Overview of Education System
The Department for Education administers education at the national level and sets educational standards and regulations. In 2016, 8.56 million students attended 24,288 schools in England.3 Of those students, 4.62 million were taught in 16,778 state funded primary schools, 3.2 million in state funded secondary schools, and the remaining 751,000 in 3,350 independent or “special” schools. Compulsory schooling starts during the term after a childʼs fifth birthday and ends at age 16. Universal preprimary education is offered for all children ages 3 to 5. Most pupils move from primary to secondary school at age 11. Many secondary schools offer education until age 18, but students also may choose to enter a “sixth form” or further education college, apprenticeship, or traineeship at age 16. While compulsory schooling ends at age 16, participation in one of these routes is mandatory until at least age 18. Exhibit 1 provides an overview of the structure of educational stages in England.
England has three main types of schools:
- State funded schools, attended by 93.1 percent of students, include local authority maintained or community schools; voluntary controlled and voluntary aided schools (usually faith schools); academies and free schools; grammar schools; and state funded special schools for students with special educational needs. State funded schools are free to students, and most have to follow the national curriculum. Academies (including free schools), which constitute 68 percent of secondary schools, do not have to follow the national curriculum.
- Private or independent schools are attended by 6.9 percent of students. These schools charge fees and do not have to follow the national curriculum.
- Special schools not state funded are attended by 0.05 percent of students with special educational needs in areas such as cognition and learning or social, emotional, and mental health.
Most publicly funded schools previously have been organized at the regional level by local authorities. Since 2010, however, growing diversity in the type of school provider has been a result of the significant increase in the number of academies and free schools. Academies are schools that have converted from local authority control to be directly funded by the government.4 A free school can be set up by any suitable proposer providing the school meets the key requirements: a strong vision and education plan, the need for a new school, sound finances, and the capacity and capability to deliver a new school quickly. Proposers can include schools and academies, multiacademy trusts, charities, universities, businesses, educational groups, cultural and sporting bodies, community groups, teachers, and parents. Academies and free schools operate with more autonomy than schools under local control in areas such as sponsorship, implementation of the national curriculum, and decisions on staff qualifications and pay.
The Department for Education encourages more good school places in academies and free schools. Twenty-three percent of all primary schools and 68 percent of all secondary schools are now academies or free schools that are attended by more than 3 million students. Local authority maintained schools constitute 78 percent of primary schools and 32 percent of secondary schools. Exhibit 1 shows an overview of the levels of the English education system.
Exhibit 1: Structure of Educational Stages
| Preprimary | Primary | Secondary | |
| Stage | Early Years Foundation Stages (ages 0 to 5) |
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| School/College Structure |
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| ISCED Level5 | Level 0 (ages 0 to 5) | Level 1 (ages 5 to 11) |
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