Primary education
Primary education
Read about York’s primary school offer; learn about mainstream, enhanced resource and specialist provision for primary aged children.
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Types of mainstream education settings
Most children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) go to mainstream schools.
Mainstream schools are educational settings controlled and funded (maintained) by local authorities (sometimes referred to as “state” schools). All children in England between the ages of 5 and 16 are entitled to a free place at a state school. Most state schools have to follow the national curriculum. The most common ones are:
- State Schools are schools that are funded by the government and provide a free education for children aged 16 and under
- Maintained or community schools are a type of state school that’s controlled by the Local Authority (LA), rather than by a business, religious organisation or charity
- Foundation and voluntary schools are also state schools that receive their funding from the LA. The main difference is that rather than being run by the LA, they’re run by the governing body
- Faith schools are schools that are affiliated with a certain religion or religious body, such as the Church of England.
- Free schools are funded by the government but are run by an independent body such as a charity, business, university, faith or community group, or even a group of parents or teachers
- Academies are state schools that are funded by the government but run by an academy trust. An academy trust is a charitable body that controls how the budget is spent and how the school is run. They control their own admissions criteria, and don’t have to follow the National Curriculum, although they do have to provide a broad and balanced curriculum
- Grammar schools are state schools that are free to attend but select all or most of their pupils on the basis of academic ability
- Independent or private schools are independent of government funding or control, they charge fees for pupils to attend
- Special schools are schools for children with special educational needs. They can specialise in one of four areas: communication and interaction, cognition and learning, social, emotional and mental health, or sensory and physical needs. Within each category, they can specialise further for example, a school may cater specifically for children with autism or visual impairments. If your child has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), you have the right to request a place at a specific school that will best meet their needs; this could be a mainstream or a special school
Usually, children begin school in the academic year they turn 5 (the reception year) and will follow the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework before beginning the national curriculum in year one.
View a list of primary schools in York.
Support in mainstream
Mainstream schools must use their best endeavours to make sure that any child with SEN gets the support they need – this means doing everything they can to meet children and young people’s SEN. City of York Council has co-produced our Ordinarily Available Provision page which lays out what types of provision can be made for children and young people.
Specialist primary education
Most children with SEN and with EHCPs go to mainstream schools.
Specialist education is for children and young people with more complex needs, usually those who have an EHCP.
In York there are different types of specialist provision to meet different needs for example, Specialist Outreach support for those in mainstream schools, Central Provisions, Enhanced Resource Provisions (ERPs) which are centrally resourced provisions in mainstream schools and Special Schools.
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