Education in the United Kingdom
Encyclopedia
Education in the United Kingdom is a devolved matter
with each of the countries of the United Kingdom
having separate systems under separate governments: the UK Government is responsible for England
, and the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive
are responsible for Scotland
, Wales
and Northern Ireland
, respectively.
For details of education in each country, see:
Devolution
Devolution is the statutory granting of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to government at a subnational level, such as a regional, local, or state level. Devolution can be mainly financial, e.g. giving areas a budget which was formerly administered by central government...
with each of the countries of the United Kingdom
Countries of the United Kingdom
Countries of the United Kingdom is a term used to describe England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. These four countries together form the sovereign state of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which is also described as a country. The alternative terms, constituent...
having separate systems under separate governments: the UK Government is responsible for England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive
Northern Ireland Executive
The Northern Ireland Executive is the executive arm of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the devolved legislature for Northern Ireland. It is answerable to the Assembly and was established according to the terms of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, which followed the Good Friday Agreement...
are responsible for Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
and Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, respectively.
For details of education in each country, see:
- Education in EnglandEducation in EnglandEducation in England is overseen by the Department for Education and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. Local authorities take responsibility for implementing policy for public education and state schools at a regional level....
- Education in Northern IrelandEducation in Northern IrelandEducation in Northern Ireland differs slightly from systems used elsewhere in the United Kingdom, though it is more similar to that used in England and Wales than it is to Scotland. A child's age on 1 July determines the point of entry into the relevant stage of education unlike England and Wales...
- Education in ScotlandEducation in ScotlandScotland has a long history of universal provision of public education, and the Scottish education system is distinctly different from the other countries of the United Kingdom...
- Education in WalesEducation in WalesEducation in Wales differs in certain respects from education elsewhere in the United Kingdom. For example, a significant number of students all over Wales are educated either wholly or largely through the medium of Welsh: in 2008/09, 22 per cent of classes in maintained primary schools used Welsh...
See also
- Dyslexia support in the United KingdomDyslexia support in the United KingdomPeople with dyslexia, especially school children, can benefit from a range of support techniques including additional one-to-one literacy support from specialist teachers, computer tools with text-to-speech, spelling correction and word prediction; coloured glasses, and many other methods...
- Examination boards in the United KingdomExamination boards in the United KingdomExamination boards in the United Kingdom are the examination boards responsible for setting and awarding secondary education level qualifications, such as GCSEs, Standard Grades, A Levels, Highers and vocational qualifications, to students in the United Kingdom.Broadly speaking, the UK has two...
- Special education in the United KingdomSpecial education in the United KingdomSpecial education in the United Kingdom, being an aspect of education, is a devolved matter with each of the countries of the United Kingdom having separate systems under separate governments: the UK Government is responsible for education in England, the Scottish Government is responsible for...
- Teachers' trade unions in the United KingdomTeachers' trade unions in the United KingdomTeachers' trade unions in the United Kingdom are trade unions for teachers operating in the United Kingdom.Due to the differing education systems in the UK, most unions only organise in certain parts of the country and some focus on certain members of staff, such as headteachers...