Elementary education by country

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Elementary education or primary education is provided in most countries of the world.

Albania

Main article Education in Albania

Australia

Main article Education in Australia

Primary

• Kindergarten: 4-5 year olds
• Preparatory / Reception / Kindergarten (QLD, NSW,VIC and ACT): 5-6 year olds
• Year 1: 6-7 year olds
• Year 2: 7-8 year olds
• Year 3: 8-9 year olds
• Year 4: 9-10 year olds
• Year 5: 10-11 year olds
• Year 6: 11-12 year olds
• Year 7: 12-13 year olds (WA, SA, QLD)

Brazil

Main article Education in Brazil

Primary

• Year 1: 6 year olds (former pre-school)
• Year 2: 7 year olds
• Year 3: 8 year olds
• Year 4: 9 year olds
• Year 5: 10 year olds
• Year 6: 11 year olds
• Year 7: 12 year olds
• Year 8: 13 year olds
• Year 9: 14 year olds

Burma

Main article Education in Burma

Canada

Main article Education in Canada

Denmark

In Denmark, 9 years of primary school (Folkeskole) are compulsory.

Kindergarten (optional): 6-7 years

• 1st grade: 7-8 years
• 2nd grade: 8-9 years
• 3rd grade: 9-10 years
• 4th grade: 10-11 years
• 5th grade: 11-12 years
• 6th grade: 12-13 years
• 7th grade: 13-14 years
• 8th grade: 14-15 years
• 9th grade: 15-16 years

10th grade (optional): 16-17 years

France

Main article Education in France

• Nursery:Petite Section (3 years old)
• Reception:Moyenne Section (4 years old)
• Year 1:Grande Section (5 years old)
• Year 2:CP (cours préparatoire)(6 years old)
• Year 3:CE1 (cours élémentaire 1)(7 years old)
• Year 4:CE2 (cours élémentaire 2)(8 years old)
• Year 5:CM1 (cours moyen 1)(9 years old)
• Year 6:CM2 (cours moyen 2)(10 years old)

Germany

Main article Education in Germany

The first school for German students is called de:Grundschule. It takes usually four years, the pupils are between six and ten years old. The education consists of learning to read, write, basic math and general knowledge. In some schools, a first foreign language is introduced, usually English.

Iran

Main article Education in Iran

Israel

Main article Education in Israel

Republic of Ireland

Main article Education in the Republic of Ireland

Primary school teaching in Republic of Ireland consists of 8 grades. These are:

• Junior infants
• Senior infants
• 1st class
• 2nd class
• 3rd class
• 4th class
• 5th class
• 6th class

Junior and Senior infants correspond to Kindergarten.

The subjects mainly taught in primary school are:

• English
• Maths
• Irish
• History
• Geography
• Science
• PE (Physical Education),
• Art
• SPHE (Social, Personal, Health Education),
• Religion
• CSPE (Civics, Social, Political Education)

The content of the Religion course taught depends on the management of the school. Many schools are managed and owned by the Roman Catholic Church, with a lesser number belonging to the Church of Ireland and a handful run by other religions such as Muslims, or to a new group called "Educate Together" which advocates a neutral approach to religion. Each school body decides on the emphasis of its religious instruction. In Catholic schools 1st and 6th class prepare children for Holy Communion and Confirmation respectively. In the Church of Ireland this preparation is done when the pupil is aged about 14 years, and is in secondary school.

Children may start at primary school at any age between three and six years of age. However only a small minority begins school at three, and many schools will not accept children until they are four. Children accepted into school at three often have to live within the parish where the school is located. Most children finish primary school at or around twelve years of age.

Italy

Schools used to have a six day school week, Monday to Saturday. Lately, as of 2008, most elementary and middle schools have reduced the school week to five days, with high schools remaining with six.

Japan

Main article Elementary schools in Japan

File:MagomeElementarySchool.jpg

A large elementary school in Magome, Japan.

Morocco

Main article Education in Morocco

Singapore

Main article Education in Singapore

The Netherlands

Main article Education in the Netherlands

Children in the Netherlands must be at least four years old to enter primary education. Almost all 4-year-olds (99.3%) in the Netherlands indeed attend primary school, although this is not compulsory until children reach the age of 5. Primary school is free of charge. In most schools, children are grouped by age in mixed ability classes, with one teacher for all subjects. Primary school consists of 8 groups (thus 8 years of scholing). During the first two years (kindergarten), children receive an average of 22 hours of education, during the last 6 years children receive an average of 25 hours per week. Schools are open 5 days a week, but children are free on Wednesday afternoon. At the end of primary school, in group 8, schools advice on secondary school choice. Most schools use a national test to support this advice, for instance the 'Citotoets', a test developed by the Central Institute for Test development.

group 1: age 4-5 (kindergarten) group 2: age 5-6 (kindergarten) group 3: age 6-7 (school curriculum starts with writing, reading, etc) group 4: age 7-8 group 5: age 8-9 group 6: age 9-10 group 7: age 10-11 group 8: age 11-12 (last school year with advice on secondary school choice)

For more information: [1]

New Zealand

Main article Education in New Zealand

Palestinian territories

Main article Education in the Palestinian territories

Poland

Main article Education in Poland

United Kingdom

Main article Education in the United Kingdom

Primary education is provided by state schools run by the government and by independent fee-paying schools. In the state system children are either educated in separate infant and junior schools or in a combined primary school. Schools in the private sector providing primary education are generally known as preparatory schools or prep schools. In the private sector the transfer to the final stage of education often takes place at 14.

England

Main article Education in England

Children start school either in the year or the term in which they reach five depending upon the policy of the Local Education Authority. All state schools are obliged to follow a centralised National Curriculum. The primary school years are split into Key Stages:

• Foundation Stage 1 (in a pre-school/childcare environment)
  • Nursery, age 3 to 4

• Foundation Stage 2 (in an Infant or Primary school)
  • Reception, age 4 to 5

• Key Stage 1 (in an Infant or Primary school)
  • Year 1, age 5 to 6
  • Year 2, age 6 to 7

• Key Stage 2 (in Junior or Primary school)
  • Year 3, age 7 to 8
  • Year 4, age 8 to 9
  • Year 5, age 9 to 10
  • Year 6, age 10 to 11

At the end of Key Stage 2 in Year 6 all children in state primary schools are required to take National Curriculum tests in reading, writing, mathematics and science also called SATs. All state primary schools are under the jurisdiction of the Department for Children, Schools and Families and are required to receive regular inspections by the Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED). Private schools are inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate.

Northern Ireland

Main article Education in Northern Ireland

Children start school either in the year or the term in which they reach four. All state schools are obliged to follow a centralised National Curriculum. The primary school years are split into Key Stages:

• Primary education
  • Primary school
    • Foundation Stage
      • Primary 1, age 4 to 5
      • Primary 2, age 5 to 6
    • Key Stage 1
      • Primary 3, age 6 to 7
      • Primary 4, age 7 to 8
    • Key Stage 2
      • Primary 5, age 8 to 9
      • Primary 6, age 9 to 10
      • Primary 7, age 10 to 11 (Transfer procedure exams to determine secondary school placement.)

At the end of Key Stage 2 in P7, all children are offered the voluntary Eleven Plus (also called the transfer procedure) examinations, though the parents of thirty percent of children elect not to, and send their kids to secondary schools instead of grammar schools.

All state primary schools are under the jurisdiction of the Department of Education.

Wales

Main article Primary Education in Wales

Scotland

Main article Education in Scotland

United States

Main article Education in the United States

File:LOS-E-015.JPG

Elementary school in California

In the US the first stage of compulsory education is generally known as elementary education. It takes place in elementary schools which usually incorporate the first five grades and sometimes have a kindergarten. Elementary schools in the US are also known as grade schools or grammar schools. In some schools, teachers utilize a "looping system" where the same teacher teaches the same group of students for two years. For example, a third-grade class may have one teacher who would teach those students for an entire year, then that teacher would teach fourth-grade the next year, and thereby teach the same class again. The teacher would then revert back to the third grade the following year to start the process all over with a different group of students.

Over the past few decades, schools in the USA have been testing various arrangements which break from the one-teacher, one-class mould. Multi-age programmes, where children in different grades (e.g. Kindergarten through to second grade) share the same classroom and teachers, is one increasingly popular alternative to traditional elementary instruction. An alternative is that children might have a main class and go to another teacher's room for one subject, such as science, while the science teacher's main class will go to the other teacher's room for another subject, such as social studies. This could be called a two-teacher, two-class mould, or a rotation, similar to the concept of teams in junior high school. Another method is to have the children have one set of classroom teachers in the first half of the year, and a different set of classroom teachers in the second half of the year.

See also

• Elementary school students
• Elementary school teachers
• Elementary schools