You might come across a few words, terms or expressions on TeachersTV.com.au which appear in some videos from the United Kingdom. These are acronyms or phrases based on the UK education system. We've compiled a list of some of the terms you might want translated. This list has been compiled with kind help from TeachersTV UK.
Foundation Stages & Key Stages
The most commonly referred terms in UK videos relate to Foundation Stages and Key Stages. For your convenience, we have provided full descriptions.
Foundation Stage 1 and 2 Part-time or Full-time childcare and pre-school between ages 3 to 4
Reception Full-time Pre-school equivalent for children ages 4 to 5. This is the last phase of Foundation.
Key Stage 1 Full-time Infant School / Primary School years which includes:
- Year 1, ages 5 to 6 (Equivalent to Australian Kindergarten)
- Year 2, ages 6 to 7
Key Stage 2 Full-time core Junior School / Primary School years which includes:
- Year 3, ages 7 to 8
- Year 4, ages 8 to 9
- Year 5, ages 9 to 10
- Year 6, ages 10 to 11
Key Stage 3 Full-time High School years which includes:
- Year 7, ages 11 to 12
- Year 8, ages 12 to 13
- Year 9, ages 13 to 14
Key Stage 4 Full-time High School years which includes:
- Year 10, ages 14 to 15
- Year 11, ages 15 to 16 (This is the equivalent of the School Certificate In Australia)
Additional: Continued High School Education equivalent to Senior High School in Australia which includes.
- Year 12, ages 16 to 17
- Year 13, ages 17 to 18 (This is when A-Levels are completed, the equivalent of the Higher School Certificate or Matriculation qualifications in Australia.
Types of Schools
There are 4 main types of maintained school in England, although, all are funded somewhat by the Local Education Authority. These are:
Community – funded by the Local Education Authority
Foundation – controlled by governing body, eg. By grants.
Voluntary Aided – linked to organisation, such as a church, or London Livery Companies.
Voluntary Controlled – most often church schools.
Acronyms
A-LEVEL - Advanced Level This is the British equivalent of the Australian High School qualification which includes the New South Wales HSC, South Australian Matriculation, Queensland Senior Certificate, Victoria Certificate of Education and Western Australia Year 12.
ACE - Advisory Centre for Education
AfL - Assessment for Learning
ALS - Additional Literacy Support
AOTS - Adults Other Than Teachers
AQA - Assessment and Qualifications Alliance
AREIAC - Association for Religious Education Inspectors, Advisors and Consultants
AS - Advanced Subsidiary Examination
ASCL - Association of School and College Leaders
AST - Advanced Skills Teacher
ASW - Approved Social Worker
ATL - Association of Teachers and Lecturers
BED - Bachelor of Education
BESA - British Education Studies Association
BESA - British Educational Suppliers Association
BESD - Behaviour, Emotional and Social Difficulties
BETT - British Education and Training Technology
BME - Black and Minority Ethnic
BSF - Building Schools for the Future
BTEC - Business & Technician Education Council Relates to Vocational Studies and trade subjects.
CAD - Computer-Aided Design
CAM - Computer-Aided Manufacturing
CDT - Craft, Design and Technology
CE – Church Of England
CEO - Chief Education Officer
CET - Continuing Education and Training
CFE - College of Further Education
CHIPS - ChildLine in Partnership with Schools
CILT - National Centre for Languages
CLEAPSS - Consortium of Local Education Authorities for the Provision of Science Services
CLPE - Centre for Literacy in Primary Education
CLPE - Centre for Literacy in Primary Education
CPD - Continuing Professional Development
CSBM - Certificate in School Business Management
D&T - Design and Technology
DCMS - Department for Culture Media and Sport
DCSF - Department for Children, Schools and Families
DfES - Department for Education and Skills This has now been succeeded by the DCSF, the Department for Children, Schools and Families.
EAL - English as an Additional Language
EBD - Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties
EBP - Education Business Partnership
EBSD - Emotional Behavioural and Social Difficulties
ECM - Every Child Matters
ELSA - Emotional Literacy Support Assistant
EMAG - Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant
EO - Education Officer
ESW - Educational Social Worker
ET - Excellent Teacher
ETS - Excellent Teacher Status
EY - Early Years
EYFS - Early Years Foundation Stage Foundation Stages related to pre-school education and are explained in full below.
FE - Further Education
FLS - Further Literacy Support
FSW - Family Social Worker
G&T - Gifted and Talented
GCSE - General Certificate of Secondary Education This is the equivalent of Australian School Certificate and Higher School Certificate or Matriculation in Australia. This was traditionally split into O-Level (Ordinary Level) and A-Level (Advanced Level) but is now referred to as GCSE in Britain and outside Britain in places such as Malta or Hong Kong that have adopted the system.
GM - Grant Maintained
GNVQ - General National Vocational Qualification
GTC - General Teaching Council
HAS - Home School Agreement
HE - Higher Education
Headteacher - Principal
HLTA - Higher Level Teaching Assistant
HMCI - Her Majesty`s Chief Inspector of Schools
HMI - Her Majesty's Inspector
ICT - Information Communications Technology
IEP - Individual Education Plan
INSET - In-Service Education and Training
ISW - Inclusion Support Worker
IT - Information Technology
KS - Key Stage Key Stages and Foundation Stages describe school years and ages. A full description is shown above for each Key Stage.
LA - Local Authority
LAC - Looked-After Children
LEA - Local Education Authority
LP - Learning Partnership
LSA - Learning Support Assistant
LSC - Learning and Skills Council
LST - Learning Support Teacher
LSU - Learning Support Unit
MFL - Modern Foreign Languages
NACELL - National Advisory Centre on Early Language Learning
NAHT - National Association of Head Teachers
NASG - National Association of School Governors
NASUWT - National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers
NC - National Curriculum
NCMA - National Childminding Association
NCSL - National College for School Leadership
NESTA - National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts
NFER - National Foundation for Educational Research
NGA - National Governors' Association
NGfL - National Grid for Learning
NLS - National Literacy Strategy
NPQ - National Professional Qualification
NQF - National Vocational Qualification
NQT - Newly Qualified Teacher
NRT - National Remodelling Team
NRwS - New Relationship with Schools
NUT - National Union of Teachers
NVQ - National Vocational Qualification
Ofcom - Office of Communication
OFSTED - Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills
OOSH - Out Of School Hours
OOSHL - Out of School Hours Learning
O-Level - Ordinary Level Now part of the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) qualification. It is the equivalent to Year 10 School Certificate taken by 14-16 year olds in Australia.
P4C - Philosophy for Children
PAF - Performance Assessment Framework
PANDA - Performance and Assessment
PE - Physical Education
PESS - PE and School Sport
PESSCL - Physical Education School Sports Club Links
PFI - Private Finance Initiative
PfS - Partnerships for Schools
PGCE - Postgraduate Certificate in Education
PNS - Primary National Strategy
PPA - Pre-school Playgroups Association
PRU - Pupil Referral Unit
PSA - Public Service Agreement
PSHE - Personal, Social and Health Education
PTA - Parent Teacher Association
QCA - Qualifications and Curriculum Authority
QCA - Qualifications and Curriculum Authority
QT - Qualified Teacher
QTS - Qualified Teacher Status
RC - Roman Catholics
RE - Religious Education
SALT - Speech and Language Therapy
SAT - Standard Assessment Test
SEAL - Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning
SEBD pupils - Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties
Secondary Heads: Principal
SEF - Self Evaluation Form
SEN - Special Educational Needs
SENCO - Special Educational Needs Coordinator
SHA - Secondary Heads Association
SIP - School Improvement Plan (or School Improvement Partner)
SRE - Sex and Relationship Education
TA - Teaching Assistant
TDA - Training and Development Agency for Schools
TES - Times Educational Supplement
VLE - Virtual Learning Environment
WBC - Work-Based Learning
YTS - Youth Training Scheme
Some Teachers TV Australian Terms:
KLA - Key Learning Areas. In each Australian state the curriculum is broken in to KLA or key subjects. In NSW there are 6 these are English, Maths, Science, HSIE, PDHPE, Creative and Performing Arts.
Each of these areas has to be taught separately but as the students develop they become integrated through project work etc.
Still unsure?
For more information, see the UK Education list of acronyms, or the haven of knowledge, Wikipedia.
If you find an acronym we haven’t listed, contact us, so we can add it to our glossary!
