Jargon Buster
Below is a list of words and phrases commonly used in education. Selecting them will reveal their definitions:
- Answer:
- State schools are government-funded schools that provide education free of charge. The majority of state schools are under the control of local councils – these are known as Maintained schools. There are some other types of state schools, including Academies and Free Schools which draw their funding directly from the government.
- Answer:
- A TA or EA is a Teaching Assistant or Education Assistant, also known as a Classroom Assistant. The TA/EA Helps the qualified teacher in the classroom on a permanent or occasional basis.
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- These qualifications are all about the world of work, across the full range industries and professions. BTEC and City & Guilds courses are the most common, taking in everything from Apprenticeships and NVQs (more hands-on), to certificates and diplomas (more classroom based).
Further information is available on our Vocational Qualifications page.
- Answer:
- Number bonds are simple addition sums that your child will (eventually) memorise.
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- A number line is a line with numbers on it. Used to teach maths by providing a visual representation of numbers.
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- A number sentence is an arrangement of numbers and symbols e.g. 6 + 5 = 11 or 6 ÷ 2 = 3 (used to be referred to as a sum, but this is misleading, as it doesn’t always mean adding up.)
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- Partitioning is method of working out maths problems by splitting the numbers into simpler units.
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- Blending is combining individual sounds together to pronounce a word, e.g. t-r-a-p when blended reads trap.
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- Digraphs are letters that represent a single sound. For example, 'sh'.
- Answer:
- A grapheme is the written representation of a sound. For example, the shape you make when you write a letter 'e'.