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England : Context and principles of education


Last updated: 29-Feb-2008
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

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

All settings and schools receiving some form of government funding for the education of children aged 3 to 5 years are required to plan activities and experiences which help children to progress in their development and learning. The curriculum for this foundation stage of education should underpin all future learning by supporting, fostering, promoting and developing children's:

  • Personal, social and emotional well-being.
  • Positive attitudes and dispositions towards their learning.
  • Social skills.
  • Attention skills and persistence.
  • Language and communication.
  • Reading and writing.
  • Mathematics.
  • Knowledge and understanding of the world.
  • Physical development.
  • Creative development.151
Citizenship and personal, social and health education

As a result of the review of the National Curriculum completed in 2000 citizenship lessons became compulsory for all students in publicly-funded, compulsory secondary education (aged 11 to 16 years) in August 2002. 212

The stated purpose of citizenship education is to:

    • Give students the knowledge, skills and understanding they need to lead confident, healthy, independent lives and to become active, responsible citizens.
    • Encourage students to take part in a wide range of activities and experiences across and beyond the curriculum, contributing fully to the life of the school and communities. In doing so they learn to recognise their own worth, work well with others and become increasingly responsible for their own learning.
    • Encourage students to reflect on their experiences and understand how they are developing personally and socially, tackling many of the spiritual, moral, social and cultural issues that are part of growing up.
    • Assist students in finding out about the main political and social institutions that affect their lives and about their responsibilities, rights and duties as individuals and members of communities.
    • Help students to learn to understand and respect their common humanity, diversity and differences so that they can go on to form the effective fulfilling relationships that are an essential part of life and learning.34
Five Year Strategy for Children and Learners

In July 2004, the Government published a new strategy for children and learners. This set goals for a five-year period and presented a longer term aim for every stage of education from pre-school to adult. The overall aim of the strategy is to help break links between social class and achievement and to ensure that the provision of education and related services meets individuals' specific needs. The reforms outlined within the strategy are underpinned by five key principles:

  • Greater personalisation and choice.
  • Opening up services to new and different educational providers.
  • Greater freedom and independence for headteachers, governors and managers.
  • Commitment to staff development through support and training.
  • Partnerships with parents, employers, volunteers and voluntary organisations.

The full document is available online at: http://www.dfes.gov.uk/publications/5yearstrategy/

Education Act 2005

The Education Act 2005 297 provided the legislative framework to support some of the policy developments set out in the Five Year Strategy for Children and Learners (see above). It aims to raise standards for every child in every school by developing a new relationship with schools and promoting greater autonomy and diversity in the education system. The key intended reforms were:

  • A more efficient and effective school inspection system.
  • Guaranteed three-year budgets - aligned with the school year - for every school.
  • The introduction of 'school profiles' to provide a balanced assessment of a school's ethos, characteristics, performance and improvement priorities. 296

Education and Inspections Act 2006

Following on from the White Paper 'Higher Standards, Better Schools for All', the Education and Inspections Act 2006 became law in November 2006. The Act introduces:

  • Trust schools: all schools now have the opportunity to publish proposals to become trust schools. Trust schools are self-governing schools funded by local authorities but supported by external charitable trusts.
  • Revised curriculum entitlements: all 14- to 19-year-olds will have access to a range of new diplomas.
  • Better discipline: school staff have new powers to tackle disruptive behaviour and to impose order and discipline.
  • A strategic role for local authorities which includes new powers to intervene in poorly performing schools.
  • Improved parental rights: parents can ask for new schools to be set up and Parent Councils can be set up (and must be established in certain types of school) to give parents an increased opportunity to have a say in school life.
  • Healthier school meals: new minimum food standards for schools began to be introduced in September 2006.  These ban foods high in fat, salt and sugar. 358

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 will be expected to involve children and young people in this process and, when inspectors assess how local areas are doing, they will listen especially 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 is paying particular attention to gathering and putting forward the views of the most vulnerable children and young people in society, and is promoting their involvement in the work of organisations whose decisions and actions affect them. 359

Childcare Act 2006

In 2006 the Childcare Act was approved by Parliament. This new legislation aims to ensure that all children have access to high quality early learning and care and to give parents greater choice when balancing work and family. Key elements of the Act include:

  • An increase in the entitlement to free early childhood education and care for 3- and 4-year-olds.
  • A new Early Years Foundation Stage which will establish a framework to support children’s development and learning from birth to age five.
  • A duty on local authorities to reduce inequalities between children from different backgrounds, and provide integrated and accessible early childhood services through children’s centres.
  • Provision of sufficient childcare for all parents in work or training.
  • Reformed regulatory arrangements to give parents greater confidence in childcare providers. 367

Education and Skills Bill 2007
The Education and Skills Bill was published in November 2007. Key aspects of the Bill include:

  • By 2015, making some form of full- or part-time education or training compulsory for all young people until the age of 18.
  • Providing adults with the right to basic and intermediate skills training.
  • Improving careers education and guidance in schools.
  • Ensuring greater flexibility in the regulation of independent (private) schools. 402

1.2.2 Special programmes

National targets

The Government sets some national targets for education.  Targets are set for the proportion of students, nationally, expected to achieve certain levels of attainment on completion of certain phases of education, for example.  Current targets include:

By 2008:

  • At least half of 14-year-olds (completing key stage 3) to obtain the expected score in English, maths and science tests.

  • 60 per cent of 15-/16-year-olds to gain five grade 'Cs' or better in GCSE examinations (taken on completion of compulsory education). 340

The Government is also aiming for half of all 18- to 30-year-olds to be in, or to have passed through, higher education by 2010.256

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/.

Other major initiatives include:

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/

Curriculum Online and National Curriculum in Action

Curriculum Online is an online catalogue of digital learning resources for teachers, which includes lesson plans, interactive videos, CD-ROMs and assessment materials. Curriculum Online is accessible at http://www.curriculumonline.gov.uk/   

In addition, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) runs the National Curriculum in Action website for teachers; this illustrates standards of students' work at different ages and key stages. The site is available at http://www.ncaction.org.uk/

General Teaching Council for England

The General Teaching Council for England (GTCE) is a professional body for teachers, which was established in September 2000. It has the role of advising the Secretary of State, local authorities, schools and others on:

  • The recruitment and supply of new teachers.
  • Initial training and induction.
  • On-going professional development.
  • Medical fitness and professional conduct. 62

The Council's members include:

  • Elected teachers (primary and secondary teachers, headteachers, and teachers from  and special schools).
  • Teachers appointed by the main teaching unions.
  • Representatives of various representative bodies, mostly from within the education system.
  • Appointees nominated by the Secretary of State.62

The General Teaching Council's website is available at http://www.gtce.org.uk/homepage.asp

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 maths 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 will begin to be introduced in September 2008.
  • Personalising learning at key stage 3, including funding to provide extra support to those falling behind.338

The Government has now set out detailed plans for the delivery of the new diploma qualifications for 14- to 19-year-olds, which comprise a blend of general education and applied work-related learning. From September 2008, diplomas will be 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

A Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) paper on 14-19 education is also accessible via this website - see 271

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 will begin to be introduced, alongside the new diplomas, from September 2008.

Personalised learning

In October 2004 the Government launched a 'National Conversation about Personalised Learning', together with a pamphlet and website. This called on all schools to set out a foundation for the development of personalised learning, tailoring education to meet the individual needs, aptitude and aspirations of every child. The concepts of personalisation and personalised learning are described. Principles are identified that can help guide actions at each level of the education system from the early years to post-compulsory upper secondary education, and the five key components of personalised learning are set out: http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/personalisedlearning  335

Reform of foreign language education in England  

On the basis of the 2002 14-19 Green Paper '14-19: Extending Opportunities, Raising Standards' and, following recommendations by the Languages National Steering Group, in December 2002, the then Department for Education and Skills (DfES - now the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF)) published the national languages strategy for England. Central to the strategy is the principle of delivering an entitlement to primary level language learning, such that all children in key stage 2 (aged 7-11 years) are offered the opportunity to study at least one foreign language in class time by 2010. Pilot projects in primary schools in some local authorities in England began in September 2003. These were intended to result in the development of strategies for the successful introduction of language learning for 7- to 11-year-olds; for the sharing of good practice and the sharing of resources, such as experienced staff and specialist equipment; and for the fostering of professional development and of local, regional, national and international partnerships. The national languages strategy can be accessed at http://www.dfes.gov.uk/languagesstrategy/

In October 2005, the Key Stage 2 Framework for Languages was published. This provides learning objectives and teaching activities throughout the four years of key stage 2 in primary schools and focuses on key skills such as speaking, reading and writing. The Key Stage 2 Framework for Languages is available online: Web page. 339

Physical Education, School Sport and Club Links Strategy (PESSCL)

The national PE, School Sport and Club Links strategy (PESSCL) was launched in October 2002 with the overall objective of enhancing the take-up of sporting opportunities by 5- to 16-year-olds.  Its target is to increase the percentage of schoolchildren who spend a minimum of two hours each week on high quality PE and school sport within and beyond the curriculum to 75 per cent by 2006, and 85 per cent by 2008. The long-term ambition is to offer all children at least four hours of sport every week made up of:

  • At least two hours of high quality PE and sport at schools — with the expectation that this will be delivered totally within the curriculum.
  • An additional two to three hours beyond the school day delivered by a range of school, community and club providers. 350

Outdoor learning 

In 2006 the Government launched a manifesto for learning outside the classroom. The aim is to provide children with high quality educational experiences, ranging from lessons in school grounds to visits to museums and nature reserves. Measures announced include:

  • Creating an independent ‘Council for Learning Outside the Classroom’, to represent all organisations involved and advise on future policy.
  • Encouraging schools to report on their learning outside the classroom through self-evaluation.
  • Providing a support package for schools, including guidance on planning, funding and evaluating learning outside the classroom and new training modules for teachers. 380

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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