Primary school

Short description: School for children

"Elementary school" redirects here. For 1991 movie, see The Elementary School.

"Grade school" redirects here. It is not to be confused with Graduate school.

An elementary school class in Japan

Template:Childcare

Elementary school in Višňové (Slovakia) An aerial photo of a primary school in Hayesville, North Carolina Classroom with chairs on desks in the Netherlands

A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom,[1] Australia,[2] New Zealand,[3] Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore[4]), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary education of children who are 4 to 10 years of age (and in many cases, 11 years of age). Primary schooling follows preschool and precedes secondary schooling.

The International Standard Classification of Education considers primary education as a single phase where programmes are typically designed to provide fundamental skills in reading, writing, and mathematics and to establish a solid foundation for learning. This is ISCED Level 1: Primary education or first stage of basic education.[5]

## Contents

* 1 Terms
* 1.1 Primary schools
* 1.2 Elementary schools
* 1.3 In other languages
* 1.3.1 Chinese
* 1.3.2 German
* 2 Levels of education
* 3 Comparison of cohorts
* 4 Theoretical framework of primary school design
* 5 Building design specifications
* 6 Governance and funding
* 7 Accountability
* 8 See also
* 9 Notes
* 10 References
* 11 External links

## Terms

The word phrase "primary school" is a calque from French école primaire, which was first used in a text of London Times in April 1802.[6]

### Primary schools

St Patrick's School at Murrumbeena, Victoria, Australia: one of many religious primary schools in the world. A 2015 classroom for 6–7-year olds in Switzerland A classroom of a private Catholic elementary school in Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz

In most parts of the world, primary education is the first stage of compulsory education, and is normally available without charge, but may also be offered by fee-paying independent schools. The term grade school is sometimes used in the US, although both this term and elementary school may refer to the first eight grades, in other words both primary education and lower secondary education.[7][8][9]

In the United Kingdom, "elementary education" was taught in "elementary schools" until 1944, when free elementary education was proposed for students over 11: there were to be primary elementary schools and secondary elementary schools;[lower-alpha 1] these became known as primary schools and secondary schools.

* Primary school is the preferred term in the United Kingdom, Ireland and many Commonwealth nations, and in most publications of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).[11][12]
* Elementary school is the synonym but mainly used in the USA.[13]

### Elementary schools

Although often used as a synonym, "elementary school" has specific meanings in different locations.

* Elementary schools, also known as board schools, were first established in England and Wales by Elementary Education Act 1870 (33 & 34 Vict. c. 75).[14] Most of these schools became primary schools in the late 1940s, following the historic compromise in the Education Act 1944.
* Elementary schools in the United States were first promoted in 1647 in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.[15] Today, there are currently approximately 92,858 elementary schools (68,173 public, 24,685 private).[16] In the United States, elementary schools usually have six grades with pupils aged between 5 and 11 years old.[17] The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 was designed to fund primary and secondary education.[18] It also emphasized equal access to education and established high standards and accountability.[19]
* Elementary schools in Japan were first established by 1875.[20] In Japan, the age of pupils in elementary school ranges from 6 to 12, after which the pupils enter junior high school.

### In other languages

#### Chinese

In Chinese-speaking world except of Taiwan, the Chinese word xiǎo xué (simplified Chinese: 小学; traditional Chinese: 小學) is used. 國小 is only used in Taiwan.[21]

In older texts it can mean linguistics including phonology, grammatology and semantics. [22]

#### German

Grundschule (lit. ground/basic school) is the word in Germany. Primarschule is used in Liechtenstein and Switzerland. Volksschule is used in Austria and Switzerland.[23]

## Levels of education

This section is an excerpt from International Standard Classification of Education § 2011 version[ edit ]

## Comparison of cohorts

Within the English speaking world, there are three widely-used systems to describe the age of the children in the cohort:

1. "Equivalent ages"
2. Countries that base their education systems on the "English model" use one of two methods to identify the year group.
3. Countries that base their systems on the "American K–12 model" refer to their year groups as "grades".

Canada also follows the American model, although its names for year groups are given as a number after the grade: For instance, "Grade 1" in Canada, rather than "First Grade" in the United States. This terminology extends into the research literature.[24] In Canada, education is a provincial, not a federal responsibility. For example, the province of Ontario also had a "Grade 13", designed to help students enter the workforce or post-secondary education, but this was phased out in the year 2003.

Equivalent ages | 4–5 | 5–6 | 6–7 | 7–8 | 8–9 | 9–10 | 10–11

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U.S. (grades) | Pre-K | K | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
Ireland | Junior Infants | Senior Infants | 1st Class | 2nd Class | 3rd Class | 4th Class | 5th Class
England (forms) | Reception | Infants | Top infants | Junior 1 | Junior 2 | Junior 3 | Junior 4
England (year) | R | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
England (keystage) | EYFS/FS | KS1 | KS1 | KS2 | KS2 | KS2 | KS2
Scotland | P1 | P2 | P3 | P4 | P5 | P6 | P7
Jamaica  | Pre-K  | K-1  | Grade 1  | Grade 2  | Grade 3  | Grade 4  | Grade 5
Indonesia[citation needed] | TK A | TK B | SD Kelas 1 | SD Kelas 2 | SD Kelas 3 | SD Kelas 4 | SD Kelas 5
Equivalent ages | 11–12 | 12–13 | 13–14 | 14–15 | 15–16 | 16–17 | 17–18

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U.S. (grades) | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12
Ireland | 6th Class | 1st Year | 2nd Year | 3rd Year | 4th Year/Transition Year (TY) | 5th Year | 6th Year
England (forms) | First | Second | Third | Fourth | Fifth | Lower Sixth | Upper Sixth
England (year) | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13
England (keystage) | KS3 | KS3 | KS3 | KS4 | KS4 | KS5 | KS5
Scotland | S1 | S2 | S3 | S4 | S5 | S6 |
Jamaica (forms)  | First  | Second  | Third  | Fourth  | Fifth  | Lower Sixth  | Upper Sixth
Jamaica (grades)  | 7  | 8  | 9  | 10  | 11  | 12  | 13
Indonesia[citation needed] | SD Kelas 6 | SMP Kelas 7 | SMP Kelas 8 | SMP Kelas 9 | SMA Kelas 10 | SMA Kelas 11 | SMA Kelas 12

## Theoretical framework of primary school design

School building design does not happen in isolation. The building (or school campus) needs to accommodate:

* Curriculum content
* Teaching methods
* Costs
* Education within the political framework
* Use of school building (also in the community setting)
* Constraints imposed by the site
* Design philosophy

Each country will have a different education system and priorities.[25] Schools need to accommodate students, staff, storage, mechanical and electrical systems, support staff, ancillary staff and administration. The number of rooms required can be determined from the predicted roll of the school and the area needed.

According to standards used in the United Kingdom, a general classroom for 30 reception class or infant (Keystage 1) students needs to be 62 m2, or 55 m2 for juniors (Keystage 2).[26] Examples are given on how this can be configured for a 210 place primary with attached 26 place nursery[27] and two-storey 420 place (two form entry) primary school with attached 26 place nursery.[28]

## Building design specifications

The first taxpayer-funded public school in the United States was in Dedham, Mass. SJK (C) Chi Hwa Eco-Nature Primary School in Sandakan, Malaysia A classroom library in the US

The building providing the education has to fulfill the needs of: The students, the teachers, the non-teaching support staff, the administrators and the community. It has to meet general government building guidelines, health requirements, minimal functional requirements for classrooms, toilets and showers, electricity and services, preparation and storage of textbooks and basic teaching aids.[29] An optimum school will meet the minimum conditions and will have:

* adequately sized classrooms—where 60 m2 in considered optimum but 80 m2 for the reception class
* specialised teaching spaces
* a staff preparation room
* staff welfare facilities
* an administration block
* multipurpose classrooms
* student toilet facilities
* a general purpose school hall
* adequate equipment
* storage
* a library or library stocks that are regularly renewed
* computer rooms or media centres
* counselling, sick and medical examination rooms[29]

Government accountants having read the advice then publish minimum guidelines on schools. These enable environmental modelling and establishing building costs. Future design plans are audited to ensure that these standards are met but not exceeded. Government ministries continue to press for the 'minimum' space and cost standards to be reduced.

The UK government published this downwardly revised space formula for primary schools in 2014. It said the floor area should be 350 m2 \+ 4.1 m2/pupil place. The external finishes were to be downgraded to meet a build cost of £1113/m2.[30]

## Governance and funding

The United Kingdom allows elementary education to be delivered in church schools, whereas in France this is illegal as there is strict separation of church and state.

## Accountability

This can be through informal assessment by the staff and governors such as in Finland, or by a state run testing regime such as Ofsted in the United Kingdom.[31]

## See also

* Dame schools
* Early childhood education
* Educational stage
* Virtual reality in primary education
* Vocal school (Blab school)

## Notes

1. ↑ Secondary elementary school: A term already used by London County Council from 1921 to describe some 11–14 schools,[10] and term still in use in Florida, Ohio and Brazil.

## References

1. ↑ "Primary education (4 to 11 years)" (in en). https://cambridgeshire.gov.uk/residents/children-and-families/schools-learning/education-system/elementary-education-4-to-11-years.
2. ↑ Technology, Elcom. "Education system overview" (in en). https://www.studyinaustralia.gov.au/english/australian-education/education-system.
3. ↑ "Changes to schools and the network: Options for managing changes in growth" (in en). 16 April 2019. https://www.education.govt.nz/school/new-zealands-network-of-schools/about/changes-to-schools-and-the-network/options-for-managing-changes-in-growth/#classify.
4. ↑ "Singapore" (in en-US). January 2023. https://ncee.org/country/singapore/.
5. ↑ Annex III in the ISCED 2011 English.pdf Navigate to International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED)
6. ↑ "Online Etymology Dictionary". http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=primary.
7. ↑ "Definition of GRADE SCHOOL". 9 April 2024. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grade+school.
8. ↑ "Definition of ELEMENTARY SCHOOL". 5 April 2024. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/elementary+school.
9. ↑ "American Heritage Dictionary Entry". Ahdictionary.com. https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?id=E5086600. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
10. ↑ "Hadow Report (1926)". educationengland.org.uk. http://www.educationengland.org.uk/documents/hadow1926/hadow1926.html.
11. ↑ "Britannica Academic". https://academic.eb.com/.
12. ↑ "Primary schools/Elementary schools". https://www.unesco.org/en/tags/primary-schools.
13. ↑ "elementary school". https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/elementary-school#google_vignette.
14. ↑ Gerald L. Gutek (14 December 1994). A History of the Western Educational Experience: Second Edition. Waveland Press. p. 203. ISBN 978-1-4786-3010-4. https://books.google.com/books?id=Db35CQAAQBAJ&pg=PA203. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
15. ↑ "Historical Timeline of Public Education in the US" (in en). Race Forward. 13 April 2006. https://www.raceforward.org/research/reports/historical-timeline-public-education-us.
16. ↑ "Digest of Education Statistics, 2001". National Center for Education Statistics. http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2002/2002130.pdf.
17. ↑ Snyder, Thomas D.; Hoffman, Charlene M. (2001). Digest of Education Statistics 2001. Institute of Education Sciences, Washington: National Center for Education Statistics. p. 7, fig. 1. http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2002/2002130.pdf. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
18. ↑ Evers, Williamson M. (January 17, 2000). "Secretary Riley Reignites the Math Wars". Hoover Institution. http://www.hoover.org/research/secretary-riley-reignites-math-wars.
19. ↑ "Elementary and Secondary Education Act". http://www.k12.wa.us/esea/.
20. ↑ "The Establishment of Elementary Schools and Attendance". Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan. http://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/hakusho/html/others/detail/1317264.htm.
21. ↑ "國民小學". https://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/dictView.jsp?ID=72032. "我國實施前六年國民義務教育的學校。"
22. ↑ "小學". https://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/dictView.jsp?ID=106938&la=0&powerMode=0.
23. ↑ "Grundschule, die" (in de). https://www.dwds.de/wb/Grundschule.
24. ↑ Ward, Ken. "British and American Systems (Grades)" (in en). https://trans4mind.com/personal_development/writing/Readability_software/briishAmericanComparison.htm.
25. ↑ Liew Kok-Pun, Michael; Kia Seng, Pang; Singh, Harbans (1981). "The design of secondary schools:Singapore a case study". UNESCO. p. 37. http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0004/000443/044397EB.pdf.
26. ↑ "Mainstream schools: area guidelines" (in en). https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mainstream-schools-area-guidelines.
27. ↑ "Baseline design: 210 place primary school with a 26 place nursery" (in en). https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/baseline-design-210-place-primary-school-with-a-26-place-nursery.
28. ↑ "Baseline design: 420 place primary school with 26 place nursery" (in en). https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/baseline-design-420-place-primary-school-with-26-place-nursery.
29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 "Guidelines relating to planning for public school infrastructure". Department of Basic Education, Republic of South Africa. 2012. http://www.education.gov.za/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=cWhHzzzCo1w=&tabid=93&mid=2598.
30. ↑ "Baseline designs for schools: guidance - GOV.UK" (in en). Education Funding Agency. 11 March 2014. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/baseline-designs-for-schools-guidance/baseline-designs-for-schools-guidance.
31. ↑ "Standards and Testing Agency" (in en). https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/standards-and-testing-agency.

## External links

* National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) (United States)
* Elementary Schools with Education and Crime Statistics (United States)
* Australian CensusAtSchool (Australia)
* Canadian Education Statistics Council (CESC) (United States)
* Office for National Statistics (ONS) (United Kingdom)
* BB103_Area_Guidelines_for_Mainstream_Schools (2014) UK
* National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) (United States)
* OECD Standardised designs (2011)

* v
* t
* e

School types

By educational stage|

| Early childhood|

* Preschool
* Pre-kindergarten
* Kindergarten

|

Primary|

* Elementary school
* First school
* Infant school
* Junior school
* Primary school

Secondary|

* Adult high school
* Cadet college
* Collegiate institute
* Comprehensive high school
* Comprehensive school
* Continuation high school
* Grammar school
* Gymnasium
* High school
* Lyceum
* Secondary school
* Sixth form college
* Studio school
* University-preparatory school
* University technical college
* Upper school

Tertiary|

* Professional school
* Technical school
* Vocational school

Higher|

* Academy
* College
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* Graduate school
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* Junior college
* Liberal arts college
* Research university
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* University
* Upper division college
* Vocational university

Combined|

* All-through school
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* Middle school
* One-room schools
* Ranch school

By funding / eligibility|

* Academy (England)
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* Comprehensive school (British)
* For-profit education
* Free education
* Free school (England)
* Independent school
* UK Independent school
* preparatory
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* State-integrated school (New Zealand)

By style / method|

* Alternative school
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* Catholic school
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* Democratic education
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* Homeschooling
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* Parochial school
* Progressive education
* Free school movement
* Laboratory school
* Montessori school
* Waldorf school
* Sudbury school
* Virtual school
* Vocal school
* Yeshiva

By scope|

* College preparatory
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* Continuing education
* Further education
* Gifted education
* Remedial education
* Special education

Historical|

* Ancient higher-learning institutions
* Platonic Academy
* Lyceum
* Monastic schools
* Cathedral schools
* Medieval universities

Schools imposed on
indigenous peoples

* in Canada
* in New Zealand
* in the United States
* in South Africa

Informal or illegal|

* in Ireland
* in Greece
* in South Tyrol

Related topics|

* Educational institution

*   * Category
* Commons

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Stages of formal education

| Early childhood education| Primary education| Secondary education| Tertiary education

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|
|

| Preschool
->| Kindergarten

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| Elementary school

| Infant
->| Junior

|

| High school

| Junior high school
->| Senior high school

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| Higher education
| Vocational| Further
continuing

|
|

| Undergraduate
->| Postgraduate

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