Glossary

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A

AQA

Assessment and Qualification Alliance. AQA

Attainment target

Each National Curriculum subject has one or more attainment targets. Each target identifies the knowledge, skills and understanding which students of different abilities and maturities are expected to have by the end of each Key Stage. Attainment targets for each statutory subject include eight level descriptions of increasing difficulty. During and at the end of each Key Stage a student's achievement will be measured by the level they reach.

Average point score (APS)

The average point score provides a fuller picture of the KS3 achievements of students of all abilities. The published percentages indicate whether the students of a college mainly fall below Level 5 or achieve above this level, but the average point score allows easier discrimination between colleges, particularly those with similar percentages. For example, a score of 35 tells you that on average, students who took KS3 tests at the college achieved mostly Level 5 or Level 6.

It is calculated by dividing the total number of points achieved by all students eligible for KS3 assessment in each subject by the number of eligible students in each subject. If you want more information about how the point score has been calculated, please refer to the Value Added Technical Information Section.

B

Behaviour Support Plan

A Statement which sets out local arrangements for colleges and other service providers for the education of children with behavioural difficulties.

C

CAT (Cognitive Abilities Test)

The Cognitive Abilities Test (CAT) is published by nfer Nelson. The third edition (CAT3) was published in June 2001. The complete series of tests, from levels A to H, cover the age range 7 years and 6 months to 17 years.

CAT is a set of nine tests grouped into three batteries which assess a pupil's ability in:

verbal - thinking with words
quantitative - thinking with numbers
non-verbal - thinking with shape and space

CAT scores indicate general transferable abilities, such as the ability to recognise similarities, analogies, patterns and relationships, which are all fundamental to understanding and assimilating new information.

They are designed specifically to minimise the role of prior learning and can therefore provide an indication of potential. They differ from the national tests which indicate attainment in some core areas of the curriculum and reflect how well pupils have acquired and retained specific knowledge in these areas.

The CAT tests are used for monitoring trends in the abilities of the intake, identifying individual pupils' cognitive strengths and weaknesses, identifying SEN, the more able and gifted and underachieving pupils or groups, informing target setting and assessing value added. For easy comparison, pupils' raw scores are converted to standard age scores (SAS), stanines and percentiles.

Further information about CAT can be obtained from the CAT user support website

CEG

Careers Education Guidance.

Child Protection Committee

Local authorities, in exercising their social services functions, should ensure that there is an Area Child Protection Committee (ACPC) covering their area, which brings together representatives of each of the main agencies and professionals responsible for helping to protect children from abuse and neglect.

Connexions

Connexions is a Government support service for young people, the goal of which is to ensure success through learning and a smooth transition to adulthood and working life for every young person. Working alongside its partners, Connexions must provide teenagers with (or connect them to) the support they need to benefit fully from formal and informal learning.

Coverage indicator

The coverage indicator has been published as a percentage and is based on the number of students eligible for tests who were actually included in the value added calculation. It is possible that not all eligible students will be included in the value added calculation; this could be because some students were absent from all tests or because some students' prior attainment was not available.

For example, if a college had 10 students who were eligible for KS3 assessment in 2004, but two of those students were not included in the value added calculation, then the number of students included in the value added score would be 8. The coverage indicator in the example would be:

[(8/10) x 100] = 80%

D

DCSF

Three new departments were set up by the Prime Minister on 28 June 2007. They replace the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) is responsible for improving the focus on all aspects of policy affecting children and young people, as part of the Government’s aim to deliver educational excellence.

DfES

Department for Education and Skills. What the DCSF used to be called.

Disapplied students

The National Curriculum assessments have been designed to make sure that as many children as possible can be assessed. There may, however, be a small number of students who are not able to take part in some or all of the assessments. Usually this only happens if all or part of the National Curriculum is not suitable for a student because they have certain special educational needs.

E

EAL

English as an additional language. Children who speak English as an additional language, rather than as their first language, may need extra help with their reading and writing. They will need lots of opportunities to talk with English-speaking adults and children about their work, thoughts and feelings. Often what they need most is varied, vibrant teaching that involves visual resources, sound, speaking and writing to make it easier for them to learn English.

Education Welfare Officers

Education welfare officers are employed by LEAs to monitor college attendance and help parents meet their responsibilities. They are also known as education social workers.

Exclusion

The suspension or expulsion of a student from college for disciplinary reasons.

Entry Level Certificates

Entry Level Certificates used to be called ''Entry Level Awards''. These qualifications are designed for learners not yet ready for GCSE, Foundation GNVQ or NVQ level 1. There are Entry Level Certificates in the subjects that students will have studied up to the age of 14 and also in broader vocational areas that are more like the GNVQs. Students are assessed in tasks, which may be written, spoken or practical.

F

FSM

Free College Meals.

G

GCSE

General Certificate of Secondary Education. GCSEs replaced O levels and CSEs in 1988 and are taken by the majority of students for most subjects. It usually takes two years to study for a GCSE. Coursework (work carried out over an extended period) is part of most GCSEs and could include essays, field work reports, art work, making products, or investigations. GCSEs are graded A*-G. The grade your child gets will depend on coursework and exam marks.

GNVQ

General National Vocational Qualification - vocational qualifications taken mainly by students age 16 and in full-time education. GNVQs are related to a broad area of work, but are designed to provide students with a general education as a preparation for employment or further study. Foundation level GNVQs are equivalent to four GCSEs at lower grades.

GCSE Short Courses

A GCSE short course takes half the study time of a full GCSE, so students sometimes complete it after one year. GCSE short courses call for students to do coursework and exams to the same standards as a full GCSE, but they cover only half the content. GCSE short courses are graded A*- G, and each one counts as half a GCSE.

Governing body

Every college has a governing body. It will include parents elected by other parents at the college; a teacher elected by their colleagues; a governor elected by, and from, support staff (optional in small primary); local education authority governors; governors co-opted by other members of the governing body; and the head teacher, unless they choose not to be. They may also include representatives from the Church, charitable trust or business interests.

Gifted and Talented Children

There are many definitions of 'gifted' and 'talented'. The Department for Education and Skills defines 'gifted' students as those who have exceptional abilities in one or more subjects in the statutory college curriculum other than Art and Design, Music and PE. 'Talented' students are defined as those who have exceptional abilities in Art and Design, Music, PE or in Sports or Performing Arts such as dance and drama.

H

Healthy Colleges Initiative

Government scheme to help improve the health of both students and teachers. The initiative includes a Wired for Health website, a Healthy Teacher focus to address occupational health issues for staff and cooks' academies in colleges to improve knowledge about nutrition.

Home-College Agreements

All state colleges are required to have written home-college agreements, drawn up in consultation with parents. They are non-binding statements explaining the college's aims and values, the responsibilities of both college and parent, and what the college expects of its students. Parents will be invited to sign a parental declaration, indicating that they understand and accept the contents of the agreement.

I

ICT

This stands for information and communications technology, which includes the use of computers, the internet, and video and sound recording equipment. The subject used to be called ''information technology''.

IEP

Individual Education Programmes are drawn up by the class teacher and/or special needs co-ordinator within a college to provide individual support for children deemed to have needs over and above those of other children within the class either through learning difficulties or because they are considered to be exceptionally bright or gifted children.

J

K

Key Stage

Your child's progress through college is measured in Key Stages, from compulsory college age to the expiry of the college year in which the majority of students cease to be of compulsory college age.

Key Skills

Key Skills are a range of essential skills that underpin success in education, employment, lifelong learning and personal development. Key Skills qualifications (levels 1-4) in Communication, Application of Number and Information Technology are available across all post-16 routes in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Also available at levels 1-4 are the wider Key Skills units - Working with Others, Improving Own Learning and Performance and Problem Solving.

L

Local Education Authority (LEA)

The term local education authority (or LEA) describes a type of council which has responsibility for providing education to students of college age in its area. Their overall education remit also includes early years, the youth service and adult education.

M

Maintained College

A college that is maintained by the state.

Mainstream colleges

Belonging or relating to the mainstream in accordance with what is normal or standard, as opposed to a Special College.

N

National Curriculum

The National Curriculum is a blueprint used by colleges to ensure that teaching standards are universally consistent. It is a framework given to teachers by Government, so that all college children are taught in a way that is balanced and manageable, but hard enough to challenge them. Colleges are free to organise teaching within this time as they think best. They will ultimately create their own plans, term by term and year by year.

National Curriculum Levels

All students undergo national tests and teacher assessments at ages 7, 11 and 14. The college will then send you a report telling you what National Curriculum Levels your child has reached in both tests and assessments.

NFER

National Foundation for Educational Research.

NGfL - National Grid for Learning

Government body responsible for ICT in colleges.

NVQ

National Vocational Qualification - work-based qualification.

O

OCR

OCR is an awarding body which sets qualifications for entry level numeracy. It is an examination board, formed in 1998 from the merger between the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES), the Midland Examining Group (MEG) and the Royal Society of Arts (RSA).

Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education)

An official body which regularly inspects all the colleges in England which are mainly or wholly state funded. Ofsted inspectors produce education reports which are meant to improve standards of achievement and quality of education, provide public reporting and informed independent advice.

P

PANDA

Performance and Assessment Reports (Ofsted).

PDF (Portable Document Format)

A file that has captured all the elements of a printed document as an electronic image that you can view, navigate, print or forward to someone else. Created using Adobe Acrobat software - Acrobat Reader is needed to view and use the files.

Physical Education.

Performance Tables

The DfES publishes comparative secondary and 16-18 performance tables each year. The tables report achievements in public examinations and vocational qualifications in secondary colleges and FE sector colleges. Primary college performance tables are published by local education authorities and report the achievements of students at the end of Key Stage 2.

PGCE

Postgraduate Certificate of Education - postgraduate-level ITT qualification.

Plenary

The time at the end of a lesson in which the teacher finds out what children have learnt and re-emphasises the main points of the lesson.

PSE

Personal and Social Education.

PSHE

Personal, Social and Health Education.

Q

QCA

Qualifications and Curriculum Authority is a guardian of standards in education and training that works with others to maintain and develop the college curriculum and associated assessments, and to accredit and monitor qualifications in colleges, colleges and at work.

R

S

SAFEMark Award

Our college achieved Metro’s SAFEMark award in 2005. This award proves our commitment to improving the quality of the journey for those that travel by public transport.

The award requires colleges to adopt high standards with regard to college transport as summarised below:

We have practices in place, which ensure effective management of college transport.
We have measures in place to improve and regulate student behaviour on the journey to and from college by public transport.
We take a leading role in a productive partnership between the college and all concerned with college transport: staff, parents, operators, Metro, and the Local Education Authority. We have effective systems for communicating information relating to college transport with all concerned in place.
The wider issues of transport are addressed in the college curriculum: Impact of transport on the environment, awareness of local transport provision, and responsible behaviour on public transport.

By improving the quality of college journeys on public transport, the SAFEMark scheme aims to reduce car dependence and encourage bus use into adult life.

SEN (Special Educational Needs)

This denotes any child that has been identified as having some form of educational need either as a result of learning difficulty or if they are deemed as particularly bright or gifted. These children receive additional support either from within the college or outside agencies. If you think your child has SEN your first step should be to talk to your child’s class teacher.

SEN Students with statements

These statements describe any learning difficulties which students have and specify the extra help or equipment they need. Around three per cent of college students nationally have statements. Some students with special educational needs are academically able. But colleges face challenges in achieving Level 4 at Key Stage 2 for many students with SEN. The information on the numbers of students with SEN in each college helps you take this into account when looking at the college's results.

SEN Students without statements

These are other students registered as having special educational needs but whose colleges meet the students' needs without statements. Some students with special educational needs are academically able. But colleges face challenges in achieving Level 4 at Key Stage 2 for many students with SEN. The information on the numbers of students with SEN in each college helps you take this into account when looking at the college's results.

SEN Statements

A statement specifying the special educational provision a student should have and the type of college the child should attend. LEAs have a duty to arrange the provision specified and the governing body of a maintained college specified in the statement has a duty to admit the student.

SENCO

Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator.

SATs (Statutory Attainment Tests)

At the end of the National Curriculum Key Stages 1, 2 and 3 your child will sit national tests and tasks (popularly called 'SATs').

Sex and Relationship Education (SRE)

Sex and relationship education is lifelong learning about physical and moral development. It involves teaching about sex, sexuality and sexual health, as well as the importance of stable and loving relationships, and of marriage for family life. It is not about the promotion of any particular sexual orientation or of sexual activity.

T

Teacher Assessment

A formal assessment made by a teacher when your child is aged 7, 11 and 14. Used alongside the national tests to judge your child's educational progress.

U

V

Value added

A measure which shows how much value each college has added, based on the progress made by individual students from one Key Stage to another. Value added measures are intended to allow comparisons between colleges with different student intakes.

Value added score

The value added scores are shown as a measure based on 100. Scores above 100 represent colleges where students on average made more progress than similar students nationally, while scores below 100 represent colleges where students made less progress.

For KS2 to KS3 value added, a measure of 101 means that on average each of the college's students made one term's more progress between KS2 and KS3 than the median for students with similar KS2 attainment. Conversely, a score of 99 means that the college's students made a term's less progress.

VGCSE or Vocational GCSE

Since September 2002, students entering year 10 have been able to study Vocational GCSEs, which will replace Foundation, Intermediate and Part One GNVQs. They will be based on the Part One GNVQ, so they will be equivalent to two GCSEs. Although Vocational GCSEs will be new, colleges will find the content and learning style familiar because of their similarity to GNVQs. The Government has asked the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority to plan these new qualifications.