Glossary of Common Educational Acronyms

A & I	Advice and Inspection
A LEVEL	Advanced Level
AAP	Assessment of Achievement Programme
ABE	Adult Basic Education
ACAS	Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service. Independent body that aims to mediate in industrial disputes.
ACG	Annual capital guidelines
ACPC	Area Child Protection Committee
ACPI	Audit Commission Performance Indicator
ACS	Average Class Size
AD	Assistant Director
ADCE	Advanced Diploma in Children's Care and Education
ADD	Attention Deficit Disorder
ADES	Association of Directors of Education in Scotland
ADEW	Association of Directors of Education in Wales
ADHD	Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder
AE	Adult Education
AE	Advanced Extension
AEN	Additional Educational Needs
AF	Admission Forum
AFASIC	Association For All Speech Impaired Children
AHA	Area Health Authority
AHT	Association of Headteachers in Scotland
AHT	Assistant Headteacher (Scotland)
AHTS	Association of Headteachers in Scotland
AIS	Advisory and Inspection Service
ALF	Activity-led funding
ALI	Adult Learning Inspectorate
ALIS	A Level Information Service - University based statistical analysis of A level results based on pupils past performance at GCSE to help schools to predict likely future results.
ALS	Additional Literacy Support
AMP	Asset Management Plan
AoT	Adults other than teachers
APEL	Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning
APL	Accreditation of Prior Learning
APT	Assistant Principal Teacher (Scotland)
APT&C	Administrative, Professional, Technical and Clerical Grades
ARP	Additional Responsibility Points (for Teachers)
AS	Advanced Subsidiary Examination
ASB	Aggregated Schools Budget
ASB	Actual Schools Budget (Wales)
ASC	Average Class Size
ASD	Autistic Spectrum Disorder
ASDAN	Award Scheme Development and Accreditation Network
ASPI	All Schools Performance Index
AST	Advanced Skills Teacher
AT	Attainment Target
AT	Advisory Teacher
ATL	Association of Teachers and Lecturers (previously AMMA)
ATO	Approved Training Organisation
AVA	Audio Visual Aids
AWPU	Age Weighted Pupil Unit. The sum of money allocated to school for each pupil.

D

DAT

DBFO

DCSF

DD

DDA

DE

DF

DfEE

DfES

DFF

DFS

DHA

DHT

DRTF

DSM

DSO

DT

Director

Drug Action Team

Design Build Finance Operate

Department for Children, Schools and Families (from 2007)

Deputy Director

Disability Discrimination Act (1995)

Discretionary Exception

Devolved Funding

Department for Education and Employment (until 2000)

Department for Education and Skills (from 2000 to 2007)

Devolved Formula Funding

Devolved Funding Scheme

District Health Authority

Deputy Headteacher ( Scotland)

Disability Rights Task Force

Devolved School Management (in Scotland)

Direct Service Organisation

Design and Technology

L1, etc

Leadership (Pay) Scale or Spine, Point 1, etc

LA

Local Authority

LAC

Looked After Children

LDD

Learning Difficulties and Disabilities

LEA

Local Education Authority

LEAWARDS

Local Education Authority Award System

LEC

Local Enterprise Company (Scotland)

LES

Local Education Strategy

LGIP

Local Government Improvement Project

LIFE

Learning is for Everyone (Wales)

LIP

Local Information Plan

LLDP

Lifelong Learning Development Plan

LMCE

Local Management in Community Education

LMI

Labour Market Information

LMS

Local Management of Schools under which schools manage their own budgets. This has been enhanced/replaced by 'fair funding'.

LMSS

Local Management of Special Schools

LPSA

Local Public Service Agreement

LPSH

Leadership Programme for Serving Heads

LS

Leadership (Pay) Scale or Spine

LSA

Learning Support Assistant

LSB

Local Schools Budget

LSC

Learning and Skills Council

LSDA

Learning and Skills Development Agency

LSM

Literacy Strategy Manager

LSP

Local Strategic Partnership

LSP

Learning Schools Programme

LTS

Learning and Teaching Scotland

LW or LWA

London Weighting or London Weighting Allowance

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M

m&e	Monitoring and evaluation
M&E	Monitoring and Evaluation
M.Ed	Master of Education
MA/MSc/MBA	Higher level degrees: Master of Arts, Master of Science, Master of Business Administration
MAST	Multi Agency Support Team
MCE	Ministry for Children and Education (Scotland)
MCI	Management Charter Initiative
MDA	Midday Assistant
ME	Mandatory Exceptions
MFL	Modern Foreign Languages
MIAG	Management Information Advisory Group
MIS	Management Information System(s)
MISE	Management Information Systems in Education
MLD	Moderate learning difficulty/disability
MNSI	Multi-needs sensory impairment
MOE	More Open Enrolment
MPA	Multi-Professional Assessment
MPG	Main Professional Grade (for teachers)
MPS	Management Pay Spine

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N

NA or NAW	National Assembly (of Wales)
NAED	National Assembly Education Department (Wales)
NAGM	National Association of Governors and Managers
NAHT	National Association of Head Teachers
NAI	Non-Accidental Injury
NASUWT	National Association of Schoolmasters and Union of Women Teachers
NATECLA	National Association for Teachers of English and Community Languages
NC	National Curriculum
NCB	National Children's Bureau
NCPTA	National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations
NCS	National Community School (Scotland)
NCS	National Childcare Strategy
NCSL	National College for School Leadership
NCVQ	National Council for Vocational Qualifications - see QCA.
NDO	National Development Officer (Target setting for children with SEN) (Scotland)
NDPB	Non-Departmental Public Body
NDS	New Deal for Schools
NERS	National Exclusion Reporting System
NETT	National Education and Training Targets
NFER	National Foundation for Educational Research - associated with many schools' baseline testing
NGFL	National Grid for Learning
NIC	Northern Ireland Curriculum
NLS	National Literacy Strategy
NLS	National Literacy Strategy Plan
NMSS	Non-maintained special school (Scotland)
NNEB	National Nursery Examination Board
NNP	Non-maintained special school (Scotland)
NNS	National Numeracy Strategy Plan
NO	Named Officer
NOF	New Opportunities Fund
NOR	Number on Roll
NP	Named Person (see also IPS)
NPP	National Partnership Protocol
NPQ	National Professional Qualification
NPQH	National Professional Qualification for Headteachers - qualification aimed at preparing teachers for the demands of Headship
NPS	National Pay Spine (for teachers)
NQT	Newly Qualified Teacher - a teacher in their first year after gaining qualified teacher status
NRA	National Records of Achievement
NRF	Neighbourhood Renewal Fund
NRS	Neighbourhood Renewal Scheme
NSM	Numeracy Strategy Manager (JP)
NSS	National Science Strategy Plan (KS3)
NSSEN	Non-Statemented Special Educational Needs
NTA	National Training Award
NTA	Non-Teaching Assistant
NTDP	National Training Development Plan
NTO	National Training Organisation
NUT	National Union of Teachers
NVQ	National Vocational Qualification
NWPU	Needs Weighted Pupil Unit

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O

OFSTED	Office for Standards in Education - responsible for the arrangements of inspections of schools and LAs
OLA	Outer London Allowance
OMR	Optical Mark Reader
OPM	Office of Public Management
OSA	Out of School Activities
OSCI	Out of School Childcare Initiatives
OSN	Open School Network

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P

P1, P2 etc	Primary 1, Primary 2 etc (Scotland)
PAL	Published Admissions Limit
PANDA	Performance and Assessment Report
PAT	Professional Association of Teachers
PB	Pupil Behaviour
PDP	Professional Development Plan
PDPR	Personal development and performance review
PEDAL	Peer Education Drugs and Alcohol Project
PEO	Principal Education Officer
PEWO	Principal Education Welfare Officer
PFI	Private Finance Initiative
PFS	Playing for Success
PGCE	Post Graduate Certificate in Education - qualification gained by teachers who have previously followed a traditional degree level qualification
PI	Performance Indicators
PIAP	Post-Inspection Action Plan
PICSI	Pre-Inspection Context and School Indicator
PIPS	Performance Indicators for Primary Schools
PIT	Policy and Information Team
PIT	Pupil Inclusion Team
PIT	Pool of Inactive Teachers
PLASC	Pupil Level Annual School Census
PMLD	Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties
POS	Programme of Study
PPI	Public Performance Indicator
PPO	Parent Partnership Officer
PPP	Public Private Partnership
PPS	Parent Partnership Scheme
PRG	Pupil Retention Grants
PRG	Pupil Retention Grants
PRO	Performance Review Officer
PRP	Performance Related Pay
PRU	Pupil Referral Unit
PS	Partially Sighted
PSA	Public Service Agreement
PSE	Personal and Social Education
PSHE	Personal, Social and Health Education
PSP	Personal Support Plan
PSP	Pastoral Support Programme
PSS	Personal Social Services
PT	Part-time
PT	Principal Teacher (Scotland)
PTA	Parent Teacher Association
PTR	Pupil teacher ratio - obtained by dividing the number of pupils by the number of teachers.
PYO	Principal Youth Officer

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Q

QCA	Qualification and Assessment Authority
QCA	Qualifications and Curriculum Authority created by a merger of NCVQ and SCAA. Aimed at overseeing the whole area of qualifications.
QISS	Quality Initiative in Scottish Schools
QP	Quality Protects
QRF	Quality Reward Funding (Wales)
QSAD	Quality Standards and Audit Division (Scotland)
QT	Qualified Teacher
QTS	Qualified Teacher Status

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R

RAMP	Regional Accreditation and Moderation Panels (for Youth Service Training)
RBL	Resource-based learning (Scotland)
RCSLT	Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists
RDA	Regional Development Agency
RDICT	Regional Director Information Communication Technology
RDL	Regional Director Literacy
RDN	Regional Director Numeracy
RDS	Regional Director Science
RDTLF	Regional Director Teaching and Learning in the Foundation Subjects
REACH	Record of Achievement
REE	Register of Educational Establishments
RI or RgI	Registered Inspector. A person authorised by OFSTED to lead a team of inspectors.
RIA	Regulatory Impact Assessment (under DDA, Part 3)
RoA	Record of Achievement - an on-going document belonging to each pupil which contains a record of all the pupils achievements in and out of school, academic and non academic.
RSG	Revenue Support Grant
RSI	Repetitive Strain Injury
RSM	Recruitment Strategy Manager
RSSI	Raising School Standards Initiative (N. Ireland)

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S

S1, S2 etc	Secondary 1, Secondary 2 etc (Scotland)
SA	Senior Adviser
SA	Special Agreement
SACRE	Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education
SAI	Schools Access Initiative
SAO	School Attendance Order
SAR	Specialist Advisers for Recruitment
SAT	Standard Assessment Tasks
SATs	Standard Assessment Tasks (or Tests) - the principal means of testing at the end of key stages.
SCA	Supplementary Credit Approval
SCAA	School Curriculum and Assessment Authority - see QCA.
SCC	Schools in Challenging Circumstances
SCD	Severe Communication Difficulties
SCF	Scottish Credit Framework
SCIS	Scottish Council of Independent Schools
SCIT	School-centred Initial Teacher Training
SCOTVEC	Scottish Vocational Education Certificate
SCQF	Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework
SCRE	Scottish Council for Research in Education
SDF	Service Development Fund
SDP	School Development Plan - the main whole school strategic planning document.
SDPR	Staff Development and Performance Review (N. Ireland)
SE	Scottish Executive
SECC	Schools in Exceptionally Challenging Circumstances
SEED	Scottish Executive Education Department
SEELLD	Scottish Executive Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Department
SEN	Special Educational Needs
SENCO	Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator - teacher with specific responsibility for SEN in school.
SEND	Special Educational Needs Database
SENDA	Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001
SENIMS	Special Educational Needs in Mainstream Schools
SENSS	Special Educational Needs Support Service
SENT	Special Educational Needs Tribunal
SEP	Senior Educational Psychologist
SEU	Standards and Effectiveness Unit (DCSF)
SEU	Social Exclusion Unit (Cabinet Office)
SEWO	Senior Education Welfare Officer
SF	Standards Fund
SFCC	Schools facing challenging circumstances
SFEFC	Scottish Further Education Funding Council
SFM	Standard Figure of Maintenance
SG	Standard Grade (Scotland)
SHA	Secondary Heads Association
SHA	Scottish Headteachers' Association
SILO	Schools Industry Liaison Officer
SIMS	Schools Information Management System - a computer software package to assist schools in managing information on pupils, staff and resources.
SIP	School Improvement Plan
SIPS	School Inclusion: Pupil Support
SIT	School Improvement Team
SKILL	National Bureau for Students with Disabilities
SLA	Service Level Agreement
SLA	Service Level Agreement. A contract for a service between the local authority and a school.
SLD	Severe learning difficulty/disability
SLDD	Student with Learning Difficulty and/or Disability
SLS	School Library Service
SLT	Speech and Language Therapy
SLT	Speech & Language Therapist
SLTA	Speech and Language Therapy Assistant
SM	Strategy Manager
SMT	Senior Management Team
SN	Standard Number
SN	Special Needs
SNA	Special Needs Assistant
SNCT	Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers
SNIP	Special Needs Improvement Plan
SNS	Standard National Scale - the pay scale for classroom teachers, those with extra responsibilities gain added 'points' e.g. SNS+2
SO	Statistics Officer
SOC	School Organisation Committee
SoC	School of Concern
SOP	School Organisation Plan
SpLD	Specific Learning Difficulty
SPPA	Scottish Preschool Play Association
SQA	Scottish Qualifications Authority
SQC	Scottish Qualifications Certificate
SQH	Scottish Qualification for Headship
SRB	Single Regeneration Budget
SRCF	Schools Renewal Challenge Fund
SRSM	School Requiring Special Measures
SSA	Standard Spending Assessment- a statement by central government of what a local authority needs to spend in a particular year.
SSBA	Scottish School Board Association
SSD	Social Services Department
SSFA	School Standards and Framework Act
SSI	Social Services Inspectorate
SSI	Specialist Schools Initiative
SSP	Starting Salary Point
SSTA	Scottish Secondary Teachers Association
STA	Specialist Teacher Assistant
STAR	Specialist Teacher Assistants' Record
STO	Statutory Transfer Order
STPCD	School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document
Sufl	Scottish University for Industry
SVQ	Scottish Vocational Qualification
SWSW	Schools with Serious Weaknesses
SYS	Sixth Year Studies (Scotland)

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T

TA	Teaching Assistant
TEC	Training and Enterprise Council
TEFL	Teaching English as a Foreign Language
TEN	The Education Network
TES	Times Educational Supplement - weekly newspaper on educational issues - used as the major method of advertising teacher vacancies.
TES	Traveller Education Service
TESOL	Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
THRASS	Teaching Handwriting and Spelling Skills
TLF	Teaching and Learning in the Foundation Subjects
TLFNS	National TLF Strategy Plan (KS3)
TLFSM	Teaching and Learning in the Foundation Subjects Strategy Manager
TPS	Teachers' Pay Spine
TQ	Teaching Qualification
TQM	Total Quality Management
TSI	Technology Schools Initiative
TSN	Targeting Social Need
TTA	Teacher Training Agency
TUPE	Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment

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U

U3A	University of the Third Age
UA	Unitary Authority
UCAS	University and College Admissions Services: the organisation which administers applications for most university and college courses
UFA	University of the First Age
UfI	University for Industry
UPN	Unique Pupil Number
URN	Unique Reference Number

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V, W

VA	Voluntary Aided
VC	Voluntary Controlled
VCT	Voluntary Collective Teaching
VFM	Value for Money
VI	Visually Impaired
VRQ	Verbal Reasoning Quotient
VTC	Virtual Teacher Centre

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X, Y, Z

Yellis	Year 11 Information Service. Scheme used for 'base line' testing of pupils to help to set and monitor targets.
YHSEO	Yorkshire Humberside Senior Education Officers
YMU	Young Mum's Unit
YSS	Youth Support Service
YT	Youth Training