1.1 Summarise entitlement and provision for early years education
There are many forms of provision for early year’s children, which include: sure, start centres, day nurseries, child minders, and preschools. From 2004 all children in the UK (aged 3-4) are titled to free part time early years education or another preschool setting (including child-minders) for up to 15 hours a week. This can be accessed free of charge and is part of the Government’s Every Child Matters agenda and the Childcare Act 2006.
The free entitlement provides universal access to early childhood education and care, making sure that all children can benefit from early years education. Free childcare can be taken in playgroups, preschools, nursery schools, nursery classes in primary schools, in children’s centres or with childminders.
In 2013, the government extended the offer of free childcare to include two-year-olds children from disadvantaged families. Is expected to provide early education and developmental benefits for the child and to give them the chance to experience an early school setting and prepare them for when they are old enough to start primary school. Also, give children a chance to socialise with other children their own or a similar age and helps them to begin getting into a routine that will benefit them when they begin school.
The extended hours also support parents who wish to go back to work or develop their careers through further education by providing affordable day care.
1.2 Explain the characteristics of the different types of schools in relation to educational stage(s) and school governance.
In the UK they are four main mainstream types of state schools and all of them are funded by local authorities also known as maintained schools and each one will have to follow the National Curriculum.
The mainstream schools are:
• Community schools
• Specialist schools
• Voluntary schools
• Foundation and trust schools
Community schools – a community school in England and Wales is a type of state-funded school in which the local authority (LA) employs the school’s staff, is responsible for the school’s admissions and owns the school’s estate. The local authority will support any outside group within the community to have access to the school’s facilities for classes as sports/exercise and schools’ facilities are often used by local groups for adult education classes.
The community school will have their admission policy determined by the local authority and support the schools by developing links with the community and offering many support services.
Specialist schools – are focus on a subject area to boost achievement.
Areas such as: technology, language, arts, sports, business and enterprise, engineering, mathematics and computing, science, humanities and music.
Specialist schools must still meet national curriculum requirements, follow the same admissions process as all maintained schools and deliver a broad and balanced education to all students. Any maintained secondary school in England can apply for specialist status.
Additional government funding is allocated to specialist schools and they can also apply for specialist school status to be given for SEN specialism under the areas of the SEN Code of Practice.
Special schools are for children and young people who was assessed and given a statement of special educational needs (SEN) which may include learning or physical disability. Special schools usually take children with particular types of special needs.
Some special schools are funded by the local education authority. These could be community, voluntary-aided or controlled, or foundation special schools. Some special schools are independent.
Voluntary schools – are divided into two types:
- voluntary aided schools
- voluntary controlled schools
Voluntary aided schools – are run by their own governing body and anyone can apply for a place. Voluntary aided schools are mainly religious “faith” schools and their faith status may be reflected in their religious education curriculum, admission criteria and staffing policies. Schools buildings and land are normally owned by a charitable foundation, often religious organisation. Funding for this schools is shared between charity, governing bodies and the local education authority.
Voluntary controlled schools – are cross between community and voluntary schools. but this schools are maintained by the local education authority and that have close links with the church authorities. The local education authority is responsible for school admissions and decides how pupils are to be admitted.
Foundation and trust schools – Foundation schools are run by their own governing bodies and therefore they determine their own admissions policy after consulting with the local authority. Land and buildings are owned either by the governing body or by a charitable foundation, they will have to pay for any support services they receive. This institution relies on the donations and schooling fees paid in by the parents who in return expect high quality education that prepares their children for further studies at colleges and universities. A trust school, although a type of foundation school will form a charitable trust with an outside partner. Any decisions made for a school to become a Trust school will be made by the governing body after consulting with parents/carers.
Independent Schools –They are 2500 independent school in the UK and all of them must be registered with DfE (Department of Education) in order that they can be monitored regularly by either Ofsted or an inspectorate approve by Secretary of state, ensuring that the school maintains the standards set out in its registration document. These schools are funded by parents and from income from investments, half of them have charitable status, many are run as charitable trusts under a Board of Governors a few schools are still privately owned (private schools). Also, independent schools set out their own curriculum and admission policies as they don’t have to follow the National Curriculum, the Head Teacher and the governors decide on the admissions policy. Some independent schools are highly academically selective, some specialize in helping children who need more individual attention.
Academies – Academy schools are state-funded schools in England which are directly funded by the Department for Education they are not maintained by the local authority and therefore academies have more freedom than other state schools over their finances, the curriculum, and teachers’ pay and conditions, however, maintain close links with the local authority.
Most academies are secondary schools however, slightly more than 25% of primary schools as well as some of the remaining first, middle and high schools, are also academies. Academies do not have to follow the national curriculum. They do not have to follow the National Curriculum, they can choose their own, if it is “broad and balanced”
Post – 16 option for young people and adults–all young people after they complete their GCSEs have two option ether leave school and start work or they could remain to continue their studies. Government focus and funding education 14 -19 years old and they are focus on reducing the number of young children to not carry on with their education, employment or training (NEET) post-16 and more opportunities will made available.
In September 2013 the Government increased the school leaving age from 16 to 17 and again has been raise in September 2015 to 18 years of the age.
Even if these two options are available many pupils look to for other opportunities which they available for them which are:
Attend a college
Start a course of work based-learning
Go in to employment by getting a job
Carry out voluntary work
Be supported by Social Services/Social Care and Health/Children’s Service
Bursaries may be available to assist young people between 16-19 years who may struggle with the cost of studying and for young children who are most need may be eligible to receive a bursary of 1,200 per annum.
Young people age 16 decide to stay in education they have option of studying part time, they can take an apprenticeship part time training course.
Remaining in education after age 16 you can gain a qualification as:
• Diplomas
• Vocational Qualification
• A Level
• International Baccalaureate
• Functional Skills
• Foundation Learning
If a young person continues their education post-16 they are more likely to achieve valuable qualifications, earn more, and lead happier, healthier lives and will be less chance for the young children to end up in trouble with the police.
Learning Outcome 2 – Understand how schools are organised in terms of roles and responsibilities.
2.1 Explain the strategic purpose of:
• School governors
• Senior management team
• Other statutory roles e.g. SENCO
• Teachers
• Support staff roles
3.1 Explain the roles of external professionals who may work with a school e.g. educational psychologist.
2.1 Explain the strategic purpose of:
• School governors
• Senior management team
• Other statutory roles e.g. SENCO
• Teachers
• Support staff roles
School governors – School Governors work as a team and they are responsible for making sure the school provides a good quality education for all pupils. How School Governors do their job effects the interests of pupils, staff and the reputation of the school in the community. Governors support and challenge head teachers by gathering views, asking questions and discussing what’s best for the school. School Governors usually consist of a team of 10-12 members but may be as many as 20. The team will consist of a minimum of one parent and one staff governor along with the Head Teacher and all members will have links with the community. Governors don’t need specialist skills, just an ability to listen, think through new ideas, and decide what’s best for the school as part of a team. They need to set high expectations and ask challenging questions but are not expected to make day to day decisions about how the school is run.
The governors may get involve in:
• deciding how the budget should be spent and ensuring good value for money
• making sure the curriculum provides for and
• stretches all pupils
• making sure the school buildings are welcoming,
• safe and well used
• setting and monitoring the school’s values, aims and policies.
Senior management team (SMT) – are usually made up of more experienced staff and will work very closely with the head teacher. The senior management team is usually made up of the head teacher and deputy head but depending on how big the school is the senior management team is will consist of the deputy head teacher, year group leaders, and the SENCO. Common responsibilities of members of the SMT are day-to-day management of the school, meeting learners’ needs (in the curriculum and with extra-curricular activities) and keeping discipline amongst the pupils and generally make sure that the school is doing the best it can for the children who attend. The strategic management includes the development, implementation and regular review of the Whole School Development Plan, regarding not only the management of teaching and learning but also the financial management and external relations with the community outside of school. They make sure that there is a good relationship between the members of staff and they also get support to further their professional development.
They must be aware of the current state of the school, be imaginative in launching new and relevant initiatives in a way that can get the whole school behind the idea, be diligent in keeping track of these initiatives and their progress. They do regularly meetings to discuss any issue which may have arisen and make any decision with the running of the school.
Other statutory roles e.g. SENCO – SENCO is responsible for managing and monitoring the provision of those with special needs in the schools, also monitor and review the provisions for pupils with special educational needs and make sure all paperwork is in place. They are managing the day-to-day operation of the school’s SEN policy by providing guidance and in-service training to colleagues and liaising with professional outside of school to find further support if needed. This can include to work in partnership with parents/carers and other professionals, providing support and advice, ensuring that all relevant paper work is completed including individual education plans and monitoring and reviewing the process. To make sure that appropriate individual education plans are in place and that relevant background information about individual children with special needs are collected, recorded and updated.
The Foundation Stage Manager’s – are responsible for the meeting of statutory requirements within the Early Years Foundation stage. They must maintain records, observations, assessments and training and that are kept up to date. They role is to ensure that the reception and nursery classes within the school setting are run in accordance with the statutory requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.
Teachers – Teachers play vital roles in the lives of the students, are best known for the role of educating the students that are placed in their care. Primary school teachers will usually be responsible for planning, preparing and implementing the curriculum in all subjects under the National Curriculum whereas teachers working with older children will usually specialise in one or two subjects and will therefore be responsible for the delivery of these subjects only. Teachers are the tone of their classrooms, build a warm environment, mentor and nurture students, become role models, and listen and look for signs of trouble. Teachers are expected to know about the curriculum developments in their area of expertise and will be responsible for sharing this with other teachers usually during staff meetings. They also need to be available to advise and support other teachers in their subjects. Communication and co-operation with parents and persons / bodies outside of the school is paramount to their role. Teachers must record pupil development with the help of marked assignments, monitor each child’s individual progress and recognise problems, as students with special educational needs.
Support staff roles – School support staff play an important role in ensuring students are learning in a safe and supportive learning environment. School support staff include a variety of staff members who provide specialized instructional support as well as support to students while they utilize school facilities. This refers to employees allocated to work in schools to assist administrators, teachers and school councillors to address special educational needs within the school. They work under the supervision of school principals and the direction of certified teachers. They must be versatile, well trained and multi skilled to fulfil the requirements of their respective roles.
Often support staff will hold more than one role, may cover several different areas including:
• Breakfast club staff, after school staff and extended school staff
• Lunch time supervisors and catering staff
• Office and administrative staff
• Caretakers
• Site managers
• Teaching assistants
• Support assistants for children with Special Educational Needs
• Specialist or technicians for example in the case of ICT
• Learning mentors
• Parent support
They can foster positive, trusting relationships with students and improve school climate by encouraging parent and family involvement in education. Because students connect with school support staff on many occasions throughout the school day, support staff can model positive behaviour and send positive messages to students.
3.1 Explain the roles of external professionals who may work with a school e.g. educational psychologist.
There are many different external professionals within the school setting, they all have a very important role to play especially with Special Educational Needs pupils. These may include:
Educational psychologist – these professionals will work with the SENCO by observing and assessing pupils who may have additional needs. They work within local authorities, in partnership with families and other professionals, to help children and young people achieve their full potential. Educational psychologists support schools and the local authority to improve all children’s experiences of learning. The educational psychologist is allocated through the local Special Educational Needs department.
Speech/language therapists (SLTs) – They will usually come into the school from an outside location and offer support to the child, parents and teacher. Speech/language/therapists would work with schools to assist children and young people who may have problems with speech, language and communication skills. They assess a child’s needs before developing individual treatment programs to enable each child to improve as much as possible. They will work with the selected children/young people either individual or in a group to help them to develop and overcome their problems.
Specialist teachers – Specialist teachers are primary and secondary teachers who come into school to help with a wide range of needs including behaviour support, autism, special education, career advising, school counselling, teacher librarianship and teaching English for those whose English is second language.
Education welfare officer – They will visit schools and work closely with the Head teacher to identify and resolve attendance and absenteeism problems will provide support with issues around absence and work with parents to support excluded pupils on their return. They can take legal action against those whose attendance is below satisfactory.
School Improvement Partner – will work with and offer advice to the Head Teacher regarding leadership matters. SIPs help the Head Teacher look at how to develop the school using specialist tools like the school self-evaluation and monitoring high-level pupil progress. Monitor the average standards of pupil progress, rather than looking at the work of specific students. They look at both academic factors and external school provision, and they may also meet with parents, in order to ensure they have a full picture of the situation.
Physiotherapists – they role is to assess and manage children and young people with movement disorders, disability or illness. The aim of the physiotherapist is to help the child/young person reach their full potential through providing physical intervention, advice and support. May work outside of school and attend meetings to discuss support and pupil progress.
Occupational Therapists – is a health profession in which therapists and therapy assistants help individuals to do and engage in the specific activities that make up daily life. For children and young people in schools, occupational therapy works to ensure that a student can participate in the full breadth of school activities as with physiotherapists, occupational therapists will work outside of school mainly but share support and pupil progress with the school.