Glossary/Acronyms
| 1+2 | Mother tongue plus two additional languages | The policy to expand and improve learning so that by 2021 every child will learn a first additional language from Primary 1 and a second by Primary 5. |
| ACP | Anticipatory Care Plan | A document detailing how a patient would like their medical care to progress if they become unwell. For pupils with an ACP it should travel with them on school outings. |
| ADES | Association of Directors of Education in Scotland | The national organisation which represents directors and senior managers from Scottish local authorities. |
| ADHD | Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder | ADHD is a condition that affects people’s behaviour. People with ADHD can seem restless, may have trouble concentrating and may act on impulse. |
| AHDS | Association of Head Teachers and Deputes in Scotland | AHDS is a union for promoted teachers in primary, nursery and ASN schools. |
| AHPs | Allied Health Professionals | An umbrella term for a range of professional practitioners and support staff including Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists, Speech and Language Therapist and Orthotists. |
| ASDAN | Award Scheme Development and Accreditation Network | A British education charity and awarding organisation. Provides programmes and qualifications for learners with special educational needs and disabilities. |
| ASD | Autism Spectrum Disorder | Autism is a lifelong, developmental condition that affects the way a person communicates, interacts and processes information. |
| ASL | Additional Support for Learning | Additional support for learning means giving children extra help or support so they can get the most out of their education. |
| ASN | Additional Support Needs | A child or young person is said to have additional support needs if they need more, or different, support to what is normally provided in schools or pre-schools to children of the same age. |
| BGE | Broad General Education | The broad general education begins in early learning and childcare and continues to the end of S3 (the third year of secondary school). |
| BNN | Bilingual Nursery Nurse | Nursery Nurse who works in English and another language, to support Early Years settings and schools (P1) in their work with children and families who have English as an Additional Language. This includes joint assessment of children with other additional support needs. |
| BSA | Bilingual Support Assistant | Bilingual Support Assistants support early stage EAL learners to access the curriculum using their home language and English; support home-school-home communication; and advise on cultural issues. In Edinburgh, we have BSAs for Arabic, Cantonese, Kurdish, Mandarin, Polish, Punjabi/Urdu. |
| CA | Classroom Assistant | Classroom assistants provide support to teachers. |
| CfE | Curriculum for Excellence | Curriculum for Excellence is the Scottish curriculum for pupils aged 3 – 18. It helps our children and young people gain the knowledge, skills and attributes needed for life in the 21st century. |
| CL | Curriculum Leader | A promoted teacher who typically works in a secondary school and has a specific remit to take a lead role in managing their curriculum area. They typically manage and lead a team of teaching staff within their subject area. |
| CLD | Community Learning and Development | Teams who work with and support communities in areas such as adult and family learning and youth work. |
| CLPL | Career-long Professional Learning | Ongoing learning throughout a professional’s career. |
| COSLA | Convention of Scottish Local Authorities | A membership organisation for councillors in Scottish local authorities. |
| CPD | Continuing Professional Development | Each teacher in Scotland is required to undertake a certain amount of CPD each year to maintain or upgrade skills and knowledge (see PRD and PU). |
| CPM | Child’s Planning Meeting | A meeting to implement or review a child’s plan. A personalised child’s plan will be available when a child needs a range of extra support planned, delivered and co-ordinated. This will explain what should improve for the child, the actions to be taken and why the plan has been created. The child’s plan is managed by a ‘lead professional’: someone with the right skills and experience to make sure the plan is managed properly. Depending on the situation and the child’s needs, the lead professional may also be their named person. The child and parent(s) will know what information is being shared, with whom and for what purpose, and their views will be taken into account. This may not happen in exceptional cases, such as where there is a concern for the safety of a child or someone else. |
| CSP | Co-ordinated Support Plan | A child/ young person is eligible for a CSP when they need support at school from services other than education services, on an ongoing basis. A CSP document gathers together reports and plans from all the professionals who will support a child with additional support needs in school, for example Speech and Language Therapists, Social Workers. A CSP should be reviewed every year and parents have a key role in this process. |
| CT | Class Teacher | Teacher who is assigned to a specific class. In secondary specialist provision they may also be known as the base class teacher. |
| CYPADM | Children and Young People Acute Deterioration Management | A document detailing how a patient would like their medical care to progress if they become very unwell. For pupils with a CYPADM it should be with them at all times. |
| DHT | Depute Head Teacher | The role of DHT will vary from school to school but generally they will stand in for the headteacher as necessary and will have responsibility for leadership and management of colleagues. |
| DO | Development officer | Development Officers are appointed, often on a temporary basis, to undertake specific development work at school or authority level. |
| D of E | Duke of Edinburgh Award | A youth awards programme founded in the UK in 1956 by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, that has since expanded to 144 nations. The award recognises wider achievement |
| EAL | English as an Additional Language | A learner of English as an Additional Language is a pupil whose first language* is other than English. This includes children and young people: – who arrive in Scotland from another country during their schooling – who have always lived in Scotland / UK and use a language other than English at home * The first language is the language the child was initially exposed to in childhood and continues to be the language used at home and in the community. |
| EE | Enhanced enrolment | Enrolment meeting with a new arrival whose first language is not English and their and parents-carers (supported by an interpreter, if needed). This meeting enables school to gather full information about the child or young person’s language skills (in all languages they speak/read/write), prior education and attainment, strengths and interests, additional support needs; and to share key information about school with the learner and family. Through effective use of information gathered at an enrolment meeting, the school can fully support the learner’s transition into education in Scotland. |
| EIS | Educational Institute of Scotland | The largest teaching union in Scotland |
| ELC | Early Learning and Childcare | This term is meant to emphasise that care and education of very young children are not two separate things as babies and young children are learning all the time. ELC settings include family centres, nursery schools, nursery classes attached to primary schools and childminders. These places may be run by local authorities, private businesses, voluntary sector organisations and self-employed individuals. |
| EP | Educational Psychologist | Educational psychologists support schools and the local authority to improve all children’s experiences of learning. They use their training in psychology and knowledge of child development to assess difficulties children may be having with their learning. |
| EPG | Education Placement Group | A City of Edinburgh Council group that considers which specialist provisions to place pupils in. |
| ESOL | English for Speakers of Other Languages | ESOL is studied by those whose first language is not English. SQA ESOL qualifications for young people (S3-S6) are delivered through the Schools College Partnership and by some secondary schools. ESOL courses and classes for adults are delivered by different providers, e.g. local authorities, colleges, third sector organisations. |
| EYO/EYP | Early Years Officer/ Early Years Practitioner | EYOs and EYPs make up most of the staff who work in nurseries and pre-school settings in Scotland. |
| FE | Further Education | This is post-compulsory education which is different from that offered in universities. It is mainly taught in colleges as well as work-based learning or in adult and community learning. |
| FEF | Finance for Equity Funding | Funding for schools to address the poverty related attainment gap. |
| FLO | Family Learning Officer | This person may develop and run courses and activities for families so they can help or support their child’s learning. |
| FSM | Free School Meals | |
| FTE | Full-time Equivalent | This is a way to measure how much time a member of school staff works in school. For example, FTE 1.0 means the person works full time, FTE 0.5 means the person is half-time. |
| GIRFEC | Getting it Right for Every Child | A Scottish Government policy which aims to make sure all Scotland’s children, young people and their families have support across public services such as health, education and social work. The GIRFEC approach supports children and young people so that they can grow up feeling loved, safe and respected and can realise their full potential. |
| GRT | Gypsy Roma Traveller | The term Gypsy, Roma and Traveller is used to describe a range of ethnic groups or people with nomadic ways of life, including: Gypsy Travellers (English, Welsh, Scottish, Irish Romany people)Roma (more recent migrants in the UK from Central and Eastern Europe) The term Traveller can also refer to groups that travel (e.g. New Travellers, Boaters, Bargees and Showpeople) however these are not ethnic groups. |
| GTCS | General Teaching Council for Scotland | The professional body that maintains the register of teachers and ensures teachers’ professional standards. In Scotland children must be taught by qualifies and GTCS registered teachers. |
| GUS | Growing Up in Scotland | Growing Up in Scotland is a long-term study tracking the lives of thousands of children and their families from the early years through childhood and beyond. The main aim of the study is to provide new information to support policy-making in Scotland but it is also intended to provide a resource for practitioners, academics, the voluntary sector and parents. |
| HE | Higher Education | This is post-compulsory education which usually takes place in universities. |
| HESS | Health Education Support Service | 1:1 support service to meet the complex care needs of pupils that meet specific health care criteria. |
| HGIOS 4 | How Good Is Our School (version 4) | A self-evaluation tool kit for schools. |
| HNC/ HND | Higher National Certificate/ Higher National Diploma | Higher National Certificate (HNC) and Higher National Diploma (HND) are advanced qualifications equivalent to the first two years of study at university. They are offered by colleges, some universities and many training centres. HNCs take 1 year to complete and HNDs take 2 years. |
| HT | Head Teacher | Also known as a rector, the headteacher is the leader and manager of a school. |
| ICT | Information and Communications Technology | ICT in education can be found in the following ways: as a subject, e.g. computer studiesas a tool to support teaching and learning, e.g. the use of whiteboardsas an administrative tool. |
| IEP | Individual Education Plan | An IEP is a document which sets out the goals and achievements of each school pupil. Every child should have an IEP and should also have an input to its content. It should be reviewed regularly. |
| ITE | Initial Teacher Education | This describes the courses taken by people who want to become teachers. Courses are available at universities across Scotland through a four year undergraduate course leading to a BEd degree or a one year Post Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE). |
| ITS | Interpretation and Translation Service | |
| JASS | Junior Award Scheme for Schools | A progressive learning programme for young people which has been designed to recognise wider achievement. |
| LA | Local Authority | There are 32 local authorities in Scotland. |
| LAC | Looked After Child | Under the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, ‘looked after children’ are defined as those in the care of their local authority – sometimes referred to as a ‘corporate parent’. There are many reasons children may become looked after, including: they face abuse or neglect at homethey have disabilities that require special carethey are unaccompanied minors seeking asylum, or who have been illegally trafficked into the UKthey have been involved in the youth justice system |
| LGBT | Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender | |
| LNCT | Local Negotiating Committee for Teachers | See SNCT. Some matters are devolved to LNCTs for local agreement. LNCTs are required to have constitutions setting out the recognition and procedures arrangements. In addition to a negotiating function LNCTs also provide a consultative mechanism. |
| MSP | Member of the Scottish Parliament | |
| NAS/UWT | National Association of Schoolmasters/ Union of Women Teachers | A teaching union. |
| NAT 1/2/3/4/5 | National 1/2/3/4/5 qualification | National courses have seven different levels; National 1 to 5 then Higher and Advanced Higher, but the buzz words that you will hear the most are Nat 4/5s and Highers as these are most likely to gain your child access to college and university. In fourth year pupils will study for Nat 1 – 5s depending on what their attainment level in each subject is. In most schools a fourth year pupil would tend to sit Nat 4 or 5s. If they decide to stay on for a fifth year, they can sit more Nat 4 or 5s and progress to Highers. |
| NIF | National Improvement Framework | A Scottish Government framework focused on measuring and evaluating performance in schools. It includes parents and carers as part of the process. |
| NPFS | National Parent Forum for Scotland | Supported by the Scottish Government, NPFS provides a parental perspective for local and national policies and issues and helps support parental involvement. |
| NQ | National Qualifications | NQs are taken by young people in secondary schools, colleges and some training centres. |
| NVQ | National Vocational Qualification | Work based qualifications. |
| OSCR | Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator | OSCR decides whether to grant an organisation charitable status and to enter it on the Scottish Charity Register. They monitor charities to ensure they comply with the law. |
| OT | Occupational Therapist | Occupational Therapists can help people with practical tasks if they are: physically disabledrecovering from an illness or operationhave learning disabilitiesHave mental health problems They can look at aspects of daily life at home or in school. They look at activities that a person finds difficult to see if there is another way to do them. |
| PEEP | Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan | A plan for a person who may need assistance, for instance, a person with impaired mobility, to evacuate a building or reach a place of safety in the event of an emergency. |
| PEF | Pupil Equity Funding | Pupil Equity Funding is money that is given to schools to help them provide the best possible opportunities for children’s learning. In particular, it is there to help the school support children who experience barriers to learning and who might be falling behind or not getting the same chances in their education because their family is experiencing poverty or other financial difficulties. This money is given to schools as part of the Scottish Government’s Scottish Attainment Challenge. Pupil Equity Funding is designed to support children in Primary 1 to S3 who are eligible and registered for free school meals. However, Headteachers can use their judgement to support other children in their school who are affected by poverty. For every child that is registered, the school will receive £1,200 in addition to their normal budget. The Headteacher decides how the money is spent and has to demonstrate the impact the funding has had on children affected by poverty. |
| PLP | Personal Learning Plan | A document/folder where a pupil can keep a record of their goals and achievements alongside examples of their work. |
| PPP/ PFI | Public Private Partnership/ Public Finance Initiative | A collaboration between a local authority and private companies, often used in the building and management of schools. |
| PPR | Pupil Progress Record | A key record relating to a child/ young person’s education that follows them through education. |
| PRD | Professional Review and Development | PRD is an essential part of the GTCS’s Professional Update and professional learning. It provides teachers with ongoing opportunities to reflect on their practice and personal learning through professional learning conversations supported by an annual review meeting. |
| PSA | Pupil Support Assistant | Supports pupils with a wide variety of tasks in school. Also called Learning Support Assistant or Classroom Assistant. |
| PSE | Personal and Social Education | PSE addresses the learning outcomes within the Health and Wellbeing indicators in Curriculum for Excellence relating to mental, emotional, social and physical wellbeing, planning for choices and change, substance misuse and relationships, sexual health and parenthood. |
| PT | Principal Teacher | In primary and special schools this is usually a classroom teacher who also takes on some managerial roles within the school. In a secondary school this is typically a head of department or guidance position. |
| PU | Professional Update | This supports teachers to develop their skills and work. Teachers are asked to keep a record of their learning throughout their careers. This is logged on their GTCS profile and signed off by their line manager every 5 years. |
| PVG | Protection of Vulnerable Groups | The Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) membership scheme is managed and delivered by Disclosure Scotland. It helps ensure people who work with children and protected adults |
| QIEO | Quality Education Improvement Officer | Usually a local authority officer who has a specific job around improving the performance of schools. |
| RA | Risk Assessment | A systematic process that involves identifying, analysing and controlling hazards and risks. |
| RME | Religious and Moral Education | |
| RSHP | Relationships, Sexual Health and Parenthood | |
| SAC | Scottish Attainment Challenge | The Scottish Attainment Challenge aims to raise attainment of children and young people living in deprived areas, in order to close the attainment gap. It will drive forward improvements in educational outcomes to ensure that everyone is encouraged to be the best they can be. |
| SALT/SaLT/SLT | Speech and Language Therapist | Speech and language therapists provide life-treatment, support and care for children and adults who have difficulties with communication, eating, drinking and swallowing. |
| SCCYP | Scottish Commissioner for Children and Young People | The Commissioner aims to promote and protect the rights of children and young people in Scotland. |
| SCEL | Scottish College for Educational Leadership | SCEL supports teaching staff by providing access to high quality leadership programmes of training. |
| SCQF | Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework | This organisation promotes lifelong learning in Scotland. The Framework can help parents and young people to plan learning and develop routes through different types of learning. |
| SDO | Senior Development Officer | Senior Development Officers are appointed, often on a temporary basis, to undertake specific development work at school or authority level. |
| SEIC | South East Improvement Collaborative | A collaboration between City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Fife, Midlothian and Scottish Borders councils to improve schools, early learning settings and other services for children and young people. |
| SEYO | Senior Early Years Officer | Work in pre-school and nurseries. |
| SHANARRI | Safe, Health, Achieving, Nurtured, Active, Respected, Responsible, Included | GIRFEC wellbeing indicators which help make it easier for children and families and the people working with them to discuss how a child or young person is doing at a point in time and if there is a need for support. At home, in school or the wider community, every child and young person should be safe, healthy, achieving, nurtured, active, respected, responsible and included. |
| SIF | Summary of Inspection Findings | This document is available on the Education Scotland website following an inspection. |
| SIP | School Improvement Plan | This document should show improvement targets for a school. This is typically now included in the SQIP. |
| SLS | School Leaders Scotland | A union for headteachers and depute headteachers. |
| SLT/SMT | Senior Leadership Team/ School Management Team | Usually includes the headteacher and depute head teachers; may also include the business manager and principal teachers. |
| SNAG | School Nutrition Action Group | A committee which usually includes school staff, pupils, parents and local people to promote healthy eating within the school community. |
| SNCT | Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers | A tripartite body comprising members from teaching organisations, Local Authorities, and the Scottish Government. The SNCT follows a negotiating framework for teachers’ pay and conditions of service. |
| SORT | School Operations Risk Toolkit | A risk framework to manage all risk assessments and guidance required in association with the response to Covid-19. |
| SQIP | Standards and Quality and Improvement Plan | The purpose of the annual SQIP is to report on the main achievements over the last school year and to bring about further improvement to the learning experiences and achievements of pupils. Improvement planning involves identifying what is good about a school, deciding how good a school can be and identifying the best way forward. |
| SSTA | Scottish Secondary Teachers Association | A teaching union. |
| STEM | Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths | The name used for this group of subjects. |
| SVQ | Scottish Vocational Qualification | These qualifications are based on standards drawn up by industry, commerce and education. |
| TALC | Team Around the Learning Community | A collaborative approach with Educational Settings and Partners to support and maximise learning, attainment and achievement |
| UCAS | University and Colleges Admissions Service | UCAS process most applications for entry to higher education throughout the UK. |
| UNCRC | United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child | This is an international human rights treaty that grants all children and young people (aged 17 and under) a set of rights. |
| VOICE | A teaching union | |
| VSDS | Volunteer Scotland – Disclosure Services | VSDS is funded by the Scottish Government to support some charities with processing disclosure checks. |
| VSE | Validated Self-Evaluation | This aims to support and challenge the work of education authorities to improve the quality of education and outcomes for learners. |
| YAD | Young Adult Disability Social Work Team | SW team that support families of young adults with complex disabilities as they transition from children and families into adult services. |
| YPPM | Young Person Planning Meeting | See CPM |