1. Welcome
Name
Housekeeping
Andy Milne/Bill Oates
Department for Education and Knowledge and Analytical Services, Welsh Government 1 1

2. What is My Local School?
Fully bilingual data portal containing information on all maintained schools in Wales
Designed to open up access to schools data for parents and others with an interest in their local school
Contains performance data plus a wealth of supporting contextual information
Launched February 2013
Updated at various points throughout the year as data becomes available.
My Local School
Welsh Government

3. Background
Thomas Review (March 2011) – The Structure of Education Services in Wales
Recommendation 5: “Recommend a single national IT data platform…available to all with an interest, including parents”
Push from Minister for Education and Skills to make this a priority in March 2012
Cabinet Office data transparency agenda
Criticism for lack of access to data… Governors, press etc.
All Wales Core Data Sets – data packs updated at various points throughout an annual cycle for schools and local authorities but not publically available.
My Local School
Welsh Government

4. Background Initial scoping exercise
Mar 12 – first prototype developed
Oct 12 – Beta 1
Nov 12 – Beta 2
Jan 13 – Beta 3
Feb 13 – MLS full launch
Internal version available
Initial scoping exercise
Brainstorming sessions – statistical staff + policy colleagues
Investigation of existing sites
Focus mainly on performance data – available from existing sources (AWCDS)
Difficulties with presentation and format
League tables scrapped in Wales, however, providing comparisons still important
Policy driver was to enable parents to engage with and challenge schools
My Local School

5. Background
Mar 12 – first prototype developed
Oct 12 – Beta 1
Nov 12 – Beta 2
Jan 13 – Beta 3
Feb 13 – MLS full launch
Internal version available
Initial version of the site developed and shared with key stakeholders:
Minister for Education and Skills
Directors of Education
Estyn
Governors Wales
Unions
Parental focus groups
Visual appeal / colour schemes
Format / functionality
Supporting information
My Local School
Welsh Government

6. Background
Mar 12 – first prototype developed
Oct 12 – Beta 1
Nov 12 – Beta 2
Jan 13 – Beta 3
Feb 13 – MLS full launch
Internal version available
Restricted version of site made available to schools and other key stakeholders
Facilitated feedback and testing on a much larger scale
Major issues identified and resolved:
Browser compatibility
Chart load issues
Suggestions / feedback on data items included / excluded
My Local School
Welsh Government

7. Background
Mar 12 – first prototype developed
Oct 12 – Beta 1
Nov 12 – Beta 2
Jan 13 – Beta 3
Feb 13 – MLS full launch
Internal version available
Further restricted Beta launches as new data became available
Fixed bugs identified in previous iterations
Allowed schools and other stakeholders to familiarise themselves with the site prior to full launch
My Local School
Welsh Government

8. Background
Mar 12 – first prototype developed
Oct 12 – Beta 1
Nov 12 – Beta 2
Jan 13 – Beta 3
Feb 13 – MLS full launch
Internal version available
Launch promoted through school newsletters, WG website, Twitter
Positive feedback at launch – TES Cymru, head teachers, local authority data contacts
Site developed in-house with existing resources alongside current workloads. External project manager brought in for approx. 6 months
My Local School

9. Data
Important that site was launched without errors in data in order to establish credibility
Much of the data drawn from existing sources – minimised the risk of errors
Disclosure risk assessment undertaken
Increased level of intelligent data use in the education sector
Runner-up prize in RSS Excellence in Official Statistics awards.
My Local School
Welsh Government

10. Site Demo http://mylocalschool.wales.gov.uk My Local School
Welsh Government

11. My Local School
Welsh Government

12. My Local School
Welsh Government

13. My Local School
Welsh Government

14. My Local School
Welsh Government

15. My Local School
Welsh Government

16. My Local School
Welsh Government

17. My Local School
Welsh Government

18. Facts and Figures
Millions of data items covering all maintained schools in Wales
Approximately 100,000 site hits
Average of 5 pages viewed per visit
Launch day – over 6,000 hits, average visit length around 5 minutes
First annual cycle of updates under business as usual just completed
My Local Health Service launched –
My Local School
Welsh Government

19. Future Developments Comparison tool for a selected group of schools
Data exportable into Excel format
New data items – Sport Survey
Data items re-used by other sites – My Local Council
My Local School
Welsh Government

20. Any Questions?
My Local School
Welsh Government