Governor Training DATA

The importance of data It is important that each member of the Governing Body understands the following : How school data is acquired The data we have in schools How to use the data to bring about school improvement

The importance of data There is a legal requirement to include data in annual report to parents and school prospectus Governing Bodies are required to set performance targets for pupils and in the secondary sector to set targets for pupils’ unauthorised absence. Data is useful to improve our understanding but fundamentally it must be used to raise standards

All Wales Core Data Pack In existence since 2009 and contains more information than ever before; Data based on PLASC and end of Key Stage Teacher Assessments.

Two groups of similar schools: Family of schools Free School Meals (FSM) group.

School families Each school has been placed in a family of similar schools based on: medium of study % FSM WIMD % SEN % English as additional language (EAL)

Family comparisons Performance in the CSI, core subjects and non-core subjects Performance in expected level +1 Gender comparisons for all indicators 5 year trends

Free School Meals Each school has been placed in an FSM group based on their (weighted) average over 3 years. UWCHRADD / SECONDARY 1 <FSM≤ 10% 2 15% 3 20% 4 30% 5

Expected levels At the end of KS3, pupils are expected to reach Level 5 (L5) in the core subjects Welsh, English, Mathematics and Science; If a pupil has reached the expected level in each of the core subjects (Welsh OR English), he will have achieved the Core Subject Indicator (CSI).

End of Foundation Phase Expected levels Key Stage Age Expected level End of Foundation Phase 7 (Y2) Outcome 5 End of KS2 11 (Y6) Level 4 End of KS3 14 (Y9) Level 5

FSM Benchmarking A school’s performance is placed in one of four quarters (1-4). If the school’s performance is among the top 25% of schools in the same group, then the school will be in quarter 1. 25% 1 2 3 4

FSM Benchmarking 1 <FSM≤ 10% 2 15% 3 20% 4 30% 5 SECONDARY 2.4% 20.0% 20.1% 4.2%

FSM Benchmarking 1 2 3 4 100% 100% 90% 85% 85% 80% 80% 75% 70% 65% 60%

Benchmarked indicators - KS2/3 Core Subject Indicator; English; Welsh (First Language); Mathematics; Science; Non-core – KS3 only.

Benchmarked indicators – FP FPI - Foundation Phase Indicator; LCE - Language, literacy and communication skills (English); LCW - Language, literacy and communication skills (Welsh); MDT - Mathematical development; PSD - Personal and social development, well-being and cultural diversity.

Benchmarked indicators – KS4 L1 threshold - 5A*-G; L2 threshold - 5A*-C; L2EWM (L2+) threshold - 5A*-C, including English/Welsh + Maths; CSI - A*-C in English/Welsh + Maths + Science; Capped points - total score of best 8 GCSEs; Individual subjects - A*-C.

Health warnings Cohort size. What’s significant? You need to look at data over time, not a single year. However, if the data is poor in consecutive years, then it raises questions.

Targets What’s realistic? What would be challenging? Which quarter should we be aiming towards? What were last year’s boundaries?

Remember… Be careful not to place too much emphasis on individual indicators – far better to consider the complete picture in order to reach judgements; Data represents pupils’ achievements, not merely a series of numbers on a page.

Finally… Ask for the data; Analyse it; Ask questions about it. Remember – data only raises questions, it doesn’t answer them; Get to know the story behind the data.

Useful Links Governors Wales www.governorswales.org.uk Welsh Government http://gov.wales/topics/educationandskills/schoolshome/fundingschools/school-governance/?skip=1&lang=en My Local School www.mylocalschool.wales.gov.uk ERW www.erw.wales