two areas but not all areas apply to primary
schools. |
| Statementing |
The
procedure by which a child is formally assessed under the 1996
Education Act as having significant special educational needs |
| STRB |
School
Teacher’s Review Body: make recommendations to the Secretary of State
on teachers’ pay |
| Streaming |
Placing pupils in classes according to their ability |
| TAs |
Teaching Assistants |
| TDA |
Teaching and Development Agency for Schools |
| The Code of Practice |
The
revised document that details all the special educational needs of
children. We refer to the different stages as action school action,
action plus, etc. More detailed information can be obtained from your
special needs governor or by going to the DFES website. |
| TLRs |
Teaching and learning Responsibilities |
| Trust Deed |
The
deed by which a Voluntary Aided or a Voluntary Controlled school has
been established |
| UNISON |
Union of Public Employees |
| VA |
Voluntary Aided: a school set up and owned by a voluntary body,
usually a church body, largely financed by the Local Authority. The governing body
employs the staff and controls pupil admissions and religious
education. The school’s buildings and land (apart from playing fields)
will normally be owned by a charitable foundation |
| Value Added |
The
progress schools help pupils make relative to their individual
starting points |
| VC |
Voluntary Controlled: usually a denominational school wholly
maintained by the Local Authority but with certain residual rights regarding
religious worship |
| Vertical grouping |
Classes formed (in primary schools) with children of different age
groups |
| VfM |
Value for Money |
| Virement |
The
agreed transfer of money from the budget heading to which it has been
allocated to another budget heading |
| WAMG |
Workforce Agreement Monitoring Group |
| Work experience |
A
planned programme as part of careers education which enables pupils in
school time to sample experience of a working environment of their
choice |
