A school that has been ruled by an Ofsted inspection team to be failing in giving its pupils an acceptable standard of education.
Also see Special measures
A foundation or voluntary school with a religious character.
Also see Collective worship policy
Further education. General education and vocational training that leads to qualifications for post-school learners of all ages, and pupils aged 16 to 19 in partnership with schools.
Also see HE
Describes many types of collaborative groups, partnerships and clusters of schools. Broadly, it is 'a group of two or more schools with a formal agreement to work together to raise standards'.
Also see Leading Edge Partnerships
A school that provides (or 'feeds') another school with pupils who then undertake the next phase of their education. For example, a primary school may be the feeder school for a particular secondary school.
Freedom of Information. Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the public has the right of access to information held by public authorities. The FOI section of this website lists requests made to the Department since January 2005 and the Department’s responses.
The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act requires all public authorities, including maintained schools, to set out what information they hold and how it can be accessed in an approved publication scheme.
Covers work-related topics. It takes two years of full-time study to achieve, or can be done part time while working. It offers the option to convert to a full degree with further study.
Also see HE
State schools that are run by the local authority but have more freedom than community schools in terms of management and decisions around their admissions policy.
Defined in the National Curriculum as education for children from age three to the end of the Reception Year.
As defined by the National Curriculum – history, geography, art, physical education (PE), design and technology (DT), personal social health education (PSHE).
All-ability state-funded schools set up in response to parental demand. Under new plans, it will become easier for charities, universities, businesses, educational groups, teachers and groups of parents to start these schools.
A school that has been closed and reopened on the same site under the normal school reorganisation procedures. Schools eligible must be in an Ofsted category or subject to a formal local authority warning.
Also see Special measures
Free school meals. Often used as an indicator of deprivation for school funding purposes.
Full-time equivalent. Used in calculating school budgets, this usually refers to the number of FTE pupils, with a full-time pupil counting as 1.0.
