Glossary | Site Map | FAQs | Contact us

A

Academies
Publicly funded independent schools that are established in disadvantaged areas, either as new schools or replacing failing schools, and aim to raise standards by innovative approaches to their management, governance, teaching and curriculum.

Administrative costs (or running costs)
The costs of running the Department such as pay, travel and accommodation. These are subject to a limit agreed with Treasury in spending reviews as part of the administrative cost control regime for central government.

Advanced Skills Teachers
A special grade teachers can achieve which gives them chance to broaden their experience, take on new challenges and move onto a higher pay scale, but also stay in the classroom.

Audit Commission
An independent public body responsible for ensuring that public money is spent economically, efficiently and effectively on local government, housing, health, criminal justice and fire and rescue services.

AWPU - Age Weighted Pupil Unit
A factor used in local authority funding formulae to distribute different amounts of funding for pupils of different ages.

B

BECTA British Educational Communications and Technology Agency
A non-departmental body (NDPB), which works with industry to make sure the right technology is in place for the education system. They also support the education sector in using technology.

BSF Building Schools for the Future
A programme of investment in rebuilding or renewing every secondary school in England.

C

Capital costs
Relates to the purchase of assets having a useful life of more than one year and capitalised on a balance sheet.

Children's Plan
The Department's plan for how it will achieve our objectives for children, young people and families from 2007 and for the next years. It will be based partly on the results of the Time to Talk national consultation exercise.

Children's trusts
Children's trusts are local area partnership arrangements, underpinned by the Children Act 2004 duty to cooperate, for bringing together key agencies which deliver services for children, young people and their families.

CSR (CSR2007) comprehensive spending review
The process by which expenditure levels are set for Government departments for multi year periods. In July 2005 the Chief Secretary to the Treasury announced the launch of a second Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR), which reported in 2007 and set departmental spending plans and priorities for the years 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11.

D

DSG - Dedicated Schools Grant
The ring-fenced grant from DCSF to local authorities covering funding delegated to schools, and other provision for pupils such as Pupil Referral Units and early years education in Private, Voluntary and Independent settings.

Diplomas
Qualifications for 14-19 year olds combining theoretical and applied learning, to be delivered in schools, at further education institutions, and, in part, in the workplace.

E

ECM Every Child Matters
Every Child Matters is a set of reforms supported by the Children Act 2004 designed to enable local communities, schools and services to work together to improve the lives of all 0 to 19 year olds providing effective and accessible services integrated around the needs of children, young people and families.

EPC - Education Procurement Centre
A group within the DCSF responsible for encouraging and enabling better procurement practices across all educational sectors.

Extended schools
Schools open throughout the school day and beyond, at weekends and during school holidays. They work with local providers, agencies and in many cases other nearby schools so pupils, families and the local community can access extended services, including study support, childcare, IT, drama, recreational facilities, specialist services for pupils, and adult learning.

F

Federations
Term used loosely to describe many different types of collaborative working arrangements, including school mergers and the creation of new schools. 'Hard' federations involve two or more schools with a formal agreement to work together, such as a joint committee of the governing bodies or a single governing body.

Foundation schools
A type of state school. Staff are employed by the governing body. The site and premises are owned by the governing body or a charitable foundation. Playing fields are owned by either a charitable foundation or the local authority (LA). They receive recurrent funding through the LA. The governing body has primary responsibility for admissions.

FSM - Free School Meals
Commonly used as an indicator of deprivation. Children are eligible if their parent or guardian: receives Child Tax Credit but not Working Tax Credit; and has a family income for tax credit purposes at or below a certain level.

Funding pressure
Additional potential expenditure over and above that which was planned for in the budget as a result of additional demand for grant/service as, for example, a result of changes in demographics or departmental priorities.

G

H

I

IRU Implementation Review Unit
Independent scrutiny unit with a small panel of practitioners (head teachers, senior teachers and a school bursar) who review policy initiatives that impact on schools in England to cut red tape and reduce bureaucracy in schools.

Individual Schools Budget
The sum of the delegated budgets of all schools in a local authority.

J

K

L

M

Maintained schools
Any school funded, directly or indirectly, by the state.

N

NAO National Audit Office
Responsible for auditing the financial statements of all government departments and agencies, and many other public bodies. It also reports to Parliament on whether those bodies are achieving value for money.

NCSL National College for School Leadership
A non-departmental public body (NDPB) which provides learning and development for school and college leaders head teachers, principals, and other senior managers.

NRWS new relationship with schools
A programme designed to reduce the burden on schools of dealing with government, so that they have more time for teaching. It is based on simplified reporting to parents, better data collection and fewer, more user-friendly communications. A nationally accredited school improvement partner (SIP) will also be put into every school. SIPs who are often former head teachers help schools evaluate their performance and make improvements.

O

Ofsted Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills
Inspects and regulates care for children and young people, and inspects education and training for learners of all ages.

P

Personalised learning
An approach to teaching and learning which advocates customising each child's learning, based on an assessment of their needs. The Schools White Paper (Higher Standards, Better Schools for All) published on 25 October 2005 set out a programme of activity over the next three years to deliver personalised learning, with a special focus on helping groups at risk of underachieving.

PLASC - Pupil Level Annual Schools Census
Used by the department to collect information from each local authority on pupils attending schools and Pupil Referral Units maintained by the authority.

Q

R

S

School governors
Responsible overall for the conduct of their school. They set strategic direction, ensure accountability and monitoring and evaluate school performance. Governors of maintained schools are typically teachers, parents, members of the local community and the local authority.

Schools Commissioner
Appointed by the Secretary of State, and tasked with promoting diversity and ensuring fair access to schools. The Office of the Schools Commissioner helps identify potential academies. It also reviews proposals for the Building Schools for the Future programme. They promote and find partners for trust schools and encourage the expansion of successful and popular schools.

SDG - School Development Grant
A grant to be spent by schools and local authorities on any purpose to raise the standards of teaching and learning. Incorporates several previously separate grants in a single funding stream.

SIP school improvement partner
All secondary schools now have an adviser often a former head teacher to help set the school's targets and priorities; to challenge where standards and expectations are too low; and to coordinate support to help the school improve. Primary schools will have advisers from 2008.

SLTs School Leadership teams
Responsible for the running of individual schools. A typical management team might include the head teacher, deputy head(s), a bursar and heads of year.

Social Partnership
In January 2003 the Government, employers and the majority of the school workforce unions (all except for the National Union of Teachers) signed up to Raising Standards and Tackling Workload: a National Agreement. It sets out the shared vision for the school workforce of the future and features a series of reforms to help schools raise standards of achievement and tackle workload issues.

Specialist schools
Any maintained secondary and any special school can apply for specialist status. Specialist schools are designated in one of ten areas: arts, business and enterprise, engineering, humanities, language, mathematics and computing, music, science, sports, technology (or a combination of two), or one of the four special educational needs specialist strands. To achieve specialist status, a school has to raise sponsorship to support their application, and they receive money from government in return.

SSG/SSG (P) - School Standards Grant/School Standards Grant (P)
Paid to schools on a national formula. The grants can be spent on any purpose of the school and on community facilities in support of extended services.

Sustainable schools
A programme to make schools environmentally friendly, and contribute to the Government's wider sustainability programme.

T

TDA Training and Development Agency for Schools
A non-departmental public body (NDPB) responsible for the development of the whole school workforce, including teacher training and training for support staff.

Teaching assistants
Work with small groups or individual children, providing support for teachers in the classroom.

U

V

VA or VC Voluntary aid/voluntary controlled
State schools, whose staff are employed by the governing body; whose land and buildings are usually owned by a charitable foundation; and which receives funding through the local authority.

VFM Value for money
Value for Money means delivering the best outcomes from the resources available, be that teaching staff, learning resources, premises up keep or other day to day running requirements. A value for money school will consider how they can get the most out of these resources through economy, efficiency and effectiveness.

W

WAMG Workforce Agreement Monitoring Group
A partnership of 11 organisations representing employers, the Government and school workforce unions as signatories of the national agreement on raising teaching standards and tackling teachers' workloads.

X

Y

Z