Pre-16 Education

This part of the timeline explains how the education system works from nursery options up to age 16, including pre-school, primary school and secondary school.

No matter your child’s asylum status, they must attend school and receive the education appropriate for their age. Your local authority is responsible for providing your child a place at a local primary or secondary school. To enrol your child at a primary or secondary school, you must contact the local authority of your area, for example Leeds City Council, and follow their guidance. If you are unsure of your local authority, search online the name of your town or city followed by ‘council’. Each local authority has a team to help fill in forms and can even offer interpreters.

Pre School (age 2-4)

Education before age 4 is not compulsory, but childcare support is available.

15 hours of free childcare a week is available for 2-4 year old children if they/their guardian has one or more of the following -

• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance or Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Universal Credit
• A household income less than £15,400 a year after tax
• Cannot claim benefits because of their asylum seeker status through NRPF (no recourse to public funds).

Find more information on the government website.

Primary School - Age 4 to 11

Age	Class	Key stage	Exams/assessments
4 to 5	Reception	Early Years
5 to 6	Year 1	KS1
6 to 7	Year 2	KS1	SAT exams (Standard Assessment Tests).
7 to 8	Year 3	KS2
8 to 9	Year 4	KS2
9 to 10	Year 5	KS2
10 to 11	Year 6	KS2	SAT exams (Standard Assessment Tests).

 

Secondary School - Age 11 to 16

Age	Class	Key stage	Exams/assessments
11 to 12	Year 7	KS3
12 to 13	Year 8	KS3
13 to 14	Year 9	KS3	SAT exams (Standard Assessment Tests)
14 to 15	Year 10	KS4
15 to 16	Year 11	KS4	GCSEs (General Certificate of Secondary Education)