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England : Context and principles of education


Last updated: 24-Feb-2011
1.2 Purposes of education

1.2.1 Aims, objectives, values, principles

1.2.2 Special programmes

 

 

1.2 Purposes of education

1.2.1 Aims, objectives, values, principles

Compulsory education

The basic principle underlying statutory (school) education is that it should provide a balanced and broadly based curriculum which is suitable to a child's age, ability and aptitude and to any special educational needs (SEN) he or she might have. The Education Act 1996 requires a curriculum which:

  • Promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, intellectual and physical development of students at the school and of society.
  • Prepares such students for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of adult life.5

The documentation produced as a result of the 2000 review of the National Curriculum in England confirmed the values and purposes underpinning the school curriculum and the National Curriculum as follows:

"The school curriculum comprises all learning and other experiences that each school plans for its students. The National Curriculum is an important element of the school curriculum.16

Education influences and reflects the values of society, and the kind of society we want to be. It is important, therefore, to recognise a broad set of common values and purposes that underpin the school curriculum and the work of schools. Foremost is a belief in education, at home and at school, as a route to the spiritual, moral, social, cultural, physical and mental development, and thus the well-being, of the individual. Education is also a route to equality of opportunity for all, a healthy and just democracy, a productive economy, and sustainable development. Education should reflect the enduring values that contribute to these ends. These include valuing ourselves, our families and other relationships, the wider groups to which we belong, the diversity in our society and the environment in which we live. Education should also reaffirm our commitment to the virtues of truth, justice, honesty, trust and a sense of duty.17

At the same time, education must enable us to respond positively to the opportunities and challenges of the rapidly changing world in which we live and work. In particular, we need to be prepared to engage as individuals, parents, workers and citizens with economic, social and cultural change, including the continued globalisation of the economy and society, with new work and leisure patterns and with the rapid expansion of communication technologies.17"

Pre-compulsory education/Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) 
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) came into force on 1 September 2008. It applies to all formal childcare settings, including schools, playgroups and registered childminders. It is a statutory framework supporting providers in delivering integrated education and care for children from birth to five.410 Its overarching aim is to help young children achieve the five 'Every Child Matters' outcomes (see below) of 'being healthy'; 'staying safe'; 'enjoying and achieving'; 'making a positive contribution' and 'achieving economic well-being'. The principles intended to guide the work of all EYFS practitioners are organised into four themes: 

  • A unique child - every child is a competent learner from birth who can be resilient, capable, confident and self assured.
  • Positive relationships - children learn to be strong and independent from a base of loving and secure relationships with parents and / or a key person.
  • Enabling environment - the environment plays a key role in supporting and extending children's development and learning. 
  • Learning and development - children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates and all areas of learning and development are equally important and interconnected. 411

The EYFS curriculum contains specific early learning goals which most children are expected to reach by the end of the stage. The goals are divided between the following six learning and development areas:

  • Personal, social and emotional development
  • Communication, language and literacy
  • Problem solving, reasoning and numeracy
  • Knowledge and understanding of the world
  • Physical development
  • Creative development

Practitioners are expected to deliver these areas through planned, purposeful play which takes account of each child's individual needs and is informed by continuous assessment of their progress towards achieving the early learning goals.411

In July 2010, the Minister of State for Children and Families announced an independent review of the EYFS. The review will investigate how best to protect young children's safety and welfare and support their development and learning. 430

Every Child Matters: Change for Children
'Every Child Matters: Change for Children' is a new approach to the well-being of children and young people from birth to age 19.  The Government's aim is for every child, whatever their background or their circumstances, to have the support they need to:

  • Be healthy
  • Stay safe
  • Enjoy and achieve
  • Make a positive contribution
  • Achieve economic well-being. 359

This means that the organisations involved with providing services to children - from hospitals and schools, to police and voluntary groups - are expected to work together in new ways, sharing information to protect children and young people from harm and to help them achieve what they want in life. 359

Under this approach, every local authority is expected to work with its partners, through children's trusts, to find out what works best for children and young people in its area and to act on it. They are expected to involve children and young people in this process and, when inspectors assess how local areas are doing, they are expected to listen to the views of children and young people themselves. In March 2005, the first Children's Commissioner for England was appointed to give children and young people a voice in government and in public life. The Commissioner pays particular attention to gathering and putting forward the views of the most vulnerable children and young people in society, and promotes their involvement in the work of organisations whose decisions and actions affect them. 359

Further information on Every Child Matters is available online.

Raising the participation age
The Education and Skills Act 2008 includes provisions to ensure that, by 2015, some form of full- or part-time education or training is compulsory for all young people until the age of 18.  In the first instance the 'participation age' will be raised to 17 in 2013.  Those children beginning secondary education in September 2008 in England (age 11, in Year 7) will be the first to be expected to remain in education or training to age 17 (the current school leaving age is 16). 402

1.2.2 Special programmes

The Importance of Teaching: The Schools White Paper, 2010
In December 2010, the Government published the Schools White Paper. This proposed programme of reforms aims to narrow the gap in attainment between rich and poor students; and equip English schools to compete against the world's best education systems.

Measures relating to the curriculum, assessment and qualifications include:

  • Reviewing the National Curriculum in order to reduce prescription and re-focus on core subject knowledge that every child and young person needs to know.
  • Supporting the teaching of systematic synthetic phonics, as the best method for teaching reading.
  • Ensuring that there is proper assessment of pupils at each transitional stage of their education: this would include introducing a reading test for 6-year-olds.
  • Introducing the English Baccalaureate to encourage schools to offer a broad set of academic subjects to age 16.
  • Reforming vocational education so that it supports progression to further and higher education and employment, and overhauling vocational qualifications.

Measures in other areas include:

  • Reforming initial teacher training, to increase the proportion of time trainees spend in the classroom, focusing on core teaching skills, such as teaching reading and mathematics and managing behaviour.
  • Focusing Ofsted inspection more strongly on safety and behaviour, including bullying, as one of the four key areas of inspections.
  • Increasing autonomy for schools and reducing bureaucracy.
  • Ensuring that there is support for schools to collaborate through Academy chains and multi-school trusts and federations. Supporting teachers and parents set up new Free Schools to meet parental demand, especially in areas of deprivation.
  • Increasing accountability by putting far more information about school performance into the public domanin.
  • Targeting more resources on the most deprived pupils over the next four years, through a new Pupil Premium.

The White Paper is available from the Department for Education's website.

A Bill, the Education Bill based on the White Paper has recently been introduced into the House of Commons.  Further information is available on the Department for Education's website.

The Academies Act
The Academies Act was passed on 27 July 2010 431. This Act will reform how schools are governed and funded. It aims to open up the existing academies programme (see 2.1.3.) by enabling maintained primary, secondary and special schools to achieve academy status if they wish. The process of conversion will be easiest for schools rated as outstanding by Ofsted, the education inspectorate. Academies are publicly-funded independent schools which are free from local authority control. Schools with academy status are able to set their own pay and conditions for staff; they have greater control over their own budgets; they can change the length of terms and school days; and they are not required to follow the National Curriculum.

NB: Below are some key initiatives developed and implemented under the previous Government. The new Government took office on 11 May, 2010, and as current Government policy evolves this section will be updated accordingly.

National strategies for literacy and numeracy, and for primary and key stage 3 education
One major government target is to raise the standards of education of all children with particular regard to literacy and numeracy.  To this end, in the late 1990s the National Literacy Strategy (NLS) and the National Numeracy Strategy (NNS) were launched. As a result, since September 1998, all primary schools in England (catering for children from age 4/5 to 11) have been encouraged to dedicate a minimum of one hour per day to literacy and, since September 1999, up to one hour each day, in addition, for the teaching of mathematics.  Literacy and numeracy summer school initiatives were also launched, whereby primary and secondary school children having difficulty in English and/or mathematics are provided with at least 50 hours of free (state-funded) tuition during the summer holiday period (July-September). Funding has also been made available for 'booster revision classes' to enable 11-year-old students to improve their mathematics and reading skills prior to taking national tests at the end of key stage 2. 88,52,59   

In 2003, the National Literacy and National Numeracy Strategies were brought together into a single strategy - the National Primary Strategy - for improving teaching and learning in primary schools.  For further information see the Primary Strategy website at http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/primary/.  In 2006, the Government announced a renewed Primary Framework for Literacy and Mathematics. The Framework aims to further improve numeracy and literacy standards in primary schools by:

  • Ensuring that teachers use phonics as their prime approach to teaching early reading.
  • Introducing children to some aspects of mathematics earlier, for example knowing their times tables by the end of Year 4 (age 8-9), rather than Year 5 (age 9-10) as previously.
  • Placing greater emphasis on mental arithmetic and giving teachers clearer guidance on the effective use of calculators.
  • Strengthening children's ability to solve problems in both mathematics and everyday life.
  • Increasing support for assessment to help teachers personalise learning for students. 366

Extension of the literacy and numeracy strategies to the initial phase of compulsory secondary education (key stage 3 for 11- to 14-year-olds) began in September 2001.  Further information on this - the Key Stage 3/Secondary National Strategy, which now extends across English, mathematics, science, information and communication technology (ICT) and the foundation subjects of the curriculum during this phase, is accessible via the Strategy website at http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/keystage3/.

Class size
A new statutory maximum class size of 30 for all classes of 5-, 6- and 7-year-olds (key stage 1) in primary schools in England came into effect in September 2001. 28

Pre-school provision
With a view to achieving the Government's stated aim that good quality, free (usually part-time) nursery places should be available for all 4-year-olds whose parents want them, local authorities have been legally obliged (in accordance with the School Standards and Framework Act 1998)1 to ensure such provision since April 1999. Since 2004, local authorities have extended this entitlement to include all 3-year-olds in addition. 276 

The Government has also established the Sure Start programme to support children, parents and communities through the integration of early education, childcare and health and family support services. Further information is available via the Sure Start website at http://www.surestart.gov.uk/

14-19 education and new diplomas
Following the 2002 Green Paper on 14-19 education, the 14-19 Education and Skills White Paper was launched in February 2005.  This outlines the Government's strategy to improve educational provision for 14- to 19-year-olds and aims to help young people obtain the skills they need to be employable and achieve success.  The reforms proposed in the White Paper are being introduced gradually during the period 2005 and 2015.  The four main pillars of the White Paper are:

  • Vocational opportunities from the age of 14 which provide clear routes to higher education and/or employment.
  • A renewed focus on mathematics and English for all students in secondary education.
  • New opportunities to challenge the most able students.
  • Tackling the disengagement that leads to some students leaving education at an early stage. 337

An Implementation Plan was published shortly after the White Paper.  This Plan aims to ensure that post-16 participation rates rise from 75 to 90 per cent by 2015. The key points of the Plan include:

  • The introduction of diplomas, designed in partnership with employers, that combine skills development and general education. The first five diplomas began to be introduced in September 2008.
  • Personalising learning at key stage 3, including funding to provide extra support to those falling behind.338

The new diploma qualifications for 14- to 19-year-olds comprise a blend of general education and applied work-related learning. Since September 2008, diplomas have been available in five subjects: construction and the built environment; information technology; creative and media; health and social care; and engineering. Diploma Development Partnerships, comprising employers, educators and universities, have set out 'Learning Outcomes', which describe in detail the knowledge, skills and understanding young people following these qualifications will be expected to demonstrate. The Government plans to introduce a further 12 diplomas. 362  In addition, the Education and Skills Act (see above) is raising the age at which young people will be expected to remain in some form of education or training.

Key Stage 3 review
The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) has completed a review of the key stage 3 curriculum, which aimed to:

  • Reduce prescription
  • Increase flexibility
  • Ensure transition from key stage 2 and on to key stage 4
  • Advise on how to improve assessment in the foundation subjects:
    1. Design and technology
    2. Information and communication technology (ICT)
    3. History
    4. Geography
    5. A modern foreign language
    6. Art and design
    7. Music
    8. Citizenship
    9. Physical education (PE). 363

All the current core subjects and foundation subjects remain in the curriculum, but content has been reviewed.  The aim is to ensure that young people secure the key content and concepts in each of the subjects. 363   The revised secondary curriculum began to be introduced, alongside the new diplomas, in September 2008.  In addition, in autumn 2008, the Government announced the cancellation, with immediate effect, of the national tests (in English, mathematics and science) which had, until then, taken place at the end of the key stage (age 14).

Schools Commissioner
Following the Education and Inspections Act 2006 (see section 1.2.1), a Schools Commissioner has been appointed to encourage the development of a wide variety of schools, offering parents more local options. This includes the establishment of new 'trust schools' - government-funded schools supported by a charitable trust. The Schools Commissioner's responsibilities include:

  • Promoting and supporting the development of trust schools and Academies (schools established by sponsors from business, faith or voluntary groups working in partnership with the Government).
  • Identifying suitable partners and sponsors and matching these with schools.
  • Ensuring that local authorities fulfil their duties to promote choice for parents and fair access to schools.
  • Advising on school improvement and working closely with local authorities to help raise standards in the lowest performing schools. 360

New 'Children's Plan'
The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) launched the 'Children's Plan' in December 2007.  This sets out its vision for improving schools and the support available to families by 2020. Key elements of the plan include:

  • Building or renewing up to 3,500 playgrounds nationally.
  • Improving the quality and range of places where young people can spend their free time.
  • Providing free childcare for many two-year-olds from disadvantaged families.
  • Reviewing the primary curriculum to help ease the transition from preschool to primary education, strengthen the focus on mathematics and English, and allow greater flexibility in the school day.
  • Developing more effective links between schools and health, welfare and other community services.
  • Supporting parents to take a more active role in their children's education. 403

 

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