This chapter outlines the principal characteristics of the education and training system. It describes the fundamental principles, national policies and legislative basis for early childhood education and care, school education, higher education, and adult education and training. It sets out the organisation of the education system and its structure, explains policy for lifelong learning and describes the national qualifications frameworks. It also outlines the administration and governance framework at national, local and institutional levels, basic statistics on education institutions, and the organisation of private education.

The Department for Education (DfE) has overall responsibility for the education system. It is responsible for children’s services and education, including early years and school education, higher and further education policy, apprenticeships and wider skills.

The school system is characterised by a ‘dual system’ of publicly funded schools. This includes maintained schools, funded from central government via the local authority, and academies, which are publicly funded independent schools with a direct funding agreement with government.

Supporting bodies

Publicly funded educational institutions at all levels enjoy a high degree of autonomy, counterbalanced by a strong system of accountability. In working with institutions, the DfE is supported by the central and local decision-making, regulatory and/or advisory bodies described briefly below.

• The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual), a non-ministerial government department, is responsible for regulating qualifications, examinations and assessments.
• The Teaching Regulation Agency, which is an executive agency sponsored by the Department for Education, is responsible for the regulation of the teaching profession, and the award of qualified teacher status (QTS).
• The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), an executive agency of the DfE, is the government agency accountable for funding education and training for children, young people and adults.
• The Standards and Testing Agency (STA), is responsible for developing national curriculum tests to meet Ofqual criteria, and for supporting schools to carry out national curriculum assessment. It is an executive agency of the DfE.
• Local authorities (LAs) have a duty to secure sufficient suitable education and training opportunities to meet the needs of all young people in their area. Their role includes three core responsibilities: ensuring a sufficient supply of school places; tackling underperformance in schools and ensuring high standards; and supporting vulnerable children and young people. This role has changed in recent years, as other ‘middle tier’ bodies, including Regional Schools Commissioners, and academy chains, have taken an intermediary role between central government and schools. LAs have some particular responsibilities for maintained schools, which they do not have for academies.
• The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education is responsible for ensuring high-quality apprenticeship standards and advising government on funding for apprenticeship standards. It is also responsible for approving standards and outline content for T Levels, which became available as qualifications in schools and colleges from September 2020. It is an executive non-departmental public body.
• The Office for Students (OfS) is the regulator for the higher education sector, It is responsible for holding higher education institutions (HEIs) to account, for the funding of higher education in England, and for promoting students’ interests. It was established in April 2018 to replace the Office for Fair Access (OFFA) and the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).

Quality assurance

The Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted) is responsible for inspecting and regulating services providing education and skills for learners of all ages, outside of higher education. It also inspects and regulates services which care for children and young people. Ofsted publishes reports for each inspection and a Chief Inspector’s report on an annual basis. It is a non-ministerial government department.

Like schools, colleges and universities in England providing higher education have a high degree of autonomy. The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) is the designated body responsible for carrying out quality and standards assessment functions on behalf of the Office for Students. It also provides quality assurance services for Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. This involves maintaining the Quality Code, which supports good practice in higher education.

Article last reviewed December 2020.