Based on inspections of 80 first schools for children either 5 to 8 years or 5 to 9 years of age, this survey reports data on school organization and staffing, and offers narrative descriptions of children's work. An introductory first chapter offers generalizations about features common to most first schools. The second chapter describes aspects of the curriculum: reading; writing; talking and listening; mathematics; religious and moral education; learning about people; learning about the physical world; learning about materials, plants, and animals; art and craft; music; and physical education. Chapter 3 describes the management of teaching arrangements and approaches, focusing on the role of the head teacher; production and use of guidelines for teaching subject matter; classroom organization and teaching methods; the deployment of teachers; and the assessment, planning, and recording of children's work. A summary and conclusions are provided in the fourth chapter. Appendix 1 describes additional characteristics of the schools, such as buildings and school sites; admission policies; qualifications, experience, and responsibilities of teachers; support services; and parent participation. Appendix 2 consists of 10 tables of data collected from the survey and a note on the statistics concerning their interpretation. (RH)