ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to investigate the structure and phasing of the English primary education system. It considers issues of change in the years following the Plowden Report (CACE 1967) and draws comparisons between England and other countries. It sets out to address the following questions:
What is the structure of the English primary education system? 1 How has this changed since 1967? How well do the structures work? What are the salient characteristics, strengths and weaknesses of the various institutions and settings in which primary education takes place?
What is the evidence concerning the roles and relationships between pre-school and primary provision in England and other UK countries? 2
What is the structure of primary education in other countries? What is the evidence of effectiveness of different structures?
What is the evidence on the impact of different primary phase structures and of different starting ages on learning and teaching? When should formal schooling start?
What is the evidence that primary school structures influence results obtained in international comparative studies?
