ACCAC
Awdurdod Cymwysterau Cwricwlwm, ac Asesu Cymru/Qualification, Curriculum and Assessment Authority for Wales
ACCESS
ACCESS courses are designed to give mature students evidence of recent study. They often lead to GCSEs and A levels and are run by colleges of further education. ACCESS to teaching would offer GCSE mathematics, English and science and appropriate A levels for ITT degree entry.
ACE
Advisory Centre for Education
ACEO
Association of Chief Education Officers
ACLF
Adult and Community Learning Fund
ACVT
Advisory Committee for Vocational Training (EU)
AD(H)D
Attention Deficit (hyperactivity) Disorder
Advanced GNVQ
Advanced General National Vocational Qualification, precursor to Advanced Certificate of Vocational Education (VCE)
AGCAS
Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services
AHRB
Arts and Humanities Research Board
Aims or aspirations
Long-term ambitions which may or may not be achieved, but which provide personal motivation and direction. These are often expressed as a dream, wish or vision of what a person wants to become or what they want to do.
ALT
Association of Teachers and Lecturers
AoC
Association of Colleges
APL
Accreditation of Prior Learning
Apprenticeship
A framework for learning and 'on the job' training, available at foundation (level 2) and advanced (level 3)
APS
Alliance of Parents and Schools
AQA
Assessment and Qualification Alliance
AST
Advanced Skills Teacher
Attachment
A file that is included with email.
BA with QTS
Bachelor of Arts: arts degree-level ITT qualification leading to QTS. One of the main routes into primary teaching.
Basic skills
A set of literacy and numeracy skills designed for use with adult learners, which start at pre-entry level with the earliest stages of development of communication through to level 2 of the qualifications framework.
BECTA
British Educational Communications and Technology Agency
BEd with QTS
Bachelor of Education - degree-level ITT qualification leading to QTS. One of the main routes into primary teaching.
Behaviour support plan
A statement which sets out local arrangements for schools and other service providers for the education of children with behavioural difficulties.
Book Trust
An independent educational charity established to promote books and reading among readers of all ages and cultures.
Brothers and sisters
A rule applied by some admission authorities if your school of choice is oversubscribed. They will sometimes treat the application more favourably if your child already has a brother or sister at the school.
Browser
Software package which is used to view internet pages.
BSA
Basic Skills Agency
BSc Bachelor of Science
Science degree-level ITT qualification leading to QTS. One of the main routes into primary teaching.
BTEC National
An A level equivalent qualification, available in several sizes. Subjects include nursery nursing, business studies and art and design. There are considerable practical elements to the courses with work placements offered.
CBEVE
Central Bureau for Educational Visits and Exchanges
CEG
Careers Education and Guidance
CEO
Chief Education Officer
CET
Continuing Education and Training
CGLI
City and Guilds of London Institute
CHI
The Support Society for Children of Higher Intelligence
Childminders
Childminders look after children under five and school-age children after hours and in the holidays. The local authority decides how many children a childminder can care for and they are able to register as part of a network to provide early education.
CIHE
Council for Industry and Higher Education
CILT
Centre for Information on Language Teaching and Research
COIC
Careers and Occupational Information Centre
Community school
State schools in England and Wales which are wholly owned and maintained by the local education authority. The LEA is the admissions authority: it has main responsibility for deciding arrangements for admitting pupils.
Controlled schools
Schools in Northern Ireland which come under the control of Education and Library Boards.
County schools
State schools in England and Wales which are wholly owned and maintained by LEAs.
Course
An externally accredited course of study which can lead to a qualification.
CPI
Child Protection Issue
CRAC
Careers Research and Advisory Centre
CSR
Continuous Student Record
CTC (City Technical College)
Independent all ability non fee-paying schools for pupils aged 11-18. There are 14 CTCs and one CCTA (City College for the Technology of the Arts) in urban areas across England. CTCs teach the national curriculum pre-16, with a focus on science, mathematics and technology. They offer a wide range of vocational qualifications and part of their role is to innovate in the development, management and delivery of the curriculum.
Curriculum
Commonly understood as the totality of the experiences the learner has as a result of the provision made.
Curriculum framework
The planned curriculum which sets out the entitlement to learning against which clear and small steps of progress can be planned and monitored.
Database
Collection of data that is organised so that its contents can be easily accessed, managed and updated.
DENI
Department of Education for Northern Ireland
DfES
Department for Education and Skills (previously known as DfEE)
Dissaplication
The national curriculum assessments have been designed to make sure that as many children as possible can be assessed. There may, however, be a small number of pupils who are not able to take part in some or all of the assessments, even allowing for the full range of arrangements that can be made. Usually this only happens if all or part of the national curriculum is not suitable for a pupil because he or she has certain special educational needs. The assessments are designed to cater for most pupils with special educational needs.
Download
The transmission of a file from one computer system to another (often smaller) computer system. From the internet users point of view, to download a file is to request it from one computer, or from one web page, to another computer, and to receive it.
DPC
Data Protection Commission/Commissioner
DRC
Disability Rights Commission
EAL
English as an Additional Language
Early years development and childcare partnership
Plans education locally for children below compulsory school age, and childcare for children from 0 to 14 years. One partnership for each local education authority area draws up a plan each year, which explains what local early education and childcare services will be provided, and includes a list of all local providers of free early education.
Early years development and childcare plan
A local plan which sets out how early education and childcare services will be provided.
EAZs (Education Action Zones)
Groups of 15 to 25 schools that aim to create new partnerships, raise standards and generate innovation within education. These groups of schools receive £1 million a year for three to five years. An EAZ based on a single secondary school and its associated primaries will receive £350,000 a year. These smaller EAZs are only being set up in Excellence in Cities areas.
EBD
Emotional and behavioural difficulties
EDP
Education development plan
Education Welfare Officers (otherwise known as Education Social Workers)
Employed by LEAs to monitor school attendance and help parents meet their responsibilities.
EECs
Early Excellence Centres
EiC (Excellence in Cities)
EiC was launched in March 1999 by the Prime Minister and Secretary of State. Its aim is to raise standards in specific city areas through targeted intervention and investment. EiC is mainly focused on secondary schools. The main programmes involved are: extending opportunities for Gifted and Talented pupils; expansion of the number of specialist and Beacon schools; establishing City Learning Centres; introducing new smaller Education Action Zones; providing access to Learning Mentors; and establishing Learning Support Units to tackle disruption.
EMA
Education maintenance allowance
ESS
Education standard spending
Exclusion
The suspension or expulsion of a pupil from school for disciplinary reasons.
Experiential learning
Learners taking part in planned real-life activities that are often community based. Learning is facilitated through a combination of planning and preparation, experience, reflection and review.
Experimentation
Learners involved in planning an investigation to test ideas for themselves.
Family Literacy and Family Numeracy Courses
Offered by most Local Education Authorities, these courses let you and your child learn skills together, and separately, in small courses run in cooperation with local schools.
FE
Further education
FECDF
Further Education Competitiveness and Development Fund
Feedback
Provides learners with information on their progress. This can take many forms, eg oral, written, video or on-line, and can be given by a variety of people, eg peers, staff or colleagues.
Feeder schools
Some admission authorities give priority to children from certain primary schools.
FENTO
Further Education National Training Organisation
FERL
FE Resources for Learning
File
In data processing, a related collection of records.
Foundation schools
Type of state school which is run by the local authority but which has more freedom than community schools to manage their school and decide on their own admissions.
FSM
Free school meals
FTET
Full-time education and training
GCE
General Certificate of Education
GCSE
General Certificate of Secondary Education
GCSE Bitesize
A BBC revision guide which uses TV, books and the internet to help children prepare for GCSE exams.
GEST
Grants for Education, Support and Training
GNVQ
General National Vocational Qualification: vocational qualifications taken mainly by pupils age 16 and in full-time education, available at foundation and intermediate (levels 1 and 2).
Goals
Medium-term intentions linked to personal aims or aspirations that give direction to a programme for individuals and that may be achieved over the course of a year or more.
Group work
Learners work in pairs or groups of three to five people, enabling them to learn from and support each other. Group structures can be cooperative or competitive, but are guided by the teacher.
GTC
General Teaching Council
GTCS
General Teaching Council for Scotland
GTTR
Graduate Teacher Training Registry: central agency for processing applications for most postgraduate (PGCE) ITT courses.
HE
Higher Education
Healthy schools initiative
Government scheme to help improve the health of both pupils and teachers. The initiative includes a Wired for Health website, a Healthy Teacher focus to address occupational health issues for staff, and cooks' academies in schools to improve knowledge about nutrition.
HEFCE
Higher Education Funding Council for England
HMCI
Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools
HNC
Higher National Certificate
HND
Higher National Diploma: a two-year course that equates to two years of a degree course. Offered in many subject areas, mostly with a practical application. HNDs may also have an industrial or commercial placement as part of the course.
Home-school agreements
All state schools are required to have written home-school agreements, drawn up in consultation with parents. They are non-binding statements explaining the school's aims and values, the responsibilities of both the school and parents, and what the school expects of its pupils. Parents will be invited to sign a parental declaration, indicating that they understand and accept the contents of the agreement.
HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)
A computer language used to create internet documents.
HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol)
A method by which information is transferred across the internet.
Hyperlink
A piece of text or image that when clicked on takes you to another part of the same page, new page or website.
ICG
Institute of Careers Guidance
ICT
Information and communications technology
IEP
Individual Education Programme: these programmes are drawn up by the class teacher and/or special needs coordinator within a school to provide individual support for children deemed to have needs over and above that of other children within the class, either through learning difficulties or because they are considered to be exceptionally bright or gifted children.
ILT
Information and learning technology
Inclusion
One of the aims of the government is that, as far as possible, schools should teach all pupils the national curriculum, whatever their needs. This includes pupils with special educational need and those who are extremely gifted and talented (who need harder challenges to tackle), together with other pupils.
Independent schools
These are schools which are not funded by the state and obtain most of their finances from fees paid by parents and income from investments. Some of the larger independent schools are known as public schools, while most boarding schools are independent. Further information is available from the ISIS (Independent Schools Information Service).
INSET
In-service education and training: all teachers have access to INSET in schools, helping them to refine their teaching and management skills.
Internet (Often called the net)
A worldwide system of computer networks a network of networks in which users at any one computer can, if they have permission, get information from any other computer.
IT
Information technology
ITT
Initial teacher training: most people need to take an ITT course in order to gain qualified teacher status (QTS).
ITT provider
Provider of initial teacher training, eg college/university, consortium of schools.
There are no entries for the letter 'j'.
Key skills
A set of generic skills, which start at level 1 of the qualifications framework, designed to help learners improve their performance in communication, application of number, IT, working with others, improving own learning and performance, and problem-solving.
KS (key stage)
Pupils’ progress through school is measured in key stages. Each key stage covers a number of school years. Starting at key stage 1 and finishing at key stage 4.
- key stage 1 Infant School (3-7 years)
- key stage 2 Junior School (7-11 years)
- key stage 3 Lower Secondary School (12-13 years)
- key stage 4 Upper Secondary School (14-16 years)
LEA (Local Education Authority)
The term Local Education Authority (or LEA) describes a type of council which has responsibility for providing education to pupils of school age in its area. Their overall education remit also includes early years, the youth service and adult education. An LEA is responsible for promoting high standards of education. It is responsible for contributing to the spiritual, moral, mental and physical development of the community by ensuring that efficient primary and secondary education is provided, and ensuring that there are enough primary and secondary places with adequate facilities to meet the needs of pupils living in the area.
League tables
See Performance tables.
Learn direct
A free advice telephone line that offers information on adult education and courses wherever you live and wherever you want to study (0800 100 900).
Learning outcomes
Used to describe what it is anticipated a learner will be able to do, know or understand as a result of a course of study.
LECT
League for the Exchange of Commonwealth Teachers
Lifelong learning
Describes an individual’s capacity to continue to learn and, by implication, to respond positively through learning and development to changing circumstances. Lifelong learning is helped by a capability in ICT so that learning can be undertaken by self-study, remote access and distance learning at times and in places convenient to the learner.
Link
See Hyperlink.
Literacy hour
An hour of learning to read and write in school, broken down into various activities.
LMS
Local management of schools
LPSH
Leadership Programme for Serving Heads
LSAC
Language sports and arts colleges
LSC
Learning and Skills Council
MA
Modern Apprenticeships
MBS
Music and Ballet Schools Scheme
MFL
Modern foreign languages
MLD
Mild learning difficulties
Multimedia
More than one concurrent presentation medium, for example on CD-ROM or website. Combination of text, sounds and/or motion video.
NAACE
National Association of Advisers for Computers in Education
NACCCE
National Advisory Committee on Creative and Cultural Education
NACCEG
National Advisory Council for Careers and Educational Guidance
NACE
The National Association for Able Children in Education
NACETT
National Advisory Council on Education and Training Targets
NAGC
The National Association for Gifted Children
NAGCELL
National Advisory Group on Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning
NALS
National Audit Learning Survey
NASEN
National Association of/for Special Educational Needs
NASUWT
National Association of Schoolmasters and Union of Women Teachers
NATFHE
National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education
National curriculum
Covers what pupils should be taught in state maintained schools. The national curriculum provides a balanced education for your child covering 11 subjects overall, and is divided into four key stages according to age.
National curriculum levels
All pupils undergo national tests and teacher assessments at ages seven, 11 and 14.
National Literacy / Numeracy Strategy
A government initiative which aims to raise standards of literacy and numeracy.
NCET
National Council for Educational Technology
NCPTA
National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations
NCS
National childcare strategy
NDS
New deal for schools
NEOST
National Employers' Organisation for School Teachers
NFER
National Foundation for Educational Research
NGfL (National Grid for Learning)
Government body responsible for ICT in schools.
NICEC
National Institute of Careers and Education Counselling
NIHEC
Northern Ireland Higher Education Council
NISVQ
National Information System for Vocational Qualifications
NPQH
National Professional Qualification for Headship
NRA
National record of achievement
NVQ
National Vocational Qualification (work-based qualification)
OCA
Ofsted Complaints Adjudicator
Occupational qualification
Qualification that introduces the skills and capabilities needed for a particular occupation or job within a sector. Many distinct courses may exist within the range needed for a single industry sector. The skills of an occupational course are developed to an industry standard, and level of competence needed to exercise them economically. In this last respect they are different to broader vocational qualifications.
OCR
Oxford, Cambridge and RSA Examinations Board
Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education)
An official body which regularly inspects all the schools in England which are mainly or wholly state funded. Ofsted inspectors produce education reports which are meant to improve standards of achievement and quality of education, provide public reporting and informed independent advice.
OPCA
Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration
OSCI
Out-of-School Childcare Initiative
Oversubscription Criteria
Often referred to as those rules applied by admission authorities when a school has more applications than places. They must by law be fair and objective and must be published annually in prospectuses and by local authorities in a prospectus explaining admissions to all schools in an area.
PANDA
Performance and Assessment Reports (Ofsted)
PDF (portable document format)
A file that has captured all the elements of a printed document as an electronic image that you can view, navigate, print or forward to someone else. Created using Adobe Acrobat software, Acrobat Reader is needed to view and use the files.
PE
Physical Education
Performance tables
The DfES publishes comparative secondary and 16-18 performance tables each year. The tables report achievements in public examinations and vocational qualifications in secondary schools and FE sector colleges. Primary school performance tables are published by local education authorities and report the achievements of pupils at the end of key stage 2.
PGCE
Postgraduate Certificate of Education (postgraduate-level ITT qualification)
PIN
Parents Information Network
PMLD
Profound and multiple learning difficulties
Programme
A planned course of study with a distinct start and endpoint designed to meet the requirements of an individual or group of learners and that may or may not be externally accredited. This term is sometimes used interchangeably with 'course'.
Programme of study
Every national curriculum subject has a programme of study. This sets out what your child is entitled to be taught in schools.
Progress Files
A set of materials that support planning, achieving and reviewing. A Progress File can serve as a tool to help individuals plan their own learning and career development, recognise the knowledge, understanding and skills they are acquiring and record achievements.
PSB
Potential schools budget
PSE
Personal and social education
PSHE
Personal, social and health education
PTR
Pupil-teacher ratio
Pupils with statements of special educational needs (SEN)
These statements describe any learning difficulties which pupils have, and specify the extra help or equipment they need. Around three per cent of school pupils nationally have statements. Some pupils with special educational needs are academically able, but schools face challenges in achieving level 4 at key stage 2 for many pupils with SEN. The information on the numbers of pupils with SEN in each school helps you take this into account when looking at the school's results.
Pupils without statements
These are other pupils registered as having special educational needs but whose schools meet the pupils' needs without statements. Some pupils with special educational needs are academically able. But schools face challenges in achieving level 4 at key stage 2 for many pupils with SEN. The information on the numbers of pupils with SEN in each school helps you take this into account when looking at the school's results.
QAA
Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education
QCA
Qualifications and Curriculum Authority
QDC
Qualifications Data Collection Steering Group
QUIET
Quality in Education and Training Associates
REE
Register of Educational Establishments
REEF
Race Employment and Education Forum
Review reports
These record a person's progress against their statement of special educational needs.
RISS
Register of Independent Schools
RTF (rich text format)
A file format that lets you exchange text files between different word processors in different operating systems. For example, you could create a file using Microsoft Word 97 in Windows 95, save it as an RTF file and send it to someone who uses WordPerfect 6.0 on Windows 3.1.
SAS
Special agreement school
SCITT (School-centred initial teacher training)
School-based teacher training course leading to QTS.
SCOTVEC
Scottish Vocational Educational Qualification equivalent to BTEC and Advanced GNVQ.
SEN (Special educational needs)
This denotes any child that has been identified as having some form of educational need, either as a result of learning difficulty or if they are deemed as particularly bright or gifted. These children receive additional support, either from within the school or from outside agencies. Consult the DfES booklet 'SEN: A Guide for Parents' if you think your child may have special educational needs.
SENCO
Special Educational Needs Coordinator
SEO
Society of Education Officers
SHA
Secondary Heads Association
SHEFC
Scottish Higher Education Funding Council
SLC
Student Loans Company
SLD
Severe Learning Difficulties
SLDD
Students with learning difficulty and/or disability
SOEID
Scottish Office Education and Industry Department
SOLACE
Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers
Special schools
State schools in England and Wales, which are provided by, LEAs for certain children with special educational needs.
Specialist schools
This type of school includes technology, languages, sports and art colleges operating in England.
Specialist schools programme
Additional funding enables secondary schools to develop strengths in a particular subject area, supported by local industry and in partnership with local schools and the wider community to share resources and expertise, while still delivering a national curriculum-based education.
SQA
Scottish Qualifications Agency
SSD
Social Services Department
SSSS
Secondary Subject Shortage Scheme
Standards of attainment
These describe the expected standards of performance in relation to a specified unit of work.
State schools
Otherwise known as publicly funded schools and attended by over 90 per cent of pupils. Parents do not pay any fees. Scottish state schools are maintained and controlled by the Local Education Authority.
STRB
School Teachers Review Body
Study support
Voluntary learning activity outside normal lessons that aims to improve children's motivation, build their self-esteem and help them to become more effective learners.
SUPERCLASS
Subject classification
Sure Start
A new, innovative cross-departmental strategy to improve services for children under four and their families in disadvantaged areas. Over the next three years it will support the development of at least 250 local programmes across England. These programmes will involve parents and carers as much as possible.
SVQs
Scottish Vocational Qualifications
Targets
Short-term and medium-term, achievable and tangible learning outcomes that are likely to be achieved over a few weeks or months. They give direction to a programme and support individuals in achieving their goals. Targets are staging posts towards a goal.
Teacher assessment
A formal assessment made by a teacher when your child is aged 7, 11 and 14. Used alongside the national tests to judge your child's educational progress.
The National Assembly for Wales
The body responsible for education policy in Wales.
Transition plan
At age 14, children with a statement of special needs must have a transition plan for post-compulsory education.
TTA
The Teacher Training Agency responsible for raising standards in schools in England by attracting able and committed people to teach and by improving the quality of teacher training.
UCAS
Universities and Colleges Admissions Service: central agency for processing applications for undergraduate courses including degree level ITT courses (BEd, BA/BSc with QTS).
UCLES
University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate
UFC
Universities Funding Council
Ufl
University for Industry
UKCOSA
UK Council for Overseas Student Affairs
UNESCO
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation
URL (Uniform Resource Locator)
The addressing system for the internet
VC
Vice Chancellor
VDU
Visual Display Unit
VET
Vocational and Educational Training
Vocational qualification
Qualifications that introduce learners to a broad sector of industry and business, encouraging understanding of the sector and developing capability in some skills to industry standard of competence.
Voluntary aided school
Schools in England and Wales which are maintained by the LEA, with a foundation (generally religious) which appoints most of the governing body. The governing body is the admissions authority.
Voluntary controlled school
Schools in England and Wales, which are maintained by the LEA, with a foundation (generally religious) that appoints some, but not most, of the governing body. The LEA is the admissions authority.
Voluntary grammar schools
Grant-maintained, integrated schools in Northern Ireland which take both Protestant and Roman Catholic pupils.
Voluntary maintained schools
Schools in Northern Ireland that are mainly managed by the Catholic Church.
Work-based learning/routes
Learning and training in vocational, occupational or general areas by people employed, or based largely, at a workplace. Apprentices and trainees who are employed by the company (but need not be) develop and consolidate their skills and abilities through supervised tasks, training, mentoring and learning while at work.
Work-related learning
Defined as planned activity that uses work as a context for learning. It involves learning ‘through’ work contexts, 'about' work and working practices, or 'for' work by developing personal attributes and employability skills. It connects learners' understanding of the role of active citizen with awareness of the economy.
Work-related programmes
Offers learners experiences of a working environment and to develop knowledge, understanding, skills and attitudes relevant to their employability. The term work-related programme may be used when referring to curriculum, structure, time, cost, mentoring, and career guidance as broad and necessary features of the arrangements made.
Work-related or vocational courses
Terms referring to what is measurable, such as attainment and attendance and progression to further education and training. Work-related learning may embody an accredited course. Work-related or vocational courses contain knowledge and in some cases skills relevant to particular sectors of industry or occupations.
Work experience
Defined as ‘a placement on employer’s premises in which a pupil carries out a particular task or duty, or a range of tasks and duties, more or less as would an employee’, but with the emphasis on the learning aspects of the experience. It provides opportunities for learning about the skills and personal qualities, careers, roles and structures that exist within a workplace or company.
Work-related course
Describes the measurable aspects of work-related learning such as attainment and attendance, and progression to further education and training.
There are no entries for the letters ‘x’, ‘y’ and ‘z’. | 
Page updated: 30 April 2003