The secret language of school: 44 words you’ll hear on the playground (and what they mean)

We’ve collated the latest vocab you might need to translate the playground gossip and classroom dispatches. Of course, not all schools use the same vocabulary, but it might be useful to brush up on these common terms before your first parents’ evening!

Curriculum and learning

Comprehension: The ability to read a text and answer questions to show you understand it. This forms part of pupils’ English education — you can think of it as the precursor to English Language lessons in secondary school.

Differentiated curriculum/homework: Differentiation is when class work or homework is tailored to different students’ abilities so they can engage with the curriculum most effectively.

Digital literacy: The ability to find, evaluate, and communicate information on digital platforms, preparing children to live in a society which relies on technology.

Fine motor skills: Skills that involve smaller movements with the hands, like writing or colouring, buttoning clothes up, and playing with toys.

Gross motor skills: Skills that involve the whole body moving, like walking, jumping, and standing, as well as hand-eye coordination skills like throwing and catching.

Learning objective (LO)/We are learning to (WALT): These acronyms are used at the start of lessons to tell pupils what they are expected to learn in each lesson.

PSED (Personal, Social, and Emotional Development): Schools are required to make sure that children are able to develop personal, social, and emotional skills in the curriculum.

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics): An acronym used to describe these subjects. Some schools specialise in STEM subjects, but they tend to be embedded in the national curriculum,

STEAM: STEM plus Arts subjects (including humanities, music, drama)

Learning to read

Blending: Bringing the different sounds made by phonemes together to say a full word.

Grapheme: The letters that make up phonemes — for example, the actual letters ‘f’ and ‘th.’

High-frequency words: The most common words in written texts, including ​‘the’ and ​‘and.’

Phoneme: One “unit” of sound that makes up a word — for example the noise you make when you read out ‘f’ or ‘th.’

Phonics: A way of teaching children to read that involves matching sounds (phonemes) to letters or groups of letters (graphemes). This means they can break down words and sound them out, so they can read any word instead of memorising the sounds of certain words.

SPAG (Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar): An aspect of writing that kids focus on at primary school.

Maths

Number bonds: Pairs of numbers that add up to make a certain number. Children become familiar with them so they can use them to break down sums into more manageable chunks (for example, a child might know the number bonds 3+7 and 2+8 add up to 10).

Number line: A visual representation of numbers along a line that children can use to work out maths problems.

Number sentence: How you write out a sum, with numbers and symbols — for example, ‘6-2=4’ is a number sentence.

Partitioning: Breaking down a number into smaller parts to help solve a maths problem — for example, 25+18 can be broken down into (20+10) and (5+8).

Tests and assessments

CAT tests (Cognitive Ability Tests): These tests assess pupils’ abilities, focusing on their potential to learn rather than what they already know. They are usually used in schools to figure out what sets children should be in and are designed for children aged six and up.

Formative assessment: Informal assessments that happen throughout the learning process to identify areas for improvement.

SATs (Standard Assessment Tests): English and Maths tests that pupils take at the end of Key Stage 1/Year 2 and at the end of Key Stage 2/Year 6. They are based on the national curriculum and ask questions on things children should have been taught at school, so they don’t need to prepare or revise for them.

Summative assessment: Formal assessments that happen at the end of terms of school years that evaluate pupils’ knowledge.

Well-being and pastoral care

EHA (Early Help Assessment): A process used to identify children and families who need support from multiple organisations, for example from healthcare providers and social services as well as school.

ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant): A teaching assistant who is trained to provide special support for pupils who might have social, emotional and mental health challenges.

Transition: The process of moving from one classroom, key stage, school, or support style to another

Special needs and accessibility

EAL (English as an Additional Language): Children who haven’t grown up speaking English as their first language might need some extra support at school as they gain fluency in English.

EHCP/EHC Plan (education, health and care plan): A document that outlines the educational, health, and social support needs of children and young people with special educational needs. Children can get one of these after their local authority carries out an assessment, and it outlines things like the support they are entitled to, the school that they can go to, and a budget that can be spent on educational support for them.

Gifted and Talented/G&T, More able, or High Learning Potential: Children who are attaining at a high level at school, and who may need differentiated schoolwork or enrichment activities.

Learning Difficulties and Disabilities: A learning difficulty is a condition that affects how someone learns, or how they understand and process information. This is different from a learning disability, which can affect someone’s general intellect.

People with Down’s syndrome, epilepsy, or autism might have a learning disability, while more well-known examples of learning difficulties are dyslexia, dyspraxia and dyscalculia. Both learning difficulties and disabilities exist on a scale of severity.

SEN/SEND: Special Educational Needs/ Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

SENCO: Special Educational Needs Coordinator — usually a teacher, who is responsible for the SEND provision in a school.

Mainstream school: A school that follows the national curriculum and which the majority of children in the UK attend. These schools may be able to take on students with SEND, but they aren’t exclusively focused on these children.

PLPs (Personalised Learning Plans) and ISPs (Individual Support Plans): Documents that outline unique learning objectives for children and any specific needs they have, as well as how schools will support them and meet those needs.

Special school: A school that specifically caters to students with SEND. They might have a bigger focus on life skills and can offer specialist support.

Organisational

ECT: Early Career Teacher. Teachers are ECTs for two years after qualifying and get more support and mentoring during this time.

INSET day: A day off for children while teachers do training. It stands for In-Service Education and Training.

LA (Local Authority): The local council that has jurisdiction over your child’s school, including budget, curriculum, and staffing.

LSA (Learning Support Assistant): LSAs work with students who need extra help at school, for example with children with SEND or behavioural difficulties. While TAs usually work with the whole class, LSAs tend to work with one student or a small group and provide more tailored support.

NQT: A Newly Qualified Teacher (this term has now been replaced by ECT).

OFSTED: Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills. They inspect and regulate educational establishments and services involved in the care of young people.

PTA: Parent Teacher Association

SLT: The Senior Leadership Team, usually including the headteacher and any other leaders who manage the running of a school.

TA (Teaching Assistant): TAs provide teachers with extra support in the classroom, but they don’t require a teaching qualification.