3. Pre-16 Education
Academic Achievement
Measurement of how well you do in your studies and the grades you get.
Coursework
A form of assessment that is used through secondary school to further education. This can be used alongside exams or as the only kind of assessment. It can come in many forms: written essays, performances, artwork, experiments and investigation, oral work/presentations, and fieldwork that involves a trip.
Department for Education (DfE)
A government organisation that you can contact to receive SEND support; apply for a school place; appeal a decision about a school place; check the performance of a school; or complain about a school.
Extra Time
Time can be added on to exams or set work in special circumstances.
GCSEs
GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) qualifications happen at the end of year 11, at 15 or 16 years old.
Half Term
Breaks within the school term. Usually a one week holiday but this can depend on the school's term dates
Key Stage
School years in England are grouped together into key stages. Primary school is key stage 1 and 2, secondary school is key stage 3 and 4.
National Curriculum
The national curriculum is set by the government and outlines what will be taught in state schools at each key stage.
Non-Verbal Reasoning
This is a part of the 11+ exam. It tests a child’s ability to work through problems which use visual aids.
OFSTED
OFSTED (The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills) are an organisation that inspects, regulated and maintains a high standard for schools, so that they are safe and help students achieve good GCSEs. Schools have an OFSTED visit around every 4 years, and each visit ends in an OFSTED report that grades how good the school is on different factors.
Parents' Evening
This is when parents are invited to meet with their child's teachers to discuss their child's progress. It is a useful time to bring up any worries and concerns you have about your child's education.
SATs
SATs (Standard Assessment Tests) check to see how a student is doing academically during primary school. Students will sit SATS at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2) and Key Stage 2 (Year 6).
SENCo
A SENC0 (Special Educational Needs Coordinator) is a person dedicated to helping students who need extra support in schools.
SEND
Every school has a SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) department that can help students with additional needs, such as physical and learning difficulties.
Sets
Sets are a common way for schools to break up year-groups by ability in different subject areas. The workload and pace will be suited to the ability of the children in the set. This is to try and give more support to those who find the work difficult and give extra work to those who find the work easier.
Verbal Reasoning
This is a part of the 11+ exam. It tests a child’s ability to work through problems written in words.