State schools

This page gives an overview of the different types of school in the UK.

Mainstream state schools

In most areas children start primary school at the age of four or five, moving onto secondary school (sometimes called comprehensive school) at the age of 11. Most state schools are mixed but some are single-sex.

Schools define themselves in various ways. The four main types of mainstream schools are all funded by local authorities (LAs). They all follow the national curriculum and are regularly inspected by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted).

• Community schools
  Community schools are run by LAs. It employs the staff, owns the land and buildings, and is responsible for admitting pupils. Community schools make strong links with their local community, offering their facilities and providing services such as childcare and adult learning classes.
• Foundation schools
  Foundation schools are managed by a governing body. They employ the staff, and set the admission criteria. The land and buildings are usually owned by either the governing body or a charitable foundation. By managing themselves, foundation schools believe they can provide the best education for their pupils.
• Voluntary-aided schools
  Voluntary-aided schools are mainly funded, but not owned, by their LA. A governing body employs the staff, and set the admission criteria. The school’s buildings and land are normally owned by a charitable foundation, often a religious organisation, and the governing body contributes to building and maintenance costs.
• Voluntary-controlled schools
  Voluntary-controlled schools are run by the LA. It employs the school’s staff, and runs the admission procedure. The school’s land and buildings are normally owned by a charity, often a religious organisation, which appoints some of the members of the governing body.
  

Extended and specialist schools

Some mainstream state schools offer additional benefits and services.

Extended schools provide additional activities, often outside of school hours, to benefit pupils, their families and the wider community. Services such as childcare, adult education, study support, ICT facilities and adult sports programmes are designed to meet the needs of the local community as a whole. 

Specialist schools focus on a particular subject area, such as sports, technology or visual arts, as well as offering a broad and balanced education through the national curriculum. They are central to the Government's goal of increasing choice and improving standards for secondary students.

Other types of state school

There are a number of other types of state school other than the mainstream schools described above. Admission to these schools is run in the same way as mainstream schools, ie the process is coordinated by the LA, but some may have specific extra admission criteria.

• Community special schools and foundation special schools cater for children with specific special educational needs such as physical or learning difficulties. 
• Faith schools are run in the same way as other mainstream state schools, but many incorporate more religious and spiritual elements into the curriculum than non-faith schools. 
• Grammar schools select all or most of their pupils based on academic ability as they aim to cater for relatively high achievers.
• City Technology Colleges (CTCs) are independently managed, non-fee-paying schools in urban areas for pupils of all abilities aged 11 to 18 - they are geared towards science, technology and the world of work, and offer a wide range of vocational qualifications as well as A levels.
• Academies are independently managed, all-ability schools set up by sponsors from business, faith or voluntary groups in partnership with the Department for Education and Skills and the LA. Together they fund the land and buildings, and the Department pays all the running costs. To read ATL’s policy on Academies, see the main ATL website.
• Maintained boarding schools offer free tuition, but charge a fee for board and lodging.     

Leading edge schools 

Schools selected from the country's best schools with the following aims: that they act as a lever to transform secondary education; to engineer the growth of collaborative learning communities and federations; and to promote innovation, research and development to push the boundaries of current teaching practice.

Pupil referral unit 

Schools established and maintained by LAs to cater for children of compulsory school age who may otherwise not receive suitable education. Their focus is on getting pupils back into a mainstream school.

Other factors of differentiation between schools

When deciding whether you wish to apply to a particular school, you need to find out information about what kind of school it is to work for. It is useful to find out its policies on a range of areas such as behaviour, pupil discipline, bullying and health and safety.  

• Does it have a high rate of exclusions? If it has a policy of inclusion, what implications does this have for behaviour management? Does it have whole school policies on matters such as managing challenging behaviour?
• What are the school’s policies on ‘setting’; do they have mixed ability classes or do they operate a streaming system?
• Does it have a culture that promotes the professional development of its staff?  How does it do this?
• If it is a religious school, what implications does this have on the expectations they have of the staff that work within the school?  Is there an impact on the curriculum within the school?
• Is there a strong involvement of the community within the school? What form of involvement does this take?
• What kind of physical space is there within the school for teachers to meet and support each other?
• What kind of extra-curricular activities happen at the school? Would there be expectations of staff to get involved in such activities?
• What kind of Ofsted reports has the school recently received?
• How many support staff are in the school and how are they deployed?