Education System and School Enrolment in the UK

Education System and School Enrolment in the UK

• Kindergarten (nursery)

Education in the UK starts with kindergarten (Nursery) education at the age of 3-4. Nursery is optional, but what is attractive is that the expenses of all children between the ages of 2-4 are covered by the state up to a certain limit. You can use the above link to find the right school for you. (https://www.gov.uk/find-free-early-education)

In some cases, children as young as 2 can also benefit from free education. These are usually situations where the financial situation of the family and the child’s need for care must be documented. You can find valid reasons for this issue on the British government’s education website. (https://www.gov.uk/help-with-childcare-costs/free-childcare-and-education-for-2-to-4-year-olds)

You can find many institutions that you prefer for pre-school education. State nursery schools, kindergartens and kindergartens of public primary schools come first. Apart from the state options, there are also voluntary schools, private nurseries and childminders.

• Primary education

When children are 4 years old, their compulsory education starts. Public schools are almost completely free. The books read, the stationery and notebooks used, and even the school bag are covered by the school. It is compulsory to wear uniforms in schools. If your school does not specify a special store, you can find many school uniforms in supermarkets such as Tesco and Asda.

The 7-year compulsory education is as follows:

Reception (Preschool-Kindergarten): 4-5 years old

Year 1: 5 – 6 years

Year 2: 6 – 7 years

Year 3: 7 – 8 years

Year 4: 8 – 9 years

Year 5: 9 – 10 years

Year 6: 10 – 11 years

Schools here include 3 terms. Autumn Term (Autumn Term, September-January), Spring Term (Spring Term, January-April), Summer Term (Summer Term, April-July). Schools open in the first week of September and close in the third week of July. There are 3 one-week half term holidays in October-February-May. There is a 2-week term holiday at Christmas and Easter.

As for how the school is chosen, almost all state schools in the UK are registered to the nearest school to your home by the municipality (council) you belong to.

For all school registrations, you must first confirm which municipality you live in. All forms and important dates for school registration are on your municipality’s page. By entering your zip code, you can first identify your municipality at https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-primary-school-place.

Primary and secondary school application forms are downloaded from the municipality’s pages. These are usually a common form (you can see these forms as CAF, Common Application Form).

This form starts with filling out general information, your child’s name, date of birth, address information, etc. As a parent, your details are also requested. Address information is specified in this form, and the forms declaring the address must be accompanied during the application (lease contract, council tax invoice, other invoices registered in your name, etc.).

Finally, you are asked to choose your school. Depending on the municipality you live in, these choices can vary between 6 and 10 schools. You do not have to fill in all of these but remember that if you make one choice and there are more students than the capacity in that school, there is a possibility that your child will not be given a school place. So, add as many schools as you can. Look at the OFSTED reports we mentioned (https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk) and the proximity of schools to you while making this order.

As for the applications, it is useful to check the application dates on the schools’ own pages and the municipality’s education unit.

Primary and secondary school application forms are downloaded from the municipality’s pages. These are usually a common form (you can see these forms as CAF, Common Application Form). This form asks for general information about your child and you, as well as the schools your child has attended before. Address information is also specified in this form and one of the documents declaring the address is requested during the application (lease contract, council tax invoice, other invoices registered in your name, etc.).

The last step of the application process is choosing a school. Depending on the municipality you live in, these choices can vary between 6 and 10 schools. Add as many schools to this selection list as you can, because if you make one choice and that school is full, your child may not be given a school place. While making these choices from the schools near your home, you can look at the OFSTED (Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills) reports (https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk).

After you list your schools and fill out the form, you must send it to the municipality, that is, to the council, by hand or via e-mail. Municipalities notify you by phone call and also by sending a letter to your home address. Among the things that make the student a priority in the eyes of the schools is the proximity of your address to the school, whether he/she has a sibling studying at the same school, and whether his/her family is in need of help/care.

There are also some schools that get their own school registrations. They want their own forms to be filled along with the municipality’s form, or they only accept students with their own registration form. If there are such schools among your choices, do not forget to fill out and submit their forms.

Even if you are not placed in the school, you want when your application is finalized, you can enrol in that school and enrol in the waiting list of schools with full quotas. Every school has a waiting list and is renewed every semester. Since children leave due to graduation or moving from schools, waiting lists are prepared for new children. In the middle of the term, you can be called to see if there is a place for you at a school. After that, it’s up to you whether to switch schools or not.

But what can you do if you come during the semester? The application process is the same as the normal application, your child is placed in a class here, based on the year and month of birth.

• Middle-high school (secondary)

With Key Stage 3 (Year 7, 8, 9) and Key Stage 4 (Year 10, 11) secondary school education, as we call it, begins. The subjects are basically English, Mathematics, Science and art, and optionally religion and sexuality. In grades 11, with at least one of English, Mathematics, Science, computer programming, physical education (PE) plus art, design and technology, history, geography and modern foreign languages.