A

Academies
Academies are publicly funded independent schools set up and run by sponsors, who provide up to 20% of the capital costs for each Academy, with the Government providing the balance and funding the recurrent costs. Academies will provide free education to secondary age pupils of all abilities, including provision for children with special educational needs and have state-of-the-art facilities, through which they will offer a broad and balanced curriculum including a specialism.

ACG
Annual Capital Guidelines

Action Forum
This is the executive decision making body of an EAZ. Partners from zone schools, businesses and other local organisations make up the membership. The Action Forum is responsible for the overall management of the EAZ and is required to draw up an action plan to raise educational standards in zone schools.

Advisory Services
In the context of section 63 and 64 of the Education Act 2002, the provision of consultative services of an advisory nature to LAs and school governing bodies to advise on school improvement

Aimhigher
Aimhigher is a programme designed to increase the numbers of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds who apply for and enter higher education. For more details please visit: http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/aimhigher

AMP
Asset Management Plan

AN/AAN
Admissions Number/Approved Admission Number

Appropriate Appointing Authority
This is in relation to powers in section 16 of SSFA 1998. In community and voluntary controlled schools the authority is the LA. In voluntary aided schools, the appropriate appointing authority is either the appropriate Diocesan authority (for Church of England or Roman Catholic Church schools) or in any other case, the person(s) that appoints the foundation governors.

Area Inspection
Inspection of education and training for 16-19 year olds in an area by Ofsted or the Adult Learning Inspectorate under section 65 of the Learning and Skills Act 2000. The age range will be extended to 14-19 in 2003.

AST
The role of Advanced Skills Teacher was devised to reward excellent teachers who wished to remain in the classroom and spend the equivalent of one day a week supporting other teachers in developing their skills and experience through the sharing of best practice ideas and approaches.

B

Baseline Assessment
An assessment of a child's skills and abilities usually made by a teacher in the first weeks of starting school to help them plan lessons and measure progress. Areas covered include language, reading, maths and social skills.

Beacon schools
Beacon schools were schools taht had been identified as amongst the best performing in the country and represented examples of successful best practices which were brought to the attention of the rest of the education service with a view to spreading that effective practice to others. They worked in partnership with other schools to pass on their particular areas of expertise and so help others to reach the same high standards as themselves.

BECTA
British Educational Communications and Technology Agency

BIP
Behaviour Improvement Programme

BSA
Basic Skills Agency

C

City Learning Centres
City Learning Centres are a key element of the Excellence in Cities programme. They are located in the main on secondary school sites and provide state of the art ICT-based learning opportunities for pupils at a network of local schools and for the wider community.

CPD
Continuing Professional Development

CTC
City Technology Colleges

D

DCSF School and College Attainment and Achievement Tables
Formerly the performance tables, they provide information on pupil achievement at varying key stages.

E

EAL
English as an Additional Language

EBD
Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties

EDP
Education Development Plan

Education Improvement Partnerships
Local community partnerships for school improvement

EMAG
Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant

EPD
Effective Partnership Division

EU
European Union

EYDCP
Early Years Development & Childcare Plan

F

FE
Further Education

Fischer Family Trust
This is an independent, non profit organisation which is mainly involved in undertaking and supporting projects (e.g. pupil performance data) addressing the development of education in the UK.

Formal Warning
The process by which an LA may notify a governing body of its concerns relating to the performance of the school.

Fresh Start
A new school opened in place of a school causing concern which has closed. The Department provides Fresh Start schools with additional revenue and where applicable, capital funding as part of a support programme.

FSM
Free School Meals

G

G&T
Gifted and Talented

GCSE
General Certificate of Secondary Education

GNVQ
General National Vocational Qualification

GTC
General Teaching Council

H

HE
Higher Education

HEFCE
Higher Education Funding Council for England

HMCI
Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools.

HMI
Her Majesty's Inspectors (including Additional Inspectors, who are given powers under section 1 of Schedule 1 of the Education Act 2005). HMI will carry out monitoring visits once the school has been found to need special measures.

HMT
Her Majesty's Treasury

I

IiP
Investors in People

Interim Executive Board
A specially constituted governing board, to replace a normally constituted governing body to undertake all its functions in exceptional circumstances for a temporary period. 

ITT
Initial Teacher Training

K

Key Issue
The particular areas of weakness in a school identified by inspectors and included in their inspection report and which should be addressed in the action plan.

Key Stage
A description and measurement of pupils' progress through school: - Key Stage 1: pupils aged 5 to 7 - Key Stage 2: pupils aged 7 to 11 - Key Stage 3: pupils aged 11 to 14 - Key Stage 4: pupils aged 14 to 16

L

LA
Local Authority

LAs
Local Authorities

LE
Leading Edge

Legacy Schools
Schools which were placed in special measures or were judged to have serious weaknesses, an inadequate sixth form or to be underachieving before September 2005.

LGA
Local Government Association

LM
Learning Mentors

Local Authority Statement of Action
Local Authority statement of the action it intends to take to improve a school which requires special measures or significant improvement.

LPS
Local Policy Statement

LPSA
Local Public Service Agreement

LSA
Learning Support Assistant

LSC
Learning and Skills Council

LSU
Learning Support Unit

M

MEP
Member of the European Parliament

MFL
Modern Foreign Languages

Moderation Procedures
Ofsted procedures for quality assurance of judgements by lead inspectors that fall into one of the categories of schools causing concern (ie those requiring special measures or significant improvement)

N

NACE
The National Association for Able Children in Education

NAGTY
National Academy of Gifted and Talented Youth

NAHT
National Association of Headteachers

NAO
National Audit Office

NASUWT
National Association of Schoolmasters and Union of Women Teachers

National Standards for School Improvement
The standards aim to support those officers, advisers and inspectors involved in the challenge, intervention and support of schools and in the implementation of the local Education Development Plan.

NCS
National Childcare Strategy

NCSL
National College for School Leadership

New Relationship with Schools
The reshaping of the relationship between schools and central and local government. It aims to help schools raise standards by sharpening accountability and minimising bureaucracy.

NFER
National Foundation for Educational Research

NMPP
National Mentoring Pilot Project

NOF
New Opportunities Fund

NPQH
National Professional Qualification for Headship

NSPCC
National Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children

NSZ
Non-Statutory Zones

NUS
National Union of Schoolteachers

NUT
National Union of Teachers

O

Ofsted
A Government department that works with the Department for Children, Schools and Families to monitor all schools (including those facing challenging circumstances).

P

PSHE
Personal Social and Health Education

Q

Qualifications and Curriculum Authority
The QCA assists in maintaining and developing the school curriculum and associated assessments. It accredits and monitors qualifications in schools, colleges and work.

R

RAISE online
A new web based system to disseminate school performance data. It has replaced the Ofsted Performance and Assessment (PANDA) reports and the DCSF Pupil Achievement Tracker (PAT)

Regional Inspection Service Providers (RISPs)
Regionally based inspection providers working in partnership with Ofsted. Teams of independent inspectors working alongside HMI.

S

SCA
Supplementary Credit Approval

SCC
Schools Causing Concern

School Improvement Partner (SIP)
A critical professional friend to schools acting for the maintaining authority.

Self-evaluation
A school's objective analysis of its performance, priorities for improvement and targets it has sent. A new Ofsted self-evaluation form (SEF) gives schools the opportunity to set out how they are developing the strengths and addressing the weaknesses within the school.

SEN
Special Educational Needs

SENCO
Special Needs Co-ordinator

Serious Weaknesses
The term applied (up to 31 August 2005) following an Ofsted inspection when a school was deemed to have significant weaknesses in one or more areas which need to be addressed but which is providing an acceptable standard of education overall.

SFCC
Schools Facing Challenging Circumstances

Significant Improvement
This is a term which may be used following an Ofsted inspection. A school is judged to require significant improvement if it is performing significantly less well than it might be expected to perform.

Single Conversation
Focused discussion between a School Improvement partner and a school.

SOC
School Organising Committee

SOS
Secretary of State

Special Measures
The term applied following an Ofsted inspection when a school is failing to provide an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. All judgements are personally authorised by HCMI or an HMI authorised by him. The definition was revised by the Education Act 2005.

Specialist School
Specialist schools are required to develop a particular specialist character and ethos and through that character to raise standards in their chosen specialism, and more generally across the school. This should be in partnership with their sponsors, other schools and the community at large. Schools are required to be a resource for other local schools and the community, and to disseminate good practice. There are eight specialisms: technology, languages, arts, sports, business & enterprise, engineering, science, and mathematics & computing.

SRB
Single Regeneration Budget

SSA
Standards Spending Assessment

SSFA
School Standards and Framework Act 1998

SST
Specialist Schools Trust (formerly the Technology Colleges Trust)

Standards Fund
The fund provides grants which reflect the Government's central priority of raising standards in schools.

Sure Start
A strategy to improve services for children under 4 and their families in disadvantaged areas.

T

TCT
Technology Colleges Trust

TEN
The Education Network (TEN) is an independent body set up to support LAs in their work of raising education standards.

TES
Times Educational Supplement

TIG
Targetted Improvement Grant

V

Value Added
The progress that schools help individuals to make relative to their different starting points is usually referred to as value added. Value added measures are intended to allow comparisons between schools with different pupil intakes.