TDA 3.2: schools as organisations

TDA 3.2: Schools as organisations

Task 1.1. Summarise entitlement and provision for early years education.

Early years education covers the period of a child’s life from the ages of 0 - 5 years. When asked about early years education, the general answer is that it starts from the age of three, a child starts learning from the moment it is born.

A child’s first educators are usually its parents and other family members, for example siblings, grandparents. This period of a child’s life moves fast and the child can develop quickly. It is also dependant on several factors I.e. the environment, stimulation and general care the child receives whilst growing, these can all impact on a child’s development and social skills.

Sure Start Services offer children under 4 years and their families whom are from disadvantaged areas support. They aim to promote the well being and promote the development of pre-school children within their homes and school. Sure Start use a holistic approach merging health, education and parent support services together. This is run in conjunction with a network of local statutory agencies, as well as organisations in early education, health, family / parenting support, this organisations are community based and voluntary. Each area has different programmes based on the existing services in place as well as the needs of the community. Sure Start have a developmental programme in place for 2-3 year olds, which promote social and emotional development, encourages imagination through play as well as develops communication and language skills. There is no cost to this service for parents / carers.

From the age of 6 weeks to 5 years children can be offered a nursery place, these provisions can be very beneficial to working parents / carers as the hours can start early and finish late to fit in with employment hours. Children can attend all day long for as many days as the parent / care wishes as well as half days depending on needs. Nurseries are split into different sections depending on the age of the child, for example: babies will be in a different set of rooms as their needs are different, they will need to be fed and nappies changed on a regular basis and sleep more often than a older child of 2 - 3 years. Most of their development will be accessed through sensory play and interaction with staff and children similar in age. As the children go up in age, different opportunities and resources are offered to further their development, and is supported by the learning through play approach. Staff to child ratio’s also change depending on the age group of children. All nurseries work within the guidelines of the foundation stage early years curriculum, and under the framework of the Every child matters agenda.

From the age of 2 - 5 years children can be offered a placement in a pre-school, these are normally based on a morning or afternoon session not all day and the child can be offered up to 5 sessions per week. Many pre-school provisions now offer breakfast clubs and lunch time clubs to support families more fully. As with nurseries pre-schools work under the framework of the Every child matters agenda and follow the foundation stage curriculum, adopting the ethos of learning through play. Ratios of staff to children are high compared with primary school ratios. All staff are qualified in or working towards a relevant qualification within education, as are nurseries staff.

Both of these settings will have a designated child protection officer (CPO) and a special educational needs coordinating officer (SENCO) to ensure the safety and well being of the children within their care, whilst recognising individuals levels of development and needs. These provisions, can be run privately or through local authorities and can be linked with local primary schools. Up until the age of 3 years these provision placements are paid by the parent / carer or local authorities if the child is in the care of the local authority. Under the Childcare Act of 2006 and the Every Child Matters agenda all 3 and 4 year old children who resided in England became eligible to receive free early years education. This was raised from 12.5 hours per week to 15 hours per week for 38 weeks of the year. For any extra hours the child receives of education over the 15 hours the parents / carers have to pay for. The government funds this scheme, and passes the money onto the local authorities who subsequently pass it on to the relevant early years provision for the children in their care who qualify.

Child Minders offer an education provision within their own homes, and run along the same lines as nurseries. The size of the provision will determine how many children of what age a child minder can care for. This number will also include any young children of their own under 5 years. Child Minders can take children from birth to 5 years and as with nurseries and pre-schools parents / carers pay for the services until their child becomes eligible for free early years funding. They work within the early years foundation curriculum, and all three provisions are governed by Ofstead who set the standards and make sure all provisions are supporting early years children safely and appropriately.

Task 1.2: Explain the characteristics of the different types of school in relation to educational stage(s) and school governance.

The structure of education is seen as being Early Years( 0 - 5 years), Primary / junior age (5 - 11 years) which covers key stages 1 and 2, Secondary age (11 - 16 years) which covers key stages 3 and 4 and then post 16 years (16 - 19 years). There are many choices and varieties of schools which cover these different stages, this section will briefly explain some of the options available.

State schools

Or also known as mainstream schools are funded by the local authorities, these can also be referred to as maintained schools. The four different types of mainstream schools are as follows:
Community schools - it is the local education authority (LEA) who own and run these schools, children in their middle years of education will attend here. This will cover 5 - 16 years old, key stages 1 - 4 . The local authority develops links with the community thus extending the schools resources and facilities, they will also provide support services to the students and their families for example run adult education classes. It is the local education authority who determines the admissions policy. The school follows the national curriculum and is governed by Ofstead.
Foundation and Trust schools - have a governing body, it is the governing body or a charitable organisation / foundation who will own the land and buildings, this body of people are responsible for the running of the school, and will work in partnership with the local education authority to establish their admissions policy. A trust school works slightly differently, although it comes under the umbrella of a foundation school, it will with the input of and outside partner (possibly a business) form a charitable trust. It is the governing body, in agreement with parents who will decide if the school becomes a trust school, if it agreed then any support services the school needs will have to be funded by the school directly.
Voluntary schools - there are two types of voluntary schools, voluntary -controlled schools and voluntary-aided schools. Voluntary-controlled schools are run and funded by the local authority. Although the lands and buildings are often owned by a charity, and this is usually a religious organisation. Support services are usually funded by the local authority as is the staff, the local authority recruit and employ the staff. Voluntary -aided schools are usually religious and can often be referred to as ‘faith’ schools. They have their own governing body as in a foundation school, but the land and buildings are usually owned by a religious organisation or charity similar to voluntary-controlled schools. It is the governing body which is responsible for the running of the school and who partly fund it in partnership with charity organisation and the local education authority. It is the local education authority responsibility to provide support services. Although these are classed as ‘faith’ schools, all parents / carers can apply for a place for their child.
Specialist schools - specialist schools usually cater for students of a secondary age. A school will only get a specialist status if it develops and specialises in one or two subjects. They have to apply for this status, and if meeting the criteria they will be granted additional government funding. A school can also receive this status under one of the four SEN areas set out in the code of practice for SEN thus receiving a specialist SEN status.

Independent schools

These schools are funded by parents paying fees as well as possible donations, investments and endowments. They are not run by the local education authority and will normally have a charitable status. This allows them to be tax exempt. It is the governors and head teacher who determine the admissions policy, and who decide on the curriculum, as they are under no obligation to follow the national curriculum. Although they do have to register with department of education for regular monitoring purposes, and this can be achieved by the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) or Ofstead.

Academies

These schools are publicly funded independent schools and receive their funding from the Education Funding Agency (EFA) not from the local authorities. They receive the same amount of funding per pupil from the EFA as a school receives from the their local authority. As well as this, academies get extra funding to cover the cost of services for students which the local authority no longer provides. Academies have more freedom on the allocation of budgets to best meet the needs of their students. Some academies, which have been set up to replace schools that have under performed may have a sponsor, the sponsors can cover a wide range of backgrounds. These backgrounds can include charities, universities, businesses, other successful schools and faith bodies. The sponsors ideas and visions for the school paired with their leadership are crucial to each project. As the sponsors are accountable for the performance and improvement of the school. The governance system is the same as in maintained schools, the difference is that the governing body has to have at least two parent governors, and that they have greater autonomy over the school. Academies are able to set up their own pay scale and conditions for staff, and are not under local authority control. They can also decide on how they wish to present and deliver the curriculum, as well as change the duration of school days as well as terms. Although like maintained schools they still have to follow the laws guidance on exclusions, admissions and special educational needs.

Boarding schools

A boarding school, is a school where some or all students live and study during the school year, the school provides them a place to stay and sleep as well as their daily meals. In the United Kingdom, nearly all boarding schools come under the heading of independent schools, and are not governed by the national curriculum or other educational regulations as state schools are. Due to health and safety reasons, as well as following the law there are some regulations they do have to comply with. All boarding schools have to follow the guidelines called the National Boarding Standards which have been set out by The Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Department of Health of the United Kingdom. These standards include boarding principles and practice, boarders health and well being, contact with parents / carers, boarding accommodation, activities and free time, child protection, staffing and supervision, equal opportunities and many more standards.

Grammar schools

Under section 104 of the school standards and Framework Act 1998 Grammar schools are defined as being maintained, community, foundation, voluntary aided and voluntary controlled schools (www.education.gov.uk/schools/leadership/typesofschools/maintained/a00198400/g…).
Children attend grammar school between the ages of 11 - 16 years and are selected by their high academic ability. Schools can only be recognised as a grammar school if they are named on a designation order and designated by the Secretary of State. If a grammar schools changes to an academy school, it is no longer classed as a grammar school although it can still actively use its selective admissions programme.

Free schools

Free schools were set up to comply with the needs of the local people in the community, the people outline what they feel is needed within their area to improve the education for their children. These schools are state funded and allows education experts, parents, teachers and charities to change children’s lives by addressing directly the needs within the area.

All schools have to teach to GCSE standards, but can do this in different ways.

Task 1.3: Explain the post -16 options for young people and adults.

Once students reach and finish year 11 at 16 years of age, other options of education become available to them. Students may decide that they wish to stay in education by going on into further education within the school, or in sixth form or college. By doing this they can gain further qualifications such as AS and A levels. These are full time courses and usually cover a two year period, these qualifications focus mainly on academic subjects like maths, although there are some which are related to work subjects also. Key Skills are qualifications which are aimed at supporting and preparing students within the work place environment. These will normally be included in with other courses, or may even run alongside them, they can also be accessed on their own. Diplomas are a form of qualification that allows the learner to be based within their school or a college, these can be very beneficial as can give the learner insight into a particular profession extending their knowledge of expectations within that occupation. As well as this, it offers a chance to learn in another setting. NVQ’s are qualifications which can be accessed through a variety of places, these can be studied at school, college as well as a work placement. Like diplomas, units are passed by learners demonstrating their hands on skills as well as their knowledge about a specific occupation. BTEC’s qualifications are gained through a mixture of work experience, practical and theory work, these are normally work based and are usually accessed through schools or colleges. Apprenticeships are a more practical qualification, learners are based in a work placement environment. Learners learn valuable practical hands on skills whilst at the same time gain experience and knowledge within in a specific field or profession whilst at the same time gaining qualifications and also earning a small wage.

There are many different venues learners can use to further their education and qualifications, from sixth form, college, work placed learning, studio schools, universities which take learning to a higher level. Here learners can study for degrees in specific fields of academics e.g. maths English or in specific professions like law, nursing and social work.

Unit ref: A/601/3326